ay

See also: Ay, ẩy, ấy, and aý

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aɪ/ (interjection)
  • Rhymes: -aɪ
  • Homophones: aye, eye, I
• IPA^(key): /eɪ/ (adverb, adjective)
  • Rhymes: -eɪ
  • Homophones: A, eh

Interjection

ay

1. Ah! alas!
2. Alternative spelling of aye ("yes")
   • 1883, Howard Pyle, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood Chapter V

     "Good morrow to thee, jolly fellow," quoth Robin, "thou seemest happy this merry morn."

     "Ay, that am I," quoth the jolly Butcher, "and why should I not be so? Am I not hale in wind and limb? Have I not the bonniest lass in all Nottinghamshire? And lastly, am I not to be married to her on Thursday next in sweet Locksley Town?"

3. New Zealand spelling of eh (question tag)

Adverb

ay (not comparable)

1. Always; ever.
   • 1670, John Barbour, The Acts and Life of the most victorious Conquerour Robert Bruce King of Scotland, as cited in 1860, Thomas Corser, Collectanea Anglo-poetica, page 160

     O he that hath ay lived free, [...]

Alternative forms

• aye

Adjective

ay (not comparable)

1. For an indefinite time.

Synonyms

• always
• continually
• forever

Noun

ay (plural ays)

1. Alternative spelling of aye ("yes")

   counting the ays and the noes in a vote

See also

• Ay in the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.

Anagrams

• ya, YA

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Azeri

Etymology

From Old Turkic ay, from Proto-Turkic.

Noun

Other scripts
Cyrillic	ај
Roman	ay
Perso-Arabic	آی

ay (definite accusative ayı, plural aylar)

1. moon
2. month

Declension

declension of ay

	singular	plural
absolute	ay	aylar
definite accusative	ayı	ayları
dative	aya	aylara
locative	ayda	aylarda
ablative	aydan	aylardan
definite genitive	ayın	ayların

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Crimean Tatar

Etymology

From Old Turkic ay, from Proto-Turkic.

Noun

ay

1. month
2. moon

Declension

Declension of ay

nominative	ay
genitive	aynıñ
dative	ayğa
accusative	aynı
locative	ayda
ablative	aydan

References

• V. A. Mirjejev, S. M. Usejinov (2002), Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian–Crimean Tatar Dictionary], Simferopol: Dolya, ISBN 966-7980-89-8

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Gagauz

Etymology 1

From Old Turkic ay, from Proto-Turkic.

Noun

ay (definite accusative ayı, plural aylar)

1. moon
2. month

Etymology 2

From Ancient Greek ἅγιος (hagios).

Noun

ay (definite accusative ayı, plural aylar)

1. saint

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Ladino

Verb

ay (Latin spelling)

1. there is, there are

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Middle French

Verb

ay

1. first-person singular present indicative of avoir

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Scots

Etymology

Probably from a use of aye to express agreement.

Adverb

ay (not comparable)

1. yes

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Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ai/
• Homophone: hay

Interjection

¡ay!

1. Expresses pain or sorrow.
2. A stereotypical sound of a Latino or Latina (e.g. ¡Ay Papi!, something like saying "Oh Baby!")

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Sranan Tongo

Etymology

From English eye.

Noun

ay

1. eye

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Tagalog

Preposition

ay

1. Equality marker. It can be translated as is, am, are, was, will be, etc., but functions as a preposition, not a verb.
2. Verb/predicate marker. Only used when the verb or predicate does not begin the sentence.

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Turkish

Etymology

From Old Turkic ay, from Proto-Turkic.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aj/

Noun

ay (objective definite ayı)

1. month
2. An interjection expressing a sharp pain: ouch!

Usage notes

• Ay means moon, not ay (the first "A" is capitalized)