ay

ay ¹

 (ī)

interj.

Used before me to express distress or regret.

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ay ²

 (ī)

n. & adv.

Variant of aye¹.

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ay ³

 (ā)

adv.

Variant of aye².

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ay

(eɪ)

adv

archaic poetic ever; always

[C12 ai, from Old Norse ei; related to Old English ā always, Latin aevum an age, Greek aiōn]

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ay

(eɪ) or

aye

interj

archaic poetic an expression of misery or surprise

[C14 ey: from an involuntary cry of surprise]

---

ay

(aɪ)

sentence substitute, n

a variant spelling of aye¹

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ay¹

or aye

(eɪ)

adv. Archaic.

ever; always.

[1150–1200; Middle English ei, ai < Scandinavian; compare Old Norse ei, c. Old English ā ever]

ay²

(eɪ)

interj. Archaic.

(used to express regret or sorrow.)

[1300–50]

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

ay

, chihuahua - This interjection expresses surprise or shock—even dismay, annoyance, or resignation.

See also related terms for shock.

Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.

Thesaurus

aye

also ay
noun

An affirmative vote or voter:

yea, yes.

adverb

It is so; as you say or ask:

absolutely, agreed, all right, assuredly, gladly, indubitably, roger, undoubtedly, unquestionably, willingly, yea, yes.

Informal: OK, uh-huh, yeah, yep.

Slang: right on.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

ay(e)

interj (esp Scot dial) → ja; aye, aye, Sir (Naut) → jawohl, Herr Kapitänleutnant/Admiral etc

n (esp Parl) → Jastimme f, → Ja nt; the ayes → diejenigen, die dafür sind, die dafür; the ayes have it → die Mehrheit ist dafür

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

ay

, aye

adv. sí, claro, desde luego, seguramente.

English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012