aye

See also ayé

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English aye, ai, agg, from Old Norse ei, ey, from Proto-Germanic *ī́ui ‘ever, always’ (compare Old English ā, ō, Middle Dutch ie, German je), accusative of *aiwaz ‘age; law’ (compare Old English ǣ(w) ‘law’, West Frisian ieu ‘century’, Dutch eeuw ‘century’), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂éi̯us ‘long time’ (compare Irish aois ‘age, period’, Latin ævum ‘eternity’, Ancient Greek  (aiṓn)).

Pronunciation

• IPA: /eɪ/
  • Rhymes: -eɪ
• (incorrectly) IPA: /aɪ/
  • Rhymes: -aɪ
  • Homophones: ay, eye, I

Adverb

aye (not comparable)

1. (archaic) ever, always

Quotations

• For usage examples of this term, see the citations page.

Etymology 2

Probably from use of aye as expression of agreement, or from Middle English a ye (“oh yes”). More at oh, yea.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /aɪ/
  • Rhymes: -aɪ
• Homophones: ay, eye, I

Alternative forms

• ay

Interjection

aye

1. yes; yea; a word expressing assent, or an affirmative answer to a question.

Usage notes

It is much used in Scotland, the north and Midlands of England, the northern counties of Ireland, North Wales, viva voce voting in legislative bodies, etc., or in nautical contexts.

Synonyms

• yes
• yea

Antonyms

• nay
• no

Translations

yes

• Finnish: jaa (fi), kyllä (fi)
• French: oui (fr)
• German: jawohl (de)
• Greek: ναι (el) (nε) 
• Neapolitan: sine

• Persian: بله (fa)
• Russian: есть (ru) (jest’) 
• Spanish: sí (es), sé (es)
• Turkish: evet (tr)
• {{subst:cn}}: [[赞成#Template:cn|{{Template:cn/script|lang=cn|赞成}}]]

References

• The New Geordie Dictionary, Frank Graham, 1987, ISBN 0946928118
• Newcastle 1970s, Scott Dobson and Dick Irwin, [1]
• A Dictionary of North East Dialect, Bill Griffiths, 2005, Northumbria University Press, ISBN 1904794165

Noun

aye (plural ayes)

1. An affirmative vote; one who votes in the affirmative.

   "To call for the ayes and nays;" "The ayes have it."

Synonyms

• yes

Translations

affirmative vote

• Finnish: jaa-ääni (fi)
• Spanish: sí (es) m

• Turkish: evet (tr)

Anagrams

• yea

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Scots

Etymology

From Old Norse ei, ey, cognate with Old English ā. See the etymology for the English word above.

Pronunciation

• IPA: /aɪ/

Adverb

aye (not comparable)

1. always, still

   A'll aye be wi ye an A'm nae carin whit thay say - I will always/ still be with you and I don't care what they say

Interjection

aye!

1. yes; yea; a word expressing assent, or an affirmative answer to a question