Y

yatagan

A special sword used by the Janissaries. (Turkish) Please see explanation and illustration on the Internet.

ya wled

Boy! [G] His comment on this renders “Hé! garçon!” but actually ya is a particle indicating a vocative.

yerba

See gerba

yoldach

Fellow-traveller, comrade. Properly yoldas, < Turkish yol “way” plus a suffix. Used by janissaries, medieval dervishes, and contemporary communist militants to refer to their comrades.
The Janissary corps began in the fourteenth century. It was the infantry element of the Ottoman army, consisting of Balkan Christian youths converted to Islam on entering the service of the Sultan. They were long influential in the Empire, until a massacre of them ordered by the Sultan took place shortly before the French invaded Algeria. This massacre was known as the "auspicious incident." The Turkish word means "new soldier." For more information on the Janissaries, see the section Ottoman Military Establishment in The Rise of the Turks...
See also oldàch.

yorno

day [RR]