ى

The twenty-eighth letter of the alphabet: called يَاءٌ. It is one of the letters termed soft, or weak, and is a letter of prolongation and of augmentation. As a numeral it signifies Ten. -A2- ى for يا frequently occurs in the phrase يَرَسُولَ اللّٰهِ, and in يَأَيُّهَا. ى inserted to give fulness of sound to kesreh, see art. ا. Used لِلإِنْكَارِ, see الف الاستنكار in art. ا. ى with sheddeh followed by ة converts a part. n. into a quasi-inf. n., as المَضْرُوبِيَّةُ, “ the being beaten. ” So, by the relative ى, يَاءُ النِسْبَةِ, substs. and even particles are converted into abstract nouns of quality, as اِسْمِيَّةٌ and كَيْفِيَّةٌ. -A3- يَا is the most common of vocative particles, used in calling to him who is near; [like O!]; and to him who is distant; [like Ho there! Holloa!]; and to him who is between near and distant; [like ho! what ho!]; (Ibn-el-Kátib, in the Káfiyeh, cited in TA, art. أَيَا.) Pronounced with imáleh, see art. إِمَّا. يَالَ for يَا الَ, see ل. يَايَا and يَايَهْ, see art. أَيَا.