Wusted. Looking very ill, grown worse.—N.W.
Y. Many words beginning with H, G, or a vowel, are usually sounded with Y prefixed, as Yacker, acre; Yeppern, apron; Yat, or Yeat, gate; Yeldin, a hilding; and Yerriwig, earwig.
Verbs ending in y often drop that letter. Thus empty and study become empt and stud.
The free infinitive in y was formerly much used, but is now dying out. It was used in a general question, as 'Can you mowy?' Were a special piece of work referred to, mowy would not be correct, the question then being simply 'Can you mow thuck there meäd?'
The following example of the 'free infinitive' is given in Cunnington MS.:—
'There is also here a Peculiar mode of forming active verbs from Nouns, which are generally in use as apellations for professions—take an Example. Well Mary, how do you get on in Life? what do you and your family do now to get a Living in these times—Wy Zur we do aal vind Zummut to do—Jan, ye know, he do Smithey [work as a smith] Jin the beggist wench do spinney the Little one do Lace makey—I do Chorey [go out as a Chore Woman] and the two Boys do Bird keepey—that is One works as a smith—one spins one makes Lace one goes out as a Chore woman & two are Bird keepers which Latter term were more to the purpose if expressed Bird frightener or driver.'
Yap, Yop. (1) To yelp as a dog (S.).—N. & S.W. (2) To talk noisily. 'What be a yopping there for?'—N.W.
*Yard-land. Land sufficient for a plough of oxen and a yard to winter them; an ancient copyhold tenure (D.).—Obsolete.
*Yard of land. A quarter of an acre, because formerly, in common lands forty poles long, the quarter acre was a land-yard wide (D.).—Obsolete.
Yea-nay. 'A yea-nay chap,' one who does not know his own mind.—N.W. (Clyffe Pypard.)