way
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also Way
Contents |
English [edit]
Etymology 1 [edit]
From Middle English wei, wai, weighe, from Old English weġ, from Proto-Germanic *wegaz, from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ-. Cognate with West Frisian wei, Low German Weg, Dutch weg, German Weg, Danish vej, Swedish väg, Latin vehō, via, Albanian udhë.
Alternative forms [edit]
- waye (obsolete)
Pronunciation [edit]
- (UK, US) enPR: wā, IPA: /weɪ/, X-SAMPA: /weI/
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Audio (US) (file) -
Audio (UK) (file) - Rhymes: -eɪ
- Homophones: weigh, wey, whey (in accents with the wine-whine merger)
Noun [edit]
way (plural ways)
- A road, a direction, a (physical or conceptual) path from one place to another.
- Do you know the way to the airport?
- Come this way and I'll show you a shortcut.
- It's a long way from here.
- A means to enter or exit into a place.
- We got in the cinema through the back way.
- A method or manner of doing something; a mannerism.
- You're going about it the wrong way.
- He's known for his quirky ways.
- I don't like the way she looks at me.
- 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 4, Lord Stranleigh Abroad[1]:
- “… That woman is stark mad, Lord Stranleigh. […] If she had her way, she’d ruin the company inside a year with her hare-brained schemes ; love of the people, and that sort of guff.”
- A roughly-defined geographical area.
- If you're ever 'round this way, come over and visit me.
- Possibility (usually in the phrases 'any way' and 'no way').
- There's no way I'm going to clean up after you.
- (paganism) A tradition within the modern pagan faith of Heathenry, dedication to a specific deity or craft, Way of wyrd, Way of runes, Way of Thor etc.
- (nautical) Speed, progress, momentum.
- 1977, Richard O'Kane, Clear the Bridge: The War Patrols of the U.S.S. Tang, Ballantine Books (2003), page 343:
- Ten minutes into the run Tang slowed, Welch calling out her speed as she lost way.
- 1977, Richard O'Kane, Clear the Bridge: The War Patrols of the U.S.S. Tang, Ballantine Books (2003), page 343:
- A degree, an amount, a sense.
- In a large way, crocodiles and alligators are similar.
- (As the head of an interjectory clause) Acknowledges that a task has been done well, chiefly in expressions of sarcastic congratulation.
- Way to ruin the moment, guys.
- 2001, Joshua Nedelman, The Garden of Eastern, page 36:
- Jimmy leaned forward holding his ear, the personification of naïveté, looking as young as a baby with his oh-so-innocent face. “Oh, way to get us busted, Jimmy,” Curt hissed under his breath.
- 2009, Linda Winfree, Fall in Me, page 165:
- Oh, way to start a rumor, Hope. Angel glared the silent statement at her sister.
- 2012, Nancy Manther, A Charmed Life:
- "Oh, way to care about how I feel." His voice took on an exaggerated “Valley Girl” tone.
Quotations [edit]
- (path or direction): "Do you know the way to San Jose?" [song title and lyrics, Bacharach and David]
- "It's a long way to Tipperary, / it's a long way to go." [It`s a Long Way to Tipperary, a marching and music hall song by Jack Judge and Henry "Harry" James Williams, popularized especially by British troops in World War One]
- (a tradition within Heathenry): To walk the Way of the Runes, you must experience the runes as they manifest both in the part of Midgard that lies outside yourself and the worlds within. (Diana Paxson)
Hyponyms [edit]
- See also Wikisaurus:way
Derived terms [edit]
Terms derived from way (noun)
Translations [edit]
wide path
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method
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means
Adverb [edit]
way (not comparable)
- (informal, with comparative or modified adjective) Much.
- I'm way too tired to do that.
- I'm a way better singer than she.
- (slang, with positive adjective) very.
- I'm way tired
- String theory is way cool, except for the math.
- 2005, Erika V. Shearin Karres, Crushes, Flirts, & Friends: A Real Girl's Guide to Boy Smarts, page 16,
- With all the way cool boys out there, what if you don't recognize them because you don't know what to look for? Or, what if you have a chance to pick a perfect Prince and you end up with a yucky Frog instead?
- (informal) far
- I used to live way over there.
- The farmhouse is way down the bottom of the hill.
Synonyms [edit]
Translations [edit]
much — see much (adverb)
very
Interjection [edit]
way
- (only in reply to no way) It is true.
- 2011, William Schwenn, Dogs of Meadowbrook:
- We repeated this ritual of “no way - way, no way - way” over the years.
- 2011, William Schwenn, Dogs of Meadowbrook:
Verb [edit]
way (third-person singular simple present ways, present participle waying, simple past and past participle wayed)
- (obsolete) To travel.
- 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, IV.ii:
- on a time as they together way'd, / He made him open chalenge [...].
- 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, IV.ii:
Statistics [edit]
Etymology 2 [edit]
Pronunciation [edit]
Noun [edit]
way (plural ways)
- The name of the letter for the w sound in Pitman shorthand.
Related terms [edit]
- double-u, the name of the Latin letter for this sound
Anagrams [edit]
Lampung Api [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From Proto-Lampungic, from Proto-Sunda-Sulawesi *wair, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *wahiʀ.
Noun [edit]
way
- water (clear liquid H₂O)
Tz'utujil [edit]
Noun [edit]
way
Synonyms [edit]
Categories:
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms with homophones
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Paganism
- en:Nautical
- English adverbs
- English informal terms
- English slang
- English interjections
- English verbs
- English terms with obsolete senses
- 100 English basic words
- English degree adverbs
- Lampung Api terms derived from Proto-Lampungic
- Lampung Api terms derived from Proto-Sunda-Sulawesi
- Lampung Api terms derived from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian
- Lampung Api nouns
- ljp:Water
- Tz'utujil nouns