dey

See also: Dey, để ý, and deþ

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /deɪ/
• Rhymes: -eɪ
• Homophone: day

Etymology 1

From Middle English deye, deie, daie, from Old English dǣġe (“maker of bread; baker; dairy-maid”), from Proto-West Germanic *daigijā, from Proto-Germanic *daigijǭ (“kneader of bread, maid”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- (“to knead, form, build”). Cognate with Swedish deja, Icelandic deigja (“dairy-maid”); compare dairy, dough, lady.

Alternative forms

• dai, dei, deye

Noun

dey (plural deys)

1. (UK dialectal, Scotland) A servant who has charge of the dairy; a dairymaid.

Related terms

• dairy
• lady

Etymology 2

From French dey, from Algerian Arabic داي from Ottoman Turkish دایی (modern Turkish dayı).

Noun

dey (plural deys)

1. (historical) The ruler of the Regency of Algiers (now Algeria) under the Ottoman Empire.
   • 1977, Alistair Horne, A Savage War of Peace, New York: Review Books, published 2006, page 29:

     […] the reigning Dey of Algiers (half of whose twenty-eight predecessors are said to have met violent ends) lost his temper with the French consul, struck him in the face with a fly-whisk, and called him ‘a wicked, faithless, idol-worshipping rascal’.

Etymology 3

Pronoun

dey

1. Pronunciation spelling of their, representing African-American Vernacular English.
2. Pronunciation spelling of there, representing African-American Vernacular English or Caribbean English.
   • 2012, G. Modele Dale Clarke, Up in Mahaica: Stories from the Market People (ebook), Xlibris:

     “Boy, is horrors over dey, for so,” he said, obviously excited and anxious to be the bearer of extraordinary news. “Wat happen, somebody dead?”

3. Pronunciation spelling of they, representing dialects with th-stopping in English

Etymology 4

From Tamil டேய் (“hey!”).

Alternative forms

• deh, dei

Pronunciation

• (Singapore) IPA^(key): [ˈde(ː)]

Interjection

dey

1. (Singlish, Manglish) An informal Tamil-language term of address used when trying to get someone's attention.
   • 2007, Elangovan, P, Singapore, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 46:

     Dey! Did you press the lift button? What? You have pressed the button for the tenth time?

   • 2012 February 7 [2007], Laremy Lee, Radio Silence, →ISBN:

     Dei, you think what, President’s Star Charity ah?

   • 2007 September 10, Sandra Leong, The Straits Times, quoted in Jack Tsen-Ta Lee, A Dictionary of Singlish and Singapore English, Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings Limited, →OCLC, page 6:

     If a player makes a silly mistake, he doesn’t wail when told to “wake up lah, dey”.

Usage notes

Only commonly used by the younger generation and Tamil speakers.

References

• “dey”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “dey”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

• Dye, d'ye, dye, ye'd, yed

Cameroon Pidgin

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /de/

Etymology 1

From English there.

Predicative

dey

1. there is, there are, indicates presence in a location

Alternative forms

• deiy

See also

• na (copula for noun phrases, indicating existence)

Etymology 2

From English they.

Pronoun

dey

1. they, 3rd person plural subject personal pronoun

See also

Cameroon Pidgin personal pronouns

		singular	plural
Subject personal pronouns
1st person		I	we, wu
2nd person		you	wuna
3rd person		i	dey
Object and topic personal pronouns
1st person		me	we
2nd person		you	wuna
3rd person		yi, -am	dem, -am

Etymology 3

From English day.

Noun

dey

1. day

Alternative forms

• dei

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Algerian Arabic داي, from Ottoman Turkish دایی (modern Turkish dayı).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɛj/

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

Noun

dey m (plural deys)

1. dey (ruler of the Regency of Algiers)

Further reading

• “dey”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

German

Etymology

Borrowed from English they, adjusted to German phonology and suppleted with plural forms of demonstrative pronoun die.

dem, demm are borrowed from English them.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɛɪ̯/

Pronoun

dey

1. (gender-neutral, neologism) they (singular). Gender-neutral third-person singular subject pronoun.
   • 2023, Matthias Zimmermann, “Neue Allianzen schmieden [Forging new alliances]”, in Portal Wissen, Potsdam, →ISSN, page 83:

     Diese Beschränkung will dey auflösen.

