Meanings
wye1
plural wyes · alternative why · alternative wy
- The name of the Latin script letter Y/y.
Thus first C checks to see if ex and wye are equal. The resulting value of 1 or 0 (true or false) then is compared to the value of zee.
1984 Waite, Prata & Martin, C (Computer Program Language), p. 1901 more example
It said, in a whispering, buzzing voice, "Gee-you-ess-ess-ay-dash-em-ee-ar-ar-wye-dash-em-eye-en-gee-oh-dash-pee-eye-pee-dash-pee-ee-ar-ar-wye-dash-pee-eye-en-gee-oh."
2004, Will Rogers, The Stonking Steps, page 170 - A Y-shaped object: a wye level, wye-connected. Especially a Y-shaped connection of three sections of road or railroad track.
By going around the wye, a train can change direction.
1 more example
A wye is used to split a single line [hose or cable] into two lines.
present singular third person wyes · participle present wying · participle present wyeing · participle past wyed · past wyed · alternative why · alternative wy
- transitiveTo make something into a wye (letter Y) shape.
When a hose line is divided into two or more lines, these lines are known as wyed lines.
- transitiverail transportTo reverse the direction of a train using a wye.
Since the train didn't have a control cab at the other end, they wyed the train to turn it around for the trip back to the city.
1 more example
Committee contend that when these trains are wyed at Springfield, the road passenger crews are performing yard work at that point to eliminate switching by yard crews.
Wye2
- A river in Wales and England, including Powys, Herefordshire, Monmouthshire and Gloucestershire, the fifth-longest in the UK.
- A river in the Peak District of Derbyshire, England, which flows into the River Derwent.
- A river in Buckinghamshire, England, which joins the Thames at Bourne End.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe 25th letter of the Roman alphabet
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
wye · noun, verb
Attested as wi c. 1200. Of uncertain origin. Perhaps borrowed from Old French ui or gui.
Full word history & related roots →Wye · proper noun
- Old Englishwæg“wave”
- Brythonic
- EnglishWye
From Brythonic; compare Welsh Gwy. Lye and Bosworth instead suggest Old English wæg (“wave”).
More words from Brythonic, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic إِي يُونَانِيَّة, وَايْ
- إِي يُونَانِيَّة (ʔī yūnāniyya)name of the letter Y, y
- وَايْ (wāy)name of the letter Y, y
Basque larriz
- larrizname of the letter Y, y
Bengali ওয়াই
- ওয়াই (ōẇai)name of the letter Y, y
Bulgarian и́грек, Уай
- и́грек (ígrek)name of the letter Y, y
- Уай (Uaj)the river
Catalan i grega
- i greganame of the letter Y, y
Czech ypsilon
- ypsilonname of the letter Y, y
Dutch Griekse ij, i-grec
- Griekse ijname of the letter Y, y
- i-grecname of the letter Y, y
- ypsilonname of the letter Y, y
Esperanto ipsilono
- ipsilononame of the letter Y, y
Finnish yy
- yyname of the letter Y, y
French i grec
- i grecname of the letter Y, y
German Ypsilon, Y grec
- Ypsilonname of the letter Y, y
- Y grecname of the letter Y, y
Greek γουάι
- γουάι (gouái)name of the letter Y, y
Hawaiian ieta
- ietaname of the letter Y, y
Hindi वाई
- वाई (vāī)name of the letter Y, y
Hungarian ipszilon
- ipszilonname of the letter Y, y
Icelandic ypsilon
- ypsilonname of the letter Y, y
Indonesian ye, igrek
- yename of the letter Y, y
- igrekname of the letter Y, y
Irish yé, an Ghwy
- yéname of the letter Y, y
- an Ghwythe river
Italian i greca, ipsilon
- i grecaname of the letter Y, y
- ipsilonname of the letter Y, y
Japanese ワイ
- ワイ (wai)name of the letter Y, y
Korean 와이
- 와이 (wai)name of the letter Y, y
Latin ȳ, i graeca
- ȳname of the letter Y, y
- i graecaname of the letter Y, y
Malay wai
- wainame of the letter Y, y
Persian ایگرک
- ایگرک (igrek)name of the letter Y, y
Polish igrek
- igrekname of the letter Y, y
Portuguese ípsilon, i grego
- ípsilonname of the letter Y, y
- i gregoname of the letter Y, y
Romanian i grec
- i grecname of the letter Y, y
Russian уа́й, уа́й
- уа́й (uáj)name of the letter Y, y
- уа́й (uáj)name of the letter Y, y
- и́грек (ígrek)name of the letter Y, y
- ипсило́н (ipsilón)name of the letter Y, y
Slovak ypsilon
- ypsilonname of the letter Y, y
Spanish i griega, ye
- i grieganame of the letter Y, y
- yename of the letter Y, y
Thai วาย
- วาย (waai)name of the letter Y, y
Turkish ye
- yename of the letter Y, y
Vietnamese i dài, i-cờ-rét
- i dàiname of the letter Y, y
- i-cờ-rétname of the letter Y, y
Welsh y, Gwy
- yname of the letter Y, y
- Gwythe river
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with wye
All rhymes →Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
wye. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wye
“wye.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wye. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wye,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wye.
Source: wye on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.