ay

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word ay. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word ay, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say ay in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word ay you have here. The definition of the word ay will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofay, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

Translingual

Symbol

ay

  1. (international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for Aymara.

English

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Interjection

ay

  1. Ah! alas!
  2. (Mid-Ulster, others) Alternative spelling of aye ("yes")
Derived terms

Noun

ay (plural ays)

  1. Alternative spelling of aye ("yes")
    counting the ays and the noes in a vote

Etymology 2

From Middle English ai, from Old Norse ei, from Proto-Germanic *aiwaz (eternity, age), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyu- (vitality); cognate with Old English ā, Ancient Greek ἀεί (aeí, always), and Latin aevum (an age).

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Adverb

ay (not comparable)

  1. (archaic, poetic or Northern England) Always; ever; continually; for an indefinite time.
    • 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,
Synonyms
Derived terms

Etymology 3

Noun

ay (plural ays)

  1. The name of the Latin-script letter A/a.
    • 2004, Will Rogers, The Stonking Steps, page 170:
      It said, in a whispering, buzzing voice, "Gee-you-ess-ess-ay-dash-em-ee-ar-ar-wye-dash-em-eye-en-gee-oh-dash-pee-eye-pee-dash-pee-ee-ar-ar-wye-dash-pee-eye-en-gee-oh."
    • 2016 CCEB, Communications Instructions Radiotelephone Procedures: ACP125 (G), p. 3-5
      ETA as "ee-tee-ay" instead of "I SPELL Echo Tango Alfa".
Alternative forms
Descendants
  • Rohingya: ee
  • Tagalog: ey

Etymology 4

Pronunciation

Interjection

ay

  1. New Zealand spelling of eh (question tag)
    • 2013 November 13, “Surprising changes in the way Aucklanders speak”, in Stuff:
      For example, New Zealanders tended to say "ay" at the end of sentences, but in the Asian community people used different tags to check whether people were still listening.
Alternative forms

Etymology 5

Origin uncertain; possibly related to eh and hey; popularized by a catch phrase in a 1970s sitcom.

Pronunciation

Interjection

ay

  1. All right (inter); hooray (inter); cool (inter).

Further reading

Anagrams

Ainu

Noun

ay (Kana spelling アイ)

  1. arrow

References

  • Batchelor, John (1926) An Ainu-English-Japanese Dictionary, third edition, Tokyo: Kyobunkan
  • ay (アイ)”, in Ainu-English Dictionary, TranslationDirectory.com, 2023 May 1 (last accessed)

Albanian

Alternative forms

Pronoun

ay

  1. he

Anguthimri

Noun

ay

  1. (Mpakwithi) vegetable

References

  • Terry Crowley, The Mpakwithi dialect of Anguthimri (1981), page 184

Azerbaijani

Other scripts
Cyrillic ај
Abjad آی

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Turkic *āy (moon, month). Cognate with Chuvash уйӑх (ujăh) See Turkish ay for more cognates.

Pronunciation

Noun

ay (definite accusative ayı, plural aylar)

  1. moon
  2. month
  3. date (day of the month)
    Bu gün ayın neçəsidir?What date is it today?

Declension

    Declension of ay
singular plural
nominative ay
aylar
definite accusative ayı
ayları
dative aya
aylara
locative ayda
aylarda
ablative aydan
aylardan
definite genitive ayın
ayların
    Possessive forms of ay
nominative
singular plural
mənim (my) ayım aylarım
sənin (your) ayın ayların
onun (his/her/its) ayı ayları
bizim (our) ayımız aylarımız
sizin (your) ayınız aylarınız
onların (their) ayı or ayları ayları
accusative
singular plural
mənim (my) ayımı aylarımı
sənin (your) ayını aylarını
onun (his/her/its) ayını aylarını
bizim (our) ayımızı aylarımızı
sizin (your) ayınızı aylarınızı
onların (their) ayını or aylarını aylarını
dative
singular plural
mənim (my) ayıma aylarıma
sənin (your) ayına aylarına
onun (his/her/its) ayına aylarına
bizim (our) ayımıza aylarımıza
sizin (your) ayınıza aylarınıza
onların (their) ayına or aylarına aylarına
locative
singular plural
mənim (my) ayımda aylarımda
sənin (your) ayında aylarında
onun (his/her/its) ayında aylarında
bizim (our) ayımızda aylarımızda
sizin (your) ayınızda aylarınızda
onların (their) ayında or aylarında aylarında
ablative
singular plural
mənim (my) ayımdan aylarımdan
sənin (your) ayından aylarından
onun (his/her/its) ayından aylarından
bizim (our) ayımızdan aylarımızdan
sizin (your) ayınızdan aylarınızdan
onların (their) ayından or aylarından aylarından
genitive
singular plural
mənim (my) ayımın aylarımın
sənin (your) ayının aylarının
onun (his/her/its) ayının aylarının
bizim (our) ayımızın aylarımızın
sizin (your) ayınızın aylarınızın
onların (their) ayının or aylarının aylarının

