three species, of which the Xiphias Gladius, or common sword-fish, is of the length of twenty feet, and is particularly distinguished by its upper jaw being stretched to a considerable distance beyond the lower, flat above and beneath. It is an extremely rapacious fish, and finds in the above instrument a weapon of attack and destruction able to procure it the most ample supplies. It is found in the Mediterranean, chiefly about Sicily, and is used by the inhabitants of that island, for food. See Plate Nat. Hist. fig. 49.

Y.

Y, the twenty-third letter of the alphabet, is a

consonant at the beginning of words, and placed before all vowels, as in yard, yield, young, &c. : at the end of words it is a vowel, and is substituted for the sound of the i, as cry, descry, &e. It is seldom used in the middle of words except in those derived from the Greek, as in chyle, chyme, &c. though in dying, flying, &c. it is admitted into the middle of pure English words.

YACHT, in naval architecture, a vessel of from thirty to one hundred and sixty tons burden, and furnished with mast and sails. A yacht is intended for carrying passengers, and is usually decorated. An English yacht is intended to go to sea, but the Dutch ones are principally used on rivers and canals.

YEAR, in chronology, a given period or cycle. Many ancient nations called a revolution of the moon, or what we denominate a month, a

year,

and