YUNX, the wry-neck., in natural history,^ a genus of birds of the order Mex. Ge neric character ; bill somewhat round, slightly incurvated and weak ; nostrils bare and rather concave ; tongue long, slender, and armed at the point ; tail of ten flexible feathers ; feet formed for climbing ;. toes two before and two be hind. There is only one species.
Y. torquilla, or the wry-neck, is allied in some respects to the wood-pecker, and in others to the cuckow. It is about the size of a lark, and its colours, though not glaring, are mingled with extreme neat Or z, the twenty.fourth and last let 7.41/ ter, and the nineteenth consonant of our alphabet ; the sound of which is formed by a motion of the tongue from the palate downwards, and upwards to it again, with a shutting and opening of the teeth at the same time. This letter has been reputed a double consonant, having the sound ds; but some think with very little reason; and, as if we thought other wise, we often double it, as in puzzle, muzzle, &c. Among the ancients, Z
was a numeral letter, signifying two thousand, and, with a dash added a-top, 7 signified two thousand times two thou sand, or four millions. In abbreviations, this letter formerly stood as a mark for several sorts of weights : sometimes it signified an ounce and a half, and, very frequently, it stood for half an ounce ; sometimes for the eighth part of an ounce, or a dram troy weight ; and it has, in earlier times, been used to ex press the third part of one ounce, or eight scruples. ZZ were used by some of the ancient physicians to express myrrh, and at present they are often used to signify zinziber, or ginger.