I Griega comes from Greece?

Question

We hispanics generally name the letter "y" as: "ye" or "i griega".

Does anyone know why we call it "griega"?. I suppose an origin from Greece.

Good question! - --Mariana--, Oct 28, 2009

It is funny, but I don't have a clue - RicardoP, Oct 28, 2009

The designation comes from the letter "upsilon" of the Greek alphabet that looks much like the letter "u" but is often transliterated into the Latin alphabet as a "y" as in "psyche." - pwsalay, Apr 2, 2010

Answer 1

The distinction (when/if it is made) is between the "i latina" and the "i griega". Consider the English word "psychology".; if our only interest were to indicate the pronunciation, we could write "sicologi" (or, perhaps, "sicoloji"). Historically, however, many of the people who were responsible for (or, at least, contributors to) the importation of words wished to maintain a distinction between their importations from Latin and those from Greek."

The end result is that modern spellings (in most languages) reflect both the pronunciation and the history of the word's derivation.

Very interesting indeed my dear samdie. Thanks - RicardoP, Oct 28, 2009

Nice post Samdie - Izanoni1, Oct 28, 2009

Wow, this explains so many things that I was wondering about... That's why I love this site. Thanks Samdie. - sofiasonja, Nov 21, 2009

Answer 2

Excellent point, Samdia. The correct name for the "i" in Spanish is the "I latina" ("Latin i") and - obviously - a "y" is "i griega" (Greek i).

Answer 3

Hi Ricardo,

"I griega" means "Greek I," and yes you are correct that its origins are from the Greek alphabet. Here is a link that you might find interesting on the subject

Y, i griega, i grec

Very interesting Izanini, thanks - RicardoP, Oct 28, 2009

Sorry, I meant to say Izanoni - RicardoP, Oct 28, 2009

your welcome...it was an interesting question, by the way - Izanoni1, Oct 28, 2009