ytterbite 
ytterbite (it'er-bit), ». [< Ytterhy, in Sweden, 
+ -itt".~\ Same as (jadoJinite. 
ytterbium (i-ter'bi-\im), «. [NL., < Ytterhy, 
in Sweden.] Cliemieal symbol, Yb; atomic 
weight, 173 (f). An element discovered by 
Marignac in gadolinite, in regard to which 
little is known. The spectrum of this metal is be- 
lieved to be peculiar, and to justify its claim to be rec- 
ognized as a distinct element. 
yttria(it'ri-a), «. [XL.,< r«(r(ft(/), in Sweden.] 
A metallic oxid or earth, having the appearance 
of a white powder, which is insipid, insoluble 
in water, and infusible. It dissolves in acids, form- 
ing sweetish salts, which have often an amethyst color. 
It has no action on vegetable colors. Yttria is the sesqui- 
oxid of yttrium, Y2O3. It occurs in certain rare min- 
erals, and was first iletected in gadolinite found at Vtter- 
by, in Sweden. 
yttrialite (it'ri-al-it), «. [< yttria + -lite.'] A 
silicate of thoriiim and the yttrium earths, oc- 
curring in massive forms of a dai'k olive-green 
color. It is found with gadolinite and other 
rare species in Llano county, Texas. 
jrttric (it'rik), a. [< yttr-iiim + -(<;.] Related 
to or containing yttrium. 
3rttriferous(it-rit''e-rus),". [< NL. ///((•/«;«, q. v., 
+ L./m-e = E. />Vo/-l.] Containing or yield- 
ing yttrium. 
yttribus (it'ri-us), <i. [< yttria + -y«.s-.] Per- 
taining to yttria; containing yttria: as, the 
yttrioua oxid of eolumbium. 
jrttrium (it'ri-um), «. [NL.. < Tttcriby), in Swe- 
den.] Chemical symbol, Y; atomic weight, 89 (?). 
A metal, the base of the earth yttria. But little is 
known of this metal, and its atomic weight has never been 
satisfactorily determined. As obtained by Cleve, yttrium 
is a dark-gray powder exhil>iting a metallic luster under 
the burnisher. It belongs, witli various other rare metals, 
to the cerium group, in regard to nlost of which, from 
their scarcity and their resemblance to one another, but 
little has been definitely made out. 
yttrium-garnet (it'ri-um-giir"net), n. A vari- 
ety of garnet containing a small amount of the 
yttrium earths. 
yttrocerite (it-ro-se'rit), ». [< yttr(iiim) + 
cer(ium) + -ite".'\ A mineral occurring very 
sparingly at Finbo and Broddbo, near Falim, in 
Sweden, embedded in quartz, its color is violet- 
blue, inclining to gray and white. It occurs crystallized 
and massive, and is a fluoride of yttrium, cerium, and cal- 
cium. 
yttrocolumbite (it"ro-ko-lum'bit), «. [< yttrium 
+ eoli()iih{ic) + -ite'K] Same as yttrotantalite. 
yttrogummite (it-ro-gum'it), ;;. [< yttrium + 
(jummite.'] A mineral formed by the alteration 
of eleveite, and related to it as is ordinary gum- 
mite to uraninite. 
yttrotantalite (it-ro-tan'ta-lit), n. [< yttrium 
+ tantalite.~\ A rare mineral found at Ytterby, 
Sweden, of a black or brown color. It is a tan- 
talate of j^trium, uranium, and iron, with cal- 
cium. 
yttrotitanite (it-ro-ti'tan-it), ». [< yttrium + 
titanite.] Same as keiUiauitc. 
Experiments for its discovery are to be undertaken on 
rutiles, vttrotitanitey, wohlerites, etc. 
Jour. Franlclin I ml., CXXV. 338. 
yu, yuh (yo i, «. Tlie Chinese name for nephrite 
or jade. 
