nay

See also: Nay, NAY, này, näy, nạy, ŋay, and n'ay

English

Etymology

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

• enPR: nā, IPA^(key): /neɪ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Homophones: nee, neigh, Neagh
• Rhymes: -eɪ

Adverb

nay (not comparable)

1. (now chiefly archaic, humorous or regional) No. [from 12th c.]
2. (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?

3. (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

or rather

• Arabic: بَل‎ (ar) (bal)
• Danish: eller snarere
• French: ou plutôt, voire (fr)
• German: oder sogar
• Italian: anzi (it), o per meglio dire
• Maori: ianei

• Occitan: o puslèu, o quitament
• Polish: ba (pl)
• Portuguese: ou (pt) mesmo (pt)
• Russian: бо́лее того́ (bóleje tovó), да́же (ru) (dáže), нет (ru) (net), ма́ло того́ (málo tovó)
• Sicilian: anzi
• Vietnamese: nói đúng hơn

Usage notes

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

nay

1. (archaic) No.

Derived terms

• nay-say
• naysayer

Noun

nay (plural nays)

1. A vote against.

   I vote nay, even though the motion is popular, because I would rather be right than popular.

   Antonyms: aye, yea

2. A person who voted against.

   The vote is 4 in favor and 20 opposed; the nays have it.

3. (archaic) A denial; a refusal.
   • 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:

     And my povert' no wight nor can nor may
     Make comparison, it is no nay.

Verb

nay (third-person singular simple present nays, present participle naying, simple past and past participle nayed)

1. (obsolete) To refuse.
   • 1577, Raphaell Holinshed, The Firste Volume of the Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande […], volume I, London: […] [Henry Bynneman] for Iohn Harrison, OCLC 55195564:

     the cardinall then being bishop of Winchester, tooke vpon him the state of cardinall, which was naied and denaied him, by the king of most noble memorie

Adjective

nay (not comparable)

1. (obsolete) Nary. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Anagrams

• AYN, Ayn, NYA, Yan, any, any%, ayn, yan

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Ainu

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /naj/

Noun

nay (Kana spelling ナィ)

1. swamp.
2. small river.

Trivia

The ainu word -nay is frequently seen in names of places in Hokkaido and Northeast Japan, such as Wakkanai, Shizunai, etc.

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Tagalog

Noun

nay

1. abbreviation of nanay, the informal form of ina

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Tocharian B

Noun

nay

1. politics, political affairs, governance

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Vietnamese

Etymology

Cognate with này.

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [naj˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [naj˧˧]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [na(ː)j˧˧]

Adjective

nay • (𠉞, 𫢩, 𬁉)

1. (of a day or time of day) that is today, or happening today

   sáng/trưa/chiều/tối/đêm nay ― this morning/forenoon/afternoon/evening/night

   bữa/hôm nay

   today

   Sáng nay ăn sáng chưa?

   Have you had breakfast this morning?

Noun

nay

1. (usually literally) now, the present, as opposed to xưa (“long ago; the past”) and mai (“later in the future”)

   Nay không lo làm thì mai không có ăn đâu.

   If you don't work today, you won't be able to afford to eat tomorrow.

   Xưa cả làng sợ họ nhà nó lắm. Nay chẳng ai sợ cái cóc khô gì cả.

   The whole village used to fear their family. These days, though, nobody fears no damn thing.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• bấy nay
• hiện nay
• hôm nay
• ngày nay
• xưa nay

 

Related terms

• này (“this”)