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y

Etymology and origin of the French word y

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y1 letter

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1119, Philippe de Thaon
Borrowed from
Latin y
Ultimate origin
Ancient Greek (υ)

Pronunciation

  • IPA (letter, name): /i.ɡʁɛk/[1]

Forms

y m (invariable), called i grec.[1][2]

Etymology

The letter “y” is borrowed from Latin y, the letter the Romans took late from the Greek alphabet, Ancient Greek υ (u, “upsilon”), to write words taken from Greek.[3][4][5] Its French name “i grec” “Greek i” contrasts it with the Latin “i”.[1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Philippe de Thaon names it y griu in his Comput (1119).[3][5]

Semantic evolution

In Old French y was at first used to write rare words and proper names.[5] In the 13th century, when Gothic script made letters like n, m, u and i hard to tell apart, y came to be used as a variant of i, to mark the Greek upsilon and to keep letters apart.[5] Spanish and Italian kept i.[5] The letter stands for a fork in a road in 1832, and in algebra for the second unknown from 1846.[3][6]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The 25th letter of the French alphabet, written for [i] or the semivowel [j]: cycle, yeux.[6][2]
  2. (mathematics) The second unknown, or a function of x.[6][3]

y2 there

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
First attested
10th century
Inherited from
Latin hic via Old French
Ultimate origin
Latin (hic)

Pronunciation

Forms

y (adverbial)[1]

Etymology

The pronoun “y” is inherited from Old French i, inherited from Latin hīc (“here”).[7][1][8] It eliminated Old French iv “there”, found in the Strasbourg Oaths (842), from ibī (“there”), which influenced its sense.[7][1] Littré derived “y” from “ibī” itself, but Wiktionary notes that this is difficult phonetically.[4][1]

Cognate with Catalan hi, Old Occitan i and Italian vi.[1][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The pronoun is recorded from the 10th century; the Strasbourg Oaths (842) still have the older iv in non li iu er “I will not be there for him”.[7][4]

Semantic evolution

From “there”, of the place where one is or goes, y came to stand for any complement introduced by à (j'y pense “I'm thinking about it”), in contrast with en, which stands for one with de.[3][1] It is part of fixed phrases such as il y a “there is” and y compris “including”.[1][4]

Meanings

Pronoun

  1. there: at or to the place mentioned: j'y vais, il y habite.[1][3]
  2. Stands for a complement with à: to it, about it, in it: j'y pense, il y tient.[1][3]
  3. In fixed phrases: il y a, y compris, ça y est.[1]
  • en
  • ici
  • Latin hīc
  • Latin ibī

Usage notes

In popular speech y also stands for il (c'est-y pas malheureux, y chiale), a spelling of the popular pronunciation recorded from the early 19th century.[2][7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  4. ^ a b c d e Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  5. ^ a b c d e Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  7. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 4, 423a

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Y.” Etymologically, 18 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/y. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

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