Yucatecan (yo-ka-tek'an), a. [< .Sp. Yucateco 
{< Yucatan, Yucatan) + -an.'} Pertaining or 
belonging to Yucatan, a region in southeastern 
Mexico. 
A fair sample of Yucatecan agriculture. 
U. S. Com. lieiK, 1888, .\o. Ixvii. p. 495. 
jnicca (yuk'ii), H, [< Sp. yucca, now yuca (NL. 
yucca) ; from the Amer. Ind. name.] 1. A plant 
of tlie genus i'ucca. — 2. [cap.'] [XL. (Dillen- 
ius, 171!)).] A genus of liliaceous plants, of the 
tribe Dracieiicx. It is characterized by a distinct 
woody stem, numerous panicled roundish or bell-shai>ed 
flowers with nearly or quite separate perianth-segments, 
small anthers sessile on a club-shaped filament, and an 
ovary with numerous ovules. There are about 20 species, 
natives of the Inited States, Mexico, and Central America. 
They are low upright perennials, sometimes trees, often 
with numerous brunches. Their leaves are linear-lan- 
ceolate and thick, usually rigid and spiny-tipped, ami 
crowded at the apex of the stem or branch. The Inmdsomc 
pendulous flowers are large and usually white or cream- 
eolorcd, attaining a length of 3 inches in }'. baccata, and 
form a showy terminal iiitlorcscence often several feet long, 
seated among clustered leaves or raised on a bracted pe- 
duncle. The fruit is either a dry loculicidal capsule or a 
I^endulous berry which is fleshy or pulpy, sometimes cylin- 
drical and elongated; in )'. bnrifolia it becomes dry and 
spongy. Tlie rootstock is sapouaceipus, and in }'. Trecti- 
leana and otherspecics is nnich used by the Mexicans for 
soap — being included with various Biml'lar products under 
the name ainole. The leaves yield a coarse fiber; the 
taller species also produce a fibi-ous wood which is lieavy, 
spongy, and dillicult to cut or work ; it shows distinct 
concentric rings, unlike that of most mouocotvledrpnoiis 
plants. Some species a!-e said to reach the height of Tii) 
feet and the thickness of .'. feet. The species arc most 
immerous in the soutliern United States and nnrthern 
1? f;lorioi! 
7026 
Mexico ; one, Y. angtut^olia, extends from New Mexico 
to the Dakotas; three are Californian; three are well- 
known plants of the Southern States, >'. Jilameiitosa, Y. 
aloifoUa, Y. gloriosa (including Y. recurei/olia), all deco- 
rative plants, mostly stem- 
less, tliriving In poor soil, 
even in drifting sand of 
the coast; their flowers 
are white, tinged some- 
times with green, yellow, or 
purple ; they furnish a 
liarsh, l)rittie, l>ut very 
strong fiber, called dagger- 
Jiber, used for packing and 
as a nide cordage. Kroni 
their sharp-pointed leaves 
with threads hanging from 
their edges, Y. filamentoisa 
and Y. aloifolia are known 
as Ada in' 8 needle aiid 
thread and B&Eve's thread; 
the former is also called 
silk-gram (which see), and 
sometimes bear-grass, its 
young pulpy stems being 
eaten by bears. Y. aloi- 
folia is also known in the 
Southern States and in the 
W est IndieB as S2)amsh dag- 
ger and dagger plant. Y. 
