y-

y-

a prefix occurring in certain obsolete words ( ywis ) and especially in archaic past participles: yclad.
Also, i-.

Origin:
Middle English y-, i- (reduced variant a-), Old English ge-, prefix with perfective, intensifying, or collective force; cognate with Old Frisian, Old Saxon ge-, gi-, Gothic ga-, German ge-; compare perhaps Latin com- com-

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Word Origin & History

y-
perfective prefix, in y-clept, etc.; a deliberate archaism, introduced by Spenser and his imitators, representing an authentic M.E. prefix, from O.E. ge-, originally meaning "with, together" but later a completive or perfective element, from P.Gmc. *ga-. It is still living in Ger. and Du. ge-, and survives,
disguised, in some Eng. words (e.g. alike, aware).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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00:10
Y- is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
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