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35,981 English word records · 45,491 etymology sections in this online subset
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ayEnglish (en) · Etymology 1Source text
From Middle English ei, ej, ey, eye, ultimately imitative of the natural utterance, although probably also influenced by Anglo-Norman and Old French ahi, Old French haï, and Middle French aï, aïe, ay.
Original Wiktionary entry and references ↗ayEnglish (en) · Etymology 2Source text
ayEnglish (en) · Etymology 3Source text
From Middle English ay, 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”).
Original Wiktionary entry and references ↗ayEnglish (en) · Etymology 4Source text
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Original Wiktionary entry and references ↗ayEnglish (en) · Etymology 6Source text
Origin uncertain; possibly related to eh and hey; popularized by a catch phrase in a 1970s sitcom.
Original Wiktionary entry and references ↗INDEPENDENT SOURCE LIBRARY
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Chambers (1908)
1908- AyEnglish · e-37683-2035
Ay, ā, interj. ah! oh! alas! esp. in ay me! [M. E. ey, ei, perh. from Fr. ahi, aï; cf. Sp. ay de mi!]
Read the full source record → - AyEnglish · e-37683-2036
Ay, Aye, ī, adv. yea: yes: indeed.—n. Aye (ī), a vote in the affirmative: (pl.) those who vote in the affirmative. [Perh. a dial. form of aye, ever; perh. a variant of yea.]
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