Quark and lepton masses from a U(1) x Z(2) flavor symmetry - art. no. 033004

We show that solutions fur the masses and mixings of the quarks and leptons based on a U(1) x Z(2) horizontal symmetry are possible. The seesaw mechan ism is shown to work consistently in the presence of the discrete symmetry. The discrete symmetry results in the phenomenologically useful suppression s of elements of the Yukawa matrices. The quark and lepton masses, the CKM mixing angles, and the neutrino mixing angles are accommodated at the order of magnitude level.