Chavacano

Adverb

ay

  1. Indicates the future tense.

Crimean Tatar

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Turkic *āy (moon, month). Compare Turkish ay (moon, month).

Noun

ay

  1. month
  2. moon

Declension

Declension of ay
singular plural
nominative ay aylar
genitive aynıñ aylarnıñ
dative ayğa aylarğa
accusative aynı aylarnı
locative ayda aylarda
ablative aydan aylardan

References

  • Mirjejev, V. A., Usejinov, S. M. (2002) Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary]‎, Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN
  • ay”, in Luğatçıq (in Russian)

Czech

Interjection

ay

  1. obsolete typography of aj

Gagauz

Etymology 1

From Proto-Turkic *āy (moon, month). Compare Turkish ay (moon, month).

Noun

ay (definite accusative ayı, plural aylar)

  1. moon
  2. month
Declension

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Ancient Greek ἅγιος (hágios).

Noun

ay (definite accusative ayı, plural aylar)

  1. saint
Declension

Highland Popoluca

Noun

ay

  1. leaf

References

  • Elson, Benjamin F., Gutiérrez G., Donaciano (1999) Diccionario popoluca de la Sierra, Veracruz (Serie de vocabularios y diccionarios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 41)‎ (in Spanish), Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., →ISBN, page 10

Ladino

Etymology

From Old Spanish ha i (it has there).

Verb

ay (Latin spelling)

  1. there is, there are

Middle English

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Old Norse ei, ey, from Proto-Germanic *aiwa, *aiwō (ever, always).

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Adverb

ay

  1. always, constantly, unceasingly; eternally, forever
Descendants
References

Etymology 2

Noun

ay

  1. Alternative form of ey (egg)

Middle French

Verb

ay

  1. first-person singular present indicative of avoir

Rayón Zoque

Noun

ay

  1. leaf
  2. brim (of a hat)

References

  • Harrison, Roy, B. de Harrison, Margaret, López Juárez, Francisco, Ordoñes, Cosme (1984) Vocabulario zoque de Rayón (Serie de diccionarios y vocabularios indígenas Mariano Silva y Aceves; 28)‎ (in Spanish), México, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, page 4

Salar

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *āy (moon, month).

Noun

ay (3rd person possessive , plural )

  1. moon

References

Tenishev, Edhem (1976) “ay”, in Stroj salárskovo jazyká [Grammar of Salar], Moscow

Scots

Etymology 1

Inherited from Middle English ey.

Alternative forms

Interjection

ay

  1. An exclamation of surprise or wonder.

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

Interjection

ay

  1. yes; yea; a word expressing assent, or an affirmative answer to a question

Etymology 3

Adverb

ay

  1. Alternative form of aye

References

Somali

Noun

ay ?

  1. dog

Spanish

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Onomatopoeic.

Interjection

¡ay!

  1. ah!, alas!
  2. woe!
  3. expresses pain, sorrow, or surprise
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Verb

ay

  1. Obsolete spelling of hay.

Further reading

Sranan Tongo

Pronunciation

Noun

ay

  1. Alternative spelling of ai.

Tagalog

Etymology 1

Compare Hanunoo ay, Cebuano kay, Remontado Agta ay, and Ibanag ay. Similar function to Ilocano ket and Pangasinan et.

Pronunciation

Particle

ay (Baybayin spelling ᜀᜌ᜔)

  1. Separates the subject and the predicate. Indicative of a sentence inversion, i.e. from predicate-first form to subject-first form.
    Ako ay Pilipino. (Pilipino ako.)
    I am Filipino.
    Ika'y isang sirena. (Sirena ka.)
    You're a mermaid.
  2. then; so
    Kung gayon ay sumunod sa akin
    If that is so then follow me
  3. (dialectal) Particle used in start or end of sentences to express warning or catch attention. See also: a, o, oy, and aya/ayaa.
    Parini ka ay/Ay, parini ka.Come here.
Usage notes
  • (inversion marker): This word is often confused (by speakers of English or similar languages) to mean to be due to its similarity in location on sentences in subject-first form.
  • This is usually elided to 'y following a word ending in a vowel in speeches, casual, or poetic writing.
Alternative forms
  • 'yelided form, informal, following a word ending with a vowel or "n"
  • e

Etymology 2

From Proto-Austronesian *ai and/or Spanish ay. Related to English ay. Compare Hokkien (ai).