gloriosa is the dwarf palnietto, or mound-lily. The preced- 
ing and several others are favorites in cultivation, cliiefly 
under tlie name yucca; 8 species cultivated near Nice now 
begin to form a characteristic feature of some parts of the 
Mediterranean coast. Some species yield an edible fruit, 
as Y. baccata, the Spanish bayonet, or Mexican banana, a 
native of Mexico, extending into western Texas, New Mexi- 
co, and southern parts of Colorado and California ; a strong 
coarse fil)er, made into rope by tlie Mexicans, is procured 
from the leaves by macerating them in water. Tlie name 
Spanish bayoiu't is also applied to other species, especial- 
ly to Y. constricta (F. elata), which occurs in Mexico and 
the United States from western Texas to Utah, grows from 
9 to 15 feet high, and produces a light-brown or yellowish 
wood; and to 1'. Treculeana {incl•a^^m^ Y. canalimdata\ 
a long-leafed species of Texas and Mexico, sometimes 25 
feet high and 2 feet thick, producing a bitter bnt sweetish 
fruit wliich is cooked and eaten by the Mexicans. It has 
its branches all near the top, produces great numbers of 
showy white flowers of a porcelain luster, followed by an 
edible lierry. Y. brevi/olia, known sis Jonkiia-tree, native 
of Arizona and southern parts of Utah, Nevada, and Cali- 
fornia, a tree sometimes 40 feet high and about 3 feet 
in diameter, forms in the Mohave desert a straggling 
open forest; its light soft wood is sometimes made into 
paper-pulp, Y. Whipplei of southern California is much 
admiredfor its l)eauty in cultivation. Y. Yucatana of Cen- 
tral America is branched from the base. 
yucca-borer (yuk'n-bor^er),*?. 1. A large North 
American oastnioid moth, 
Mcffatlnjmus yuccfp, whose 
larva bores into the roots of 
plants of the genus Yucca. 
— 2. A Californian weevil, 
Yuccahor us frontalis. 
Yuccaborus (yu - kab ' o- 
rus), n. [NL. (Leconte, 
1876), < Yucca + (ir. ftopd^. 
devouring, gluttonous.] A 
genus of weevils, of the 
family Calandridie, con- 
taining a single species, 
Y. J'ronfaU.Sy of California, 
the yucca-borer. 
yucca-fertilizer (yuk'U- 
fer*ti-li-zer), ». A tineid 
Yule 
winged woodpecker, of eastern North America. 
Colaptes auratus. See cut under flicker^, [Lo- 
cal, U. S.] 
yuft, «• Bame anjuft torjiichten, 
yug, yuga (yug, yo'ga), n. [Hind, yug, < Skt. 
ytq/a, an age, < -s/ yuj, join: see yoke^,'] One 
of the ages into which the Hindus divide the 
duration or existence of the world. 
yuh, w. See yu. 
Yullina, n. [NL. (Hodgson, 1836), from a na- 
tive name.] A genus of timeliine birds, also 
^ licca-fertiiizer {Pronuba 
yuccasella). 
^ , male, ? , female chrys- 
.ilis; /, dorsal, m, lateral 
view ; lower figure showing 
end of alxloiiieii of male. 
motli, Proiiuba yuecamclla, ■Li"': shows n.-,turai size.) 
whicli.ljy means of euriotis- 
ly modified motitli-parts. is eiialiled to pollen- 
ize and thus fertilize the ovary of plants of the 
genus Yuc- 
ca, causing 
a develop- 
ment of tlie 
seed-pod, in 
which its 
larva feeds. 
Also called 
yucca-polleii- 
i~er. 
yuchten, ». 
SameasjHc/)- 
ten. 
Yucca-fertilizer i_Prffttitf>ii yuccasflla). 
a, larva ; b, moth with wings folded : c, female 
iiioth with wings expanded (all natural size '. (t. 
side view of one joint of larva; ^,head of larva,ftx>in 
Ijelow ; f, same, from above ; i^. leg of larva ; h, 
maxilla ; i, mandible : j, labial palpi and spin- 
neret ; *, antenna (all enlarged). 
yuck (yuk), 
r. i. [Also 
yu\;c, yook, 
youk: an un- 
assibilated 
form (perhaps after D. jeuleii, joVen = LG. 
jiicleii = G.juclcen) of itch. ult. AS. j/iccaii, itch: 
see itch.] To itch. [Prov. Eng. and Scotch.] 
yuck (yuk), "• [< .'/"'*, r.] The itch, mange, 
or scabies. [Pi'ov. Eug.] 
yuckel (yuk'el), )(. Same as yockel for hicl- 
H-alt. Also yukkel. [Prov. Eng.] 
