yogh (y  )n. The Middle English letter  , used to represent the sound (y) and some velar consonants similar to the ch in German Bach and the r in French France.[Middle English, possibly from Old English  w,  oh, yew.] |
yogh [jɒg]
n
1. (Linguistics / Letters of the Alphabet (Foreign)) a character (ʒ) used in Old and Middle English to represent a palatal fricative very close to the semivowel sound of Modern English y, as in Old English ʒeong (young)
2. (Linguistics / Letters of the Alphabet (Foreign)) this same character as used in Middle English for both the voiced and voiceless palatal fricatives; when final or in a closed syllable in medial position the sound approached that of German ch in ich, as in knyʒt (knight). After the 14th century this symbol became the modern consonantal (semivocalic) y when initial or commencing a syllable, and though no longer pronounced in medial position it is preserved in many words by a modern gh, as in thought
[perhaps from yok yoke, referring to the letter's shape]
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