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Interjection

ay (Baybayin spelling ᜀᜌ᜔)

  1. general exclamation: alas; no; oh; oops
    Ay! Nahulog.
    Oops! It fell.
    Ay! Mali.
    Oh! It's wrong.
Derived terms

See also

Etymology 3

Borrowed from English i, the English name of the letter I/i.

Pronunciation

Noun

ay (Baybayin spelling ᜀᜌ᜔)

  1. the name of the Latin-script letter I/i, in the Filipino alphabet
    Synonym: (in the Abecedario and Abakada alphabet) i
See also

Further reading

  • ay”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018

Anagrams

Tày

Etymology

From Proto-Tai *ʔajᴬ (to cough). Cognate with Northern Thai ᩋᩱ, Lao ໄອ (ʼai), ᦺᦀ (˙ʼay), Shan ဢႆ (ʼǎi), Tai Nüa ᥟᥭ (ʼay), Aiton ဢႝ (ʼay), Ahom 𑜒𑜩 (ʼay), Zhuang ae, Saek ไอ๋, Thai ไอ (ai).

Pronunciation

Verb

ay

  1. to cough
    da aycough medicine
    ay oóc lượtto cough up blood
    ay oóc ngạpto cough up sputum
    ay khảu bẳngto cough into a tube (in fear of it being too noisy)
    ay mí oóc ngạpto have a dry cough (literally, “to cough without sputum”)
    ay bấu oóc pácto cough without a sound
    tầư lồm đảng, me̱n ay
    They caught the cold wind so they coughed.

Derived terms

References

  • Lương Bèn (2011) Từ điển Tày-Việt [Tay-Vietnamese dictionary]‎ (in Vietnamese), Thái Nguyên: Nhà Xuất bản Đại học Thái Nguyên
  • Léopold Michel Cadière (1910) Dictionnaire Tày-Annamite-Français [Tày-Vietnamese-French Dictionary]‎ (in French), Hanoi: Impressions d'Extrême-Orient

Turkish

Etymology 1

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish آی (ay, moon, month, crescent, a beautiful face), from Proto-Turkic *āy (moon, month).[1]

Cognate with Old Turkic 𐰖 ( /⁠ay⁠/, moon, month), Karakhanid ااىْ (āy, moon, month), Old Uyghur 𐽰𐽰𐽶 (ay, moon, month), Azerbaijani ay (moon), Bashkir ай (ay, moon), Chuvash уйӑх (ujăh, moon), Kazakh ай (ai, moon), Khakas ай (ay, moon), Kyrgyz ай (ay, moon), Southern Altai ай (ay, moon), Tatar ай (ay, moon), Turkmen āý (moon), Tuvan ай (ay, moon), Uyghur ئاي (ay, moon), Uzbek oy (moon), Yakut ый (ıy, moon).

Pronunciation

Noun

ay (definite accusative ayı, plural aylar)

  1. moon
  2. month
Declension
Inflection
Nominative ay
Definite accusative ayı
Singular Plural
Nominative ay aylar
Definite accusative ayı ayları
Dative aya aylara
Locative ayda aylarda
Ablative aydan aylardan
Genitive ayın ayların

Etymology 2

From Ottoman Turkish آی (ay!), akin to Karakhanid (ay!, oh!), Old Uyghur 𐽰𐽶𐽶 (ay!, hey!, oh!).

Interjection

ay

  1. exclamation of surprise, shock or fear: oh!
    Ay kim gelmiş!Oh (look) who is (apparently) here!
  2. exclamation of pain: ouch!
    Ay, başım!Ouch, my head (hurt)!
See also

Further reading

  • ay”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu

References

  1. ^ Starostin, Sergei, Dybo, Anna, Mudrak, Oleg (2003) “*āń(k)”, in Etymological dictionary of the Altaic languages (Handbuch der Orientalistik; VIII.8), Leiden, New York, Köln: E.J. Brill

Wolof

Article

ay

  1. some (plural indefinite article)

Usage notes

Precedes the noun.

Zaghawa

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Noun

ay

  1. I (first person pronoun)

Etymology 2

Noun

ay

  1. iron

References