I fculs sumliow a8 peert as a pukkel. 
T. Umjhes, Tom Brown at Oxford, II. xviii. 
yucker (yuk'er), n. [Imitative, but prob. con- 
nected with yuclcl.] The flicker, or golden- 
Yuhijtn sularis. 
called by Hodgson I'dlyodon, and by Cabanis 
Odonterus. Four species occur in the Himalayan re- 
gion and western China — 1'. gvlarU, Y. diadeinata, Y. occi- 
pitalis, and }'. nigrimentum. 
yuke, r. and h. Same as yvcl: 
3nikkel, ». Another spelling of yuckel for hicli- 
itall. 
3rillan (yS'lau), u. [Chinese, < ^k, yuh, a gem 
(jade), -I- tan, plant.] A Chinese magnolia, 
Magnolia con.ijricua, with abundant large white 
flowers, appearing in spring before the leaves. 
It is a fine ornaraental tree, In China 30 or 40 feet high, 
but in Europe and America smaller ; in the United States 
it is only half-Iiardy at the north. A kindred hardy spe* 
cies, also from China, is M. obovata {.M. purpurea), with 
flowers pink-purple on the outside and white within, be- 
ginning to appear beftre the leaves. 
Yule (vol), n. [Also dial., in eomp., yu- {yu- 
huteh, yu-l)locl; etc.); more prop., according to 
the ME. form, spelled "yool; early mod. E. 
sometimes cwie; < ME. yol, yole, sol, Decem- 
ber, < AS. (/edl, gehhol, gehhel (ML. Giulus), 
December (se ^rra geola, December, se sftera 
t/edla, January, the months beginning respec- 
tively before and after the winter solstice), = 
Icel. Jul = Sw. Dan. Jul (> MLG. jid). Yule, the 
(Jhristmas feast ; = Goth.jiuleis in fruma jiuleis 
(appar. ' first Yule '), applied, in a fragment of a 
calendar, appar. to November. The mod. E. use 
seems to be due to Scand. ratherthan tothe AS. 
Origin unknown ; according to a common view, 
the word is identified with Icel. hjol. wheel, 
with the explanation tliat it refers to the sun's 
'wheeling' or turning at the winter solstice. 
This notion, absurd with regard to the alleged 
connection of thought, is also phonetically im- 
possible ; the AS. word for nhcel was hireol, and 
could have no connection w ith gcdl. Another 
explanation connects the word with yatrl^, 
yowl, howl, cry; as if yule was orig. the 'noise' 
of revelry. This is also untenable. The Goth. 
jiuleis implies an AS. "iiile, an unstable form 
variable to *ge6le or geol (= Icel. jol) ; the forms 
gehhol, gehhel, are rare, and may be mere blun- 
ders.] The season or feast of Christmas. 
1 crnue in this court a crystemas gomen [sport]. 
For hit is joi & nwe ver. 
Sir Gau-aijne ami the Green Knight (E. E. T. S.), 1. 284. 
He made me goiuane at jote, and gafe nie gret gyftes. 
MorU Arthure (E. E. T. S,), 1. 2«29. 
At eu'le we wonten ganibole, dauuce. 
To carrole, and to sing, 
To haue gud spiced sewe, and roate. 
And plum-pics for a king. 
Warner, Albion's England, v. 113. 
They liring me sorrow touch'd with joy, 
The merry merry hells of Yule. 
Tennyson, In Meniorinm, xxviii. 
Yule block, clog, or log. Same as Christmas log. See 
Christmas. 
A small portion of the yule-Mock w.is always preserved 
till tlie joyous season came again, when it was tised for 
lighting the new Christmas block. 
Hone, Year Book, col. 1110. 
The burning of the Yule log is an ancient Christmas cere- 
mony, transmitted to us from our Scandinavian ancestors, 
who, at their feast of Juul, at the winter solstice, used to 
kindle huge bonfires in hoiionr of their god Thor. 
Chambers'ii Bonk of Days. II. 7S5. 