     They want to remove this restriction.

Declension

• Nominative: dey
• Accusative: demm or dey or dem (with a short vowel)
• Dative: denen or demm or dem (with a short vowel)
• Genitive: deren
• Possessive: deren

Gullah

Etymology

From English they.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /deiː/, /dɛ/

Determiner

dey

1. (third-person plural) their

Pronoun

dey (object-oblique case: dem, possessive adjective: dey, possessive pronoun: dey-own, reflexive pronoun: dey-sef)

1. (third-person plural subject) they

Inflection

Gullah Geechee personal pronouns

Number	singular		plural
puss'n	subject	object-oblique	subject	object-oblique
fus	Uh, A1	me	we
sekint	yuh, ya1		oonuh, oona1
tud	e, i1	um	dey	dem

¹ alternate spelling

References

• Virginia Mixson Geraty, Gulluh fuh oonuh: Gullah for You (1997)
• Lorenzo Dow Turner, Africanisms in the Gullah Dialect (1969)
•  Seminole Indian Scouts Cemetery Association. Afro-Seminole Creole Wikitongues Language Class 
•  David B. Frank. Gullah Grammar Sketch

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /teiː/
• Rhymes: -eiː

Verb

dey

1. inflection of deyja:
   1. first-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from Ottoman Turkish دایی (dayı), from Persian دایی (dâyi, “maternal uncle”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɛj/
• Rhymes: -ɛj

Noun

dey m (invariable)

1. dey (ruler of the Regency of Algiers)

Kalasha

Etymology

From Persian ده (deh).

Noun

dey

1. village

   Synonym: grom

Middle English

Etymology 1

Noun

dey

1. alternative form of day

Etymology 2

Pronoun

dey

1. alternative form of þei (“they”)

Etymology 3

Noun

dey

1. alternative form of dee

Etymology 4

Verb

dey

1. (Early Scots; Late Middle English, Warwickshire) alternative form of deyen (“to die”)

Nigerian Pidgin

Alternative forms

• deh

Etymology

From Igbo dị. Compare Jamaican Creole de.

Verb

dey

1. to be
   • (Can we date this quote?), Zanele Buthelezi, Thembani Dladla, Clare Verbeek, “Count animals”, in Storybooks African Languages‎^[1], archived from the original on 12 August 2025:

     One elephant dey go drink water.

     One elephant is going to drink water.

   • 2025 April 24, Sammi Awami, “Wetin to know as Tanzania ban South Africa and Malawi imports inside quarrel wey enter anoda level”, in BBC News Pidgin‎^[2], archived from the original on 12 August 2025:

     Di border crossing between Tanzania and Malawi wey dey normally dey full off life dey quiet dan usual on Thursday as a result of one regional trade row wey don enter anoda level.

     The border crossing between Tanzania and Malawi that is normally full of life is quieter than usual on Thursday as a result of one regional trade row that has escalated.

Further reading

• “dey” in Naija Guru, 2026.

Old Norse

Verb

dey

1. inflection of deyja:
   1. first-person singular present active indicative
   2. second-person singular present active imperative

Scots

Noun

dey

1. alternative form of day

Sranan Tongo

Noun

dey

1. alternative spelling of dei

Yola

Noun

dey

1. alternative form of die (“day”)
   • 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 2, page 84:

     Ch'am a stouk, an a donel; wou'll leigh out ee dey.

     I am a fool and a dunce; we'll idle out the day.

   • 1867, “DR. RUSSELL ON THE INHABITANTS AND DIALECT OF THE BARONY OF FORTH”, in APPENDIX, page 131:

     Fad didn'st thou cum t' ouz on zum other dey?

     [Why didn't you come to us on some other day?]

References

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867

Zaghawa

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dey/

Noun

dey

1. foot, leg
2. footstep

References

• Beria-English English-Beria Dictionary [provisional] ADESK, Iriba, Kobe Department, Chad