WordPlay: The Final Word
I’ve always loved dictionaries. When I was a teenager I’d actively read them to increase my vocabulary. (It worked.) Working as a library assistant for 14 years didn’t hurt my love for them either. Last year my family got me the 2nd Edition Oxford English Dictionary (OED, .pdf format], and I have spent a number of my retirement days enjoying it. I also have physical copies of Webster’s 2nd Unabridged (W2), Webster’s 3rd Unabridged (W3), and an electronic copy of Funk & Wagnalls Unabridged (FW). So I asked myself, what’s the very last entry for each letter? Trivial I know, but I had fun finding out. So here’s my results, along with a few entries from some other dictionaries.
A – azymous a., unleavened [OED]
Azzazame – an Arab people living chiefly in the Sinai peninsula – W3
Azzur – Bib. W2 –obs. Section
azzimina – elaborate metallic directions in damask patterns, from Italian FW
B – byzon, var. of bysen , sb. an example or pattern, v. to set an example OED
byzen – a disgraceful example W3
Byzantinize – W2
Bzura - a river in central Poland FW
C – Czechoslovakian, OED
Czestochowa – of or from the town of Czestochowa, Poland; W3, FW
czigany – a gypsy W2 obs. section
D – Dzongkha – a Tibetan dialect used as the official language of Bhutan.
Dzungar – a native of Dzungaria W3, W2
dziggetai – a species of Mongolian wild ass FW
Dzuumod – a town in Mongolia: Philips World Atlas & Gazetteer (1994)
E – ezod – a variant of izzard, the letter Z. OED
eytie – a var. of eyetie. W3
Ezrihel – Bibl. W2
Ezra – Bibl. FW
F – fyz – variant form of Fitz. OED
fytte – var. form of fit, a section of a song. W3, W2
Fyzabad – former spelling of Faizabad. FW
G – gyzzern – var. form of gizzern, which is a var. of gizzard. OED
gyve – to shackle or chain W3,
gyving – being chackled in chains W2, FW
H – hywe – obs. Var. of hue. OED
hytherograph – a climograph that records temperature and rainfall W3
hyte – Scottish, mad W2
hyzone – tritium FW
I – izzat – honour, credit, prestige. OED, also W3, W2
izzard – the letter Z FW
J – jywel – var. of jewel. OED
Jynx – a genus of woodpeckers W3, W2
Jylland – the Dutch name for Jutland. FW
K – Kyzyl – var. of Kizil, a Turkic Tartar people of southern Siberia. OED
Kyurin – a member of the Lezghian people of the Caucasus mountains. W3
Kyurinish – like the Kyurin W2
Kyzyl Kum – a desert area in Kazakh FW
Kzinti – a race of overly aggressive space alien warriors in the Known Space stories of Larry Niven (singular, Kzin).
Kzyl-Orda, a town in Kazakhstan: Philips’ World Atlas & Gazetteer (1994)
L – lyyn – var. of lie. OED
lyxose – a crystalline aldose sugar W3, W2
Lyublin – the Russian name for Lublin FW
M – myzostoma – a genus of parasitic worms. OED
Mzabite – a member of a Berber people of the Ghardaia oasis in the Algerian Sahara. W3
myzostomous – pert. To the myzostoma, W2
myxomycete – a type of slime mold FW
Mzuzu – a town in Malawi Philips World Almanac & Gazetteer (1994)
N – Nzima – a language spoken in Ghana. OED
nytril – a synthetic fiber W3
Nzambi - see Bakongo, W2
Nyx – the Roman goddess of night FW
Nzubuka – a town in Tanzania Philips World Almanac & Gazetteer (1994)
O – ozyst – an illiterate spelling of orgeat, a cooling drink made from barley. OED
ozotype – a modified carbon process in which transfer is obviated W3
Ozriel – Bib. W2
ozonosphere – a narrow layer in the stratosphere FW
P – pyxis – a small box or casket. OED, FW
pyx-jury – a community of goldsmiths that makes the trial of the pyx (gold-weighing) W3, W2
Q – qwerty – the first letters in the top row of keys on a typewriter; hence, a typewriter or keyboard. OED
Qyrghyz – var. form of Kirghiz, a Turkic ethnic group native to central Asia. W3
qwere – var. sp. Of choir W2
quotient – the result obtained by division FW
Qyzylorda – alt. spelling of Kzyl-Orda (above) Philips World Almanac & Gazetteer (1994)
R – ryze – dial. Form of rice.OED
Ryukyuan – a member of the peoples of the Ryukyu Islands. W3
ryver – var. sp. Of reaver, a robber W2
Ryukyu Islands – FW
Rzhev – a town in Russia Philips World Almanac & Gazetteer (1994)
S – szmikite – a hydrous sulphate of manganese, named after Hungarian scient Szmik. OED
szolmonikite – a mineral consisting of a hydrous ferrous sulfate isomorphous with kieserite and szmikite W3
szopelka – a type of Russian oboe, W2
Szombathely - a city of western Hungary, FW
T – tzuris – var. of tsores, from Yiddish, troubles, worries.OED
Tzutuhil – an Indian people of Guatemala W3.
Tzonecan – var. of Tsonecan, W2
Tzetzw – var. of tse-tse FW
U – uzzle – var. of ouzel, a bird of the genus Turdus; a blackbird. OED
Uzbek – a member of the Uzbek Republic. W3. W2
Uzhok – a path in the Carpathian mountains FW
V – vywer – var. of viewer. OED
vying – past part. Of vie. W3 FW
vyve – obs. Spelling of wife W2
W – wyzen, Scottish dialect term for a weakling. OED
wyvern, a fantastic two-legged creature resembling a dragon. W3 FW
wywande, for vivant, living, W2
X – xystus, a long covered portico used by the ancient Greeks for exercising. OED, W3 W2
xyster , a surgical instrument for scraping bones FW
Y – yzy – obs. Form of seen. OED
Y-worm – gapeworm. W3
yzen – obs. Form of seen W2
ywis – var. of iwis FW
Z – zyxt – 2nd singular indicative present form of see. OED
Zyzzogeton – a genus of large South American leaf-hoppers. W3
zythum – an ancient malt beverage W2
Zyryanovsk – a city in Kazakh FW
zzz – the sound of snoring, the Official Scrabble Dictionary, 5th Edition.
Zzzax – an occasionally appearing menace in Marvel Comics. It’s humanoid and full of destructive electrical force.
Zyyi – a town in Cyprus Philips World Almanac & Gazetteer (1994)