yclad 
ycladt. An obsolete form of clad, a preterit 
and past participle of clothe. 
Yclad in costly garments fit for tragicke Stage. 
Spenser, F. Q., III. xli. 3. 
Her words yclad with wisdom's majesty. 
Shttk., 2 Hen. VI., i. 1. 33. 
yclept, ycleped. Forms of the preterit and 
past participle of clepe. 
Y-crOSS (wi'kros), ii. 1. A Y-shaped cross, 
suggesting the position of Christ as crucifiea 
with the arms raised: often an ornament on 
chasubles. — 2. A Y-braneh or Y; a three-way 
joint or connection. 
yd. A contraction of yard^. 
ydlet, "• An obsolete spelling of idle. 
ydradt. A form of drad. obsolete past parti- 
ciple of dread. 
Yet notliing did he dread, but ever was ydrad. 
Spenser, F. Q., I. i. 2. 
ye^, you (ye, jo), pron.pl. (used also instead of 
sing.); \>oss.yourovyours,6hi.you,&omet\meiiye. 
[Two forms of the same word, representing his- 
torically the nom. and obj. respectively of the 
personal pronoun used as the plural of thou (see 
thou) : (a) Nom. (and voe.) ye, early mod. E. also 
yee, < ME . )/e, ge, < AS. (/e, i/e = 08. g'i, qi = OFries. 
<jl, i = Mb. fjhy, D. (Jij = hQ.ji = OHG. MHQ. 
i); Gr. ihr = Icel. er, ier=z Sw. Dan. i = Goth, jus, 
ye, = (with additional sxiffix) Gr. vfielg, vfi/iec = 
Skt. yiiyam, ye ; a pron. used as the pi. of thou, 
with which it is not etymologically related. 
(l>) Nom. you, orig. obj. (dat. and ace.), tak- 
ing the place of the nom. ye, because of the 
much greater frequency of the dat. and ace, 
and the tendency to make the three cases yc, 
your, you, conform to one base, a tendency as- 
sisted also by the fact that ye and you are usu- 
ally unaccented, and therefore have the vowel 
more or less obscurely pronounced ; <ME. you, 
gou, yow, < AS. edw, dat., cow (poet, edwic), aoc, 
= OS. iu = OFries. iuwe, iwe = D. ?« = OHG. iu = 
Sw. Dan. i (prop, nom.) = Goth, izwis, you; ef. 
Gr. ifi'iv, dat., v/idg, ace. The confusion of the 
two forms, and the use of you as nom., began in 
early mod. E., and is conspicuous in the Eliza- 
bethan dramas. In the authorized version of 
the Bible (1611), in which many usages already 
regarded as archaisms were purposely retained, 
the distinction between ye, nom., and you, obj., 
is carefully preserved. Te still survives in re- 
ligious and poetical use, while in ordinary col- 
loquial and literary use you has superseded it. 
In provincial use, as in Irish, ye occurs for you 
both in nom. and obj., but in the obj. it is to 
be regarded rather as a shortening of the en- 
clitic you : thus, / tell yon, I tell ye. The ye may 
be further reduced, as in thank you > thank ye 
> thankee or thanky ; how do you do > how do ye 
do > hoic d'ye do > howdy do > howdy, etc.] The 
personal pronoun of the second person, in the 
plural number: now commonly applied also 
(originally with some notion of distinction or 
compliment, as in the ease of the royal we) to a 
single individual, in place of the singular forms 
thee and thou — a use resulting in the partial 
degradation of thou to a term of familiarity or 
of contempt. Ye is archaic, and little used ex- 
cept in exalted address and poetry, (a) As care- 
fully discritninateil. especially in the older English, the 
nominative anil vocative being ye and the dative and 
accusative you. 
He swor formest [first] 
That je suhuld haue no harm, but hendely for gode 
He praide ^ou com speke with him. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), 1. 26!). 
He sane ,jow fyue wittes 
For to worshepen hym ther-with while je lyuen here. 
Pierg Plowman (C), ii. l^. 
And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until 
we come again unto you. Ex. xxiv. 14. 
Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men 
of honest report. Acta vi. 3. 
Yee Mannians, arme your selues, for feare of afterelaps. 
Hahhiyt'g Voyages, I. 16. 
Speed, Pegasus I — ye strains of great and small, 
Ode, epic, elegy, have at you all ! 
llyron, Eng. Bards and Scotch Reviewers. 
(&) As used without discrimination of case-form between 
nominative and objective. 
Ye a great master are in your degree. 
Sjmiier, Mother Hub. Tale, 1. 646. 
You lie, ye rogue. Shak., 1 Hen. IV., ii. 2. ."iD. 
The more shame for ye, holy men I thought ye. 
Shak., Hen. VIII., iii. 1. 102. 
You meaner beauties of the night, . . . 
What are you wheii the moon shall rise ? 
.Sir H. Wotton, To the Queen of Bohemia. 
They have, like good sumpters, laid ye down their hors 
load of citations and fathers at your dore. 
Milton, Church-Government, ii., Int 
7012 
(e) As used for a single subject. 
Tho ye count me still the child. 
Sweet mother, do ye love the child ? 
Tennyson, Gareth and Lynette. 
To you. See toi.— You're another, a familiar form of 
the tu quoque argument. See tu quoque. 
I And little to interest and less to edify me in these in- 
ternational bandyings of "You're another." 
Lowell, Democracy. 
You-uns (literally, you ones), you. Compare we-uns, un- 
der we. [Dialectal, southern U. S.] 
"Mirandy Jane," the old woman interrupted, . . . 
" 'pears like I hev hed the trouble o' raisin' a idjit in you- 
uns ! " 
M. N. Murfree, Prophet of the Great Smoky Mountains, i. 
Bat I'll tell the yam to youans. 
John Hay, Mystery of Gilgal. 
ye^t, adv. A Middle English form of yea. 
ye^t, 1. An obsolete variant of eye^. 
yea ( ya ), adv. [< ME. ye, ge, yai, yo,< AS. ged = 
OS. ja = OFries. ie, ge = D. ja = LG. ja = 
OHG. MHG. jd, G. ja = Icel. jd = Dan. Sw. 
ja = Goth, ja, yes, jai, truly, verily; ;perhaps 
= Lith. ja in ja sakyti, say yes, and Gr. r], truly 
year 
There is an example of the rejection of a needless sub- 
tlety in the case of our affirmative particles, yea and yes, 
nay and no, which were formerly distinguished in r.se, as 
the two afflrmatives still are in our sister-tongues, the 
Danish and Swedish. The distinction was that yea and 
imy were answers to questions framed in the affirmative ; 
as. Will he go ? Yea or Nay. But if the question was 
framed in the negative, Will he not go? the answer was 
Yes or No. G. P. Marsh, Lects. on Eng. Lang., xxvi. 
"What? sone," seide the couherde, "seidestow i was 
here?" 
*' ,ja, sire, sertes," seide the childe. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. a), 1. 268. 
" Whl carestow, " sede the queue, "knew thow noujt the 
sothe . . . ?" 
"jt«, madanie," sede the maide. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), 1. 3184. 
Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these 
things? Tliey say unto him, Yea, Lord. Mat. xiii. 51. 
yea (ya), n. [< yea, adv.] 1 . An affirmation. — 
2. An affirmative vote ; hence, one who votes 
in the affirmative : as, to call the yeas and nays. 
— To call for the yeaa and nays, in parliamentaiy us- 
age, to demand that a vote be taken on any measure by 
the calling of the roll, each member's answer being re- 
., „ „ . . , . corded. 
Connection with AS. ge = Goth, jah, also, and, yea,d^, v. i. See yede"^. 
and with J^. jam, now, Skt. ya, who, is uncer- yead'^(yed), ». A dialectal form of ftead. Balli- 
tain. Hence ult. ^es.] 1. Yes; ay: a word iceH. 
yea-forsooth (ya'f6r-soth'), a. Noting one say- 
ing to anything yea and forsooth, which lat- 
ter was not a phrase of genteel society. 
A rascally yea-forsooth knave. 
Shak., 2 Hen. IV., L 2. 41. 
that expresses affirmation or assent: the oppo 
site of nay : as. Will you go ? Tea. 
Swear not at all ; . . . but let your communication be 
Yea, yea; Nay, nay. Mat. v. 87. 
You promise to bear Faith and Loyalty to him : Say 
Yea. And King Edward said Yea, and kissed the King of veaifhet n A yacht. 
We saw there a barke which was of Dronton, & three or 
foure Norway yeaghes. Hakluyfs Voyages, I. 294. 
yean (yen), r. t. and ). [< ME. *genen, *ge-enen, 
< AS. *ge-ednian, ge-edcnian, bring forth, be- 
France on the Mouth, as Lord of the Fee. 
Baker, Chronicles, p. 117. 
2. Indeed; verily; truly; it is so, or is it so? 
used to introduce a subject. 
Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the 
garden? Gen. iii. 1. 
Yea, mistress, are you so peremptory ? 
Shak., Pericles, ii. 5. 73. 
Him I loved not. Why? 
I deem'd him fool ? !/««, so ? 
Tennyson, Pelleas and Ettarre. 
3. Used to intimate that something is to be 
added by way of intensiveness or amplification : 
Not this alone ; not only so but also ; what is 
more. Compare the similar use of 7iay. 
Confess Christ and his truth, not only in heart, but also 
in tongue, yea, in very deed, which few gospellers do. 
J. Bradford, Letters (Parker Soc., 1853), IL 202. 
I therein do rejoice ; yea, and will rejoice. Phil. i. 18. 
One that composed your beauties, yea, and one 
To whom you are but as a form in wax. 
Shak., M. N. D., i. 1. 48. 
Many of you, yea most, 
Return no more. Tennyson, Holy Grail. 
4. In the authorized version of the Bible, so; 
thus ; true ; real ; consistent. 
All the promises of God in him are yea, and in him 
Amen. 2 Cor. i. 20. 
Yea is now used only in the sacred, solemn, or formal 
style. Yea, being mainly a word of assent, was formerly 
• used chiefly in answer to questions framed affirmatively ; 
yes, a stronger term, was chiefly used in answer to ques- 
tions containing a negative or otherwise implying a doubt. 
But the distinction does not appear to have been rigidly 
maintained ; and the assertions of the following quotations 
about yea and yes, like those about nay and no (see noi), 
must be taken witli some allowance. 
I woulde not here note by the way that Tyndall here 
translateth no for nay, for it is but a trifle and mistaking 
of the englishe worde, sauing that ye shoulde see that 
he, whych in two so plain englishe wordes, and so commen 
as is naye and no, cannot tell when he should take the 
tone, and when the tother, is not, for translating Into 
englishe, a man very mete. For the \ae of those two 
wordes in aunswering to a question is this. No (read nay] 
aunswereth the question framed by the afflrmatiue. As, 
for ensample, if a manne should aske Tindall hymselfe : 
"ys an heretike mete to translate holy scripture into 
englishe ? " Lo, to thys question, if he will aunswere trew 
englishe, he muste aunswere nay, and not tio. But and 
if the question be asked hym thus, lo : "is not an here- 
tyque mete to translate holy scripture into english?" 
To this question, lo, if he wil aunswer true english, he 
must aunswere no, & not nay. And a lyke difference is 
there betwene these two aduerbs, ye and yes. For if the 
questeion bee framed vnto Tindall by thafflrmatiue in 
thys fashion : " If an heretiiiue falsely translate the newe 
testament into englishe, to make hys false heresyes seeme 
the worde of Godde, be hys bookes worthy to be burned ? " 
To thys (juestion asked in thys wyse, wy he wyl aunswere 
true englishe, he must aunswere ye, and not yes. But nowe 
if the questioTi be asked liym thus, lo, by the negatiue : 
"If an heretike falsely translate the newe testament 
into englishe, to make hys false heresyes seme the word 
of God, be not his liokes well worthy to be burned?" To 
thys question in thys fashion framed, if he wyll aunswere 
trew englyshe, he ntaye not aunswere ye, but he must 
aunswere yes, and say " !/e«, niary, be they, bothe the 
translaclon and the translatour, and al that wyll holde 
wyth them." And thys thing, lo, though it be no great 
matter, yet I haue thought It good to glue Tindall warn- 
ing of, because I would haue him write true one way or 
other, that though I can not make him by no meane to 
write true matter, I would haue him yet at the lest wise 
write true englishe. 
