dey

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See also: Dey, để ý, and deþ

English

Pronunciation

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

Noun

dey (plural deys)

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

Etymology 2

From French dey, 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 they, representing dialects with th-stopping in 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?”

Etymology 4

From Tamil டேய் (“hey!”).

Pronunciation

Interjection

dey

  1. (Singapore, Malaysia, slang, rare, between friends) A familiar term of address conveying extra emphasis at the end of sentences.
Usage notes

Used after lah (Sense 1) in most cases.

References

Anagrams

Cameroon Pidgin

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

From English there.

Predicative

dey

  1. there is, there are, indicates presence in a location
Alternative forms
See also
  • na (“copula for noun phrases, indicates existence”)

Etymology 2

From English they.

Pronoun

dey

  1. they, 3rd person plural subject personal pronoun
See also
Cameroonian Pidgin personal pronouns
Subject personal pronouns
singular plural
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

French

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /dɛj/
  • Audio(file)

Noun

dey m (plural deys)

  1. dey (ruler of the Regency of Algiers)

Further reading

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

Pronoun

dey

  1. (neologism) they (singular). Gender-neutral third-person singular subject pronoun.

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

Icelandic

Pronunciation

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

Noun

dey m (invariable)

  1. dey (ruler of the Regency of Algiers)

References

  1. ^ dey in Dizionario Italiano Olivetti, Olivetti Media Communication
  2. ^ dey in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

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

Nigerian Pidgin

Alternative forms

Etymology

From English there.

Verb

dey

  1. to be
    • (Can we date this quote?), Zanele Buthelezi, Thembani Dladla, Clare Verbeek, “Count animals”, in Storybooks African Languages‎:
      One elephant dey go drink water.
      One elephant is going to drink water.

Old Norse

Verb

dey

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

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?

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

Noun

dey

  1. foot, leg
  2. footstep

References

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia