IJ (Amsterdam)
The IJ (pronounced ; sometimes shown on old maps as "Y" or "Ye") is a lake, formerly a bay, in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is known for being Amsterdam's waterfront. Sometimes it is wrongly considered as a river. Dutch people simply call it the IJ, a Dutch word fallen into disuse meaning water. This name derives from the West Frisian word ie "stream, small river" (from Germanic *ahwō "water") and is cognate with Dutch Aa/Ee names for bodies of water. In Dutch, the name consists of the digraph ij, which behaves like a single letter. Therefore, both letters are capitalized; cf. IJmuiden, IJsselmeer.