nay

See also: Nay, NAY, này, näy, nạy, ŋay, and n'ay

EnglishEdit

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nay

EtymologyEdit

From Middle English nai, nei, from Old Norse nei (“no”), contraction of ne (“not”) + ei (“ever”), itself from Proto-Germanic *nai (“never”), *nē (“not”). More at no.

PronunciationEdit

enPR: nā, IPA^(key): /neɪ/
Audio (US)
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Homophones: nee, neigh
Rhymes: -eɪ

AdverbEdit

nay (not comparable)

(now chiefly archaic or regional) No. [from 12th c.]
(now chiefly archaic or regional) Introducing a statement, without direct negation. [from 14th c.]
- 1876, Henry James, Roderick Hudson:
  Nay, what are you smiling at so damnably?
(now archaic or humorous) Or rather, or should I say; moreover (introducing a stronger and more appropriate expression than the preceding one). [from 16th c.]
His face was dirty, nay, filthy.
- 1663, Samuel Butler, 'Hudibras', part 1, canto 2:
  […] And proved not only horse, but cows, / Nay pigs, were of the elder house: / For beasts, when man was but a piece / Of earth himself, did th' earth possess.
- 1748, David Hume, chapter 18, in 'Enquiries concerning the human understanding and concerning the principles of moral', London: Oxford University Press, published 1973:
  And even in our wildest and most wandering reveries, nay in our very dreams, we shall find, if we reflect, that the imagination ran not altogether at adventures,

TranslationsEdit

or rather

Arabic: بَل‎ (ar) (bal)
French: ou plutôt, voire (fr)
German: oder sogar
Italian: anzi (it), o per meglio dire
Maori: ianei

Occitan: o puslèu, o quitament
Portuguese: ou (pt) mesmo (pt)
Russian: бо́лее (bóleje) того (tovo) (bóleje togó), да́же (ru) (dáže), нет (ru) (net), мало (malo) того (tovo) (málo togó)
Vietnamese: nói đúng hơn

Usage notesEdit

In Early Modern English, nay was used to respond to a positive question, while no was used to respond to a negative question. Over time, this distinction disappeared.

InterjectionEdit

nay

(archaic) No.

Derived termsEdit

NounEdit

nay (plural nays)

A vote against.
I vote nay, even though the motion is popular, because I would rather be right than popular.
A person who voted against.
The vote is 4 in favor and 20 opposed; the nays have it.
(archaic) A denial; a refusal. [1]
- 14th c, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Clerk's Tale”, in D. Laing Purves, editor, 'The Canterbury Tales and Faerie Queene, with Other Poems of Chaucer and Spenser'‎^[2], published 1870, page 100:
  And my povert' no wight nor can nor may
  Make comparison, it is no nay.