Sir T. JI/or«, TheConfutacion of Tyndales Aunswere, made 
[Anno 1632, book iii., Workes, p. 44& 
come pregnant, < eacen, ge-edcen, gravid, teem- 
ing : see ea«.] To bring forth young, as a goat 
or sheep ; lamb. 
That wherein the courteous man takes most sauour is 
... to sell his wine deare, . . . his eawes to haue good 
yeaning, not to raine in April, and to haue much wheate 
in Maie. Guevara, Letters (tr. by Hellowes, 1677), p. 254. 
So many weeks ere the poor fools will yean. 
Shak., 3 Hen. VI. (od. Knight), ii. 5. 36. 
Von 's one hath yean'd a fearful prodigy, 
Some monstrous misshapen balladry. 
Marston, Scourge of Villanie, vi. 39. 
Weak as a lamb the hour that it is yeaned. 
Wordsworth, Hart-Leap Well. 
Trenchant time behoves to hurry 
All to yean and all to bury. 
Emerson, Wood-notes, ii. 
yeanling (yen'ling), «. [< yean + -ling^. Cf. 
canlingJ\ The young of sheep or goats; a 
lamb ; a kid ; an eanling : sometimes used at- 
tributively. 
To their store 
They add the poor man's yeanling, and dare sell 
Both fleece and carcass, not gi'ing him the fell! 
B. Jonson, Sad Shepherd, L 2. 
Lambs, or yeanliTigkids. Milton, P. L., iii. 434. 
year (yer), ». [< ME. ycer, yer, ger, < AS. gear 
ger (pi. gear) = OS. jar, ger = OFries. jar, jer 
= MD. jaer, D. jaar, jar = LG. jaar = OHG. 
MHG. jar, G. jahr = Icel. dr = Sw. dr = Dan. 
aar = Goth, jer, year; prob. orig. 'spring,' the 
opening of the year, = OBulg. jarii, spring, = Gr. 
(j/x)f, a season, year, upa, season, spring, year, 
hour, = Zend ydre, a year. From the Gr. upa 
comes ult. E. hour, which is thus a doublet of 
year: see hour. Hence ult. yore.] 1. A full 
round of the seasons ; the period of the earth's 
revolution round the sun: more accurately, 
the interval between one vernal equinox and 
the next, or one complete mean apparent cir- 
cuit of the ecliptic bj- the sun, or mean mo- 
tion through 360° of longitude. This is speciflcally 
the tropical year, which determines the seciuence of the 
seasons (sometimes also called the astronomical or solar 
year). Its length is about 366 days, 6 hours, 48 minutes, 
46 seconds. Owing to the precession of the equinoxes, 
this is less than the length of the sidereal ytar, the true 
period of the sun's revolution, or his return to the same 
Elace iu relation to the fixed stars, which is 365 days, 6 
ours, 9 minutes, 9.3 seconds. See also styled, n., 9. Ab- 
breviated y., yr. 
Hence — 2. The time in which any planet com- 
pletes a revolution round the sun : as, the year 
of Jupiter or of Saturn. — 3. A space of about 
365 days, used in the civil or religious reckoning 
of time ; especially, the usual period of 365 or 
366 days, divided into twelve calendar months, 
now reckoned as beginning with the 1st of Janu- 
ary and ending with the 31st of December: as, 
the 2/ear 1891 (see te(7ai«ear,below); also, aperi- 
od of approximately the same length in other 
calendars. Compare calendar. — 4. A space of 
twelve calendar months without regard to the 
point from which they are reckoned: as, he 
sailed on June 1st, and was absent just one year. 
