nay
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
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.
Pronunciation[edit]
Adverb[edit]
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?
- 1876, Henry James, Roderick Hudson:
- (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,
Translations[edit]
or rather
|
Usage notes[edit]
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.
Interjection[edit]
nay
Derived terms[edit]
Noun[edit]
nay (plural nays)
- A vote against.
- I vote nay, even though the motion is popular, because I would rather be right than popular.
- Antonym: yea
- 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:
Verb[edit]
nay (third-person singular simple present nays, present participle naying, simple past and past participle nayed)
- (obsolete) To refuse.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Holinshed to this entry?)
Adjective[edit]
nay (not comparable)
Anagrams[edit]
Tagalog[edit]
Noun[edit]
nay
Vietnamese[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Cognate with này.
Pronunciation[edit]
Audio (file)
Adjective[edit]
- now, nowadays
- ngày nay ― these days/nowadays
- sáng nay ― this morning
- Sáng nay ăn sáng chưa?
- Have you had breakfast this morning?
Derived terms[edit]
Derived terms
Related terms[edit]
- này (“this”)
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