a character (ȝ) 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 ȝeong (young)
2.
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 knyȝt (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
Word origin
C14: perhaps from yokyoke, referring to the letter's shape
yogh in American English
(joʊk; joʊx)
noun
a letter of the Middle English alphabet, ȝ, representing:
a.
a voiceless velar fricative similar to Modern German ( (x) ), as in doch: in Modern English orthography it has been replaced by gh, which either is silent, as in though, or represents the sound (f), as in cough
b.
a voiced palatal fricative: in Modern English orthography, y, representing ( (j) ) as in yes