Chapter Yahoo to Yeruti of Y by Brewer's Readers Handbook

Yahoo to Yeruti

Yahoo, one of the human brutes subject to the Houyhnhnms [Whin-hims] or horses possessed of human intelligence. In this tale the horses and men change places, the horses are the chief and ruling race, and man the subject one.—Swift: Gulliver’s Travels (1726).

Yajûi and Majûj, the Arabian form of Go g and Magog. Gog is a tribe of Turks, and Magog of the Gilân (the Geli or Gelæ of Ptolemy and Strabo). Al Beidâwi says they were man-eaters. Dhulkarnein made a rampart of red-hot metal to keep out their incursions.

He said to the workmen, “Bring me iron in large pieces till it fill up the space between these two mountains … [then] blow with your bellows till it make the iron red hot.” And he said further, “Bring me molten brass that I may pour upon it.” When this wall was finished, Gog and Magog could not scale it, neither could they dig through it.—Sale: Al Korân, xviii.

Yakutsk, in Siberia, affords an exact parallel to the story about Carthage. Dido, having purchased in Africa as much land as could be covered with a bull’s hide, ordered the hide to be cut into thin slips, and thus enclosed land enough to build Byrsa upon. This Byrsa (“bull’s hide”) was the citadel of Carthage, round which the city grew.

So with Yakutsk. The strangers bought as much land as they could encompass with a cow-hide, but, by cutting the hide into slips, they encompassed enough land to build a city on.

Yama, a Hindû deity, represented by a man with four arms riding on a bull.

Thy great birth, O horse, is to be glorified, whether first springing from the firmament or from the water, inasmuch as thou hast neighed, thou hast the wings of the falcon, thou hast the limbs of the deer. Trita harnessed the horse which was given by Yama; Indra first mounted him; Gandharba seized his reins. Vasus, you fabricated the horse from the sun. Thou, O horse, art Yama; thou art Aditya; thou art Trita; thou art Soma.—The Rig Veda, ii.

Yamen, lord and potentate of Pandalon (hell).—Hindû Mythology.

What worse than this hath Yamen’s hell in store?
   —Southey: Curse of Kehama, ii. (1809).

Yarico, a young Indian maiden with whom Thomas Inkle fell in love. After living with her as his wife, he despicably sold her in Barbados as a slave.

(The story is told by sir Richard Steele in The Spectator, 11; and has been dramatized by George Colman under the title of Inkle and Yarico, 1787.)

Yarrow or Achille’a millefolium. Linnæus recommends the bruised leaves of common yarrow as a most excellent vulnerary and powerful styptic.

[The nermit gathers]
The yarrow, wherewithall he stops the wound-made gore.
   —Drayton: Polyolbion, xii. (1613).

Yarrow (The Flower of). Mary Scott was so called.

Yathreb, the ancient name of Medina.

When a party of them said, “O inhabitants of Yathreb, there is no place of security for you here, wherefore return home; “a part of them asked leave of the prophet to depart.—Sale: Al Koran, xxxiii.

Year of the Stars (The), 902; so called from a great shower of shooting stars, which appeared at the death of a Moorish king.