| yakin | <zoology> A large Asiatic antelope (Budorcas taxicolour) native of the higher parts of the Himalayas and other lofty mountains. Its head and neck resemble those of the ox, and its tail is like that of the goat. Synonym: budorcas. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| yakoots | <ethnology> A nomadic Mongolian tribe native of Northern Siberia, and supposed to be of Turkish stock. They are mainly pastoral in their habits. Alternative forms: Yakuts. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| yaksha | A kind of demigod attendant on Kuvera, the god of wealth. Origin: Skr. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| yalah | The oil of the mahwa tree. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| yam | <botany> A large, esculent, farinaceous tuber of various climbing plants of the genus Dioscorea; also, the plants themselves. Mostly natives of warm climates. The plants have netted-veined, petioled leaves, and pods with three broad wings. The commonest species is D. Sativa, but several others are cultivated. Chinese yam, a plant (Dioscorea Batatas) with a long and slender tuber, hardier than most of the other species. Wild yam. A common plant (Dioscorea villosa) of the Eastern United States, having a hard and knotty rootstock. An orchidaceous plant (Gastrodia sesamoides) of Australia and Tasmania. Origin: Pg. Inhame, probably from some native name. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| yama | The king of the infernal regions, corresponding to the Greek Pluto, and also the judge of departed souls. In later times he is more exclusively considered the dire judge of all, and the tormentor of the wicked. He is represented as of a green colour, with red garments, having a crown on his head, his eyes inflamed, and sitting on a buffalo, with a club and noose in his hands. Origin: Skr. Yama a twin. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| yamma | <zoology> The llama. See: Llama. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| yamp | <botany> An umbelliferous plant (Carum Gairdneri); also, its small fleshy roots, which are eaten by the Indians from Idaho to California. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| yang deficiency | In the yin-yang system of philosophy and medicine, a lack of vital energy (called yangxu in chinese). It manifests itself in various systemic and organic diseases. (12 Dec 1998) |
| yanggona | A Fijian drink made from the powdered root of Piper methysticum (family Piperaceae); excessive drinking of it causes a state of hyperexcitability and a loss of power in the legs; chronic intoxication induces roughening of the skin and a state of debility. See: methysticum. Synonym: kava, yanggona. Origin: Fijian name (05 Mar 2000) |
| Yangtze oedema | <dermatology, microbiology> A migrating oedema, or creeping eruption, caused by cutaneous infection by larvae of Gnathostoma spinigerum. Synonym: Yangtze oedema. (05 Mar 2000) |
| Yangtze Valley fever | Schistosomiasis caused by schistosoma japonicum. It is endemic in the far east and affects the bowel, liver, and spleen. (12 Dec 1998) |
| yankee | A nickname for a native or citizen of new England, especially one descended from old New England stock; by extension, an inhabitant of the Northern States as distinguished from a Southerner; also, applied sometimes by foreigners to any inhabitant of the United States. "From meanness first this Portsmouth Yankey rose, And still to meanness all his conduct flows." (Oppression, A poem by an American (Boston, 1765)) According to Thierry, a corruption of Jankin, a diminutive of John, and a nickname given to the English colonists of Connecticut by the Dutch settlers of new York. Dr. W. Gordon ("Hist. Of the Amer. War," ed, 1789, vol. I, pp. 324, 325) says it was a favorite cant word in Cambridge, Mass, as early as 1713, and that it meant excellent; as, a yankee good horse, yankee good cider, etc. Cf. Scot yankie a sharp, clever, and rather bold woman, and Prov. E. Bow-yankees a kind of leggins worn by agricultural laborers. Of or pertaining to a Yankee; characteristic of the Yankees. "The alertness of the Yankee aspect." (Hawthorne) Yankee clover. Origin: Commonly considered to be a corrupt pronunciation of the word English, or of the French word Anglais, by the native Indians of America. (06 Aug 1998) |
| yapock | <zoology> A South American aquatic opossum (Chironectes variegatus) found in Guiana and Brazil. Its hind feet are webbed, and its fore feet do not have an opposable thumb for climbing. Synonym: water opossum. Alternative forms: yapack. Origin: Probably from the river Oyapok, between French Guiana and Brazil. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| yapon | <botany> Same as Yaupon. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |