aye
/eɪ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.89 in modern English
6
Scrabble Score
3
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
intj
Yes; yea; a word expressing assent, or an affirmative answer to a question.
intj
A word used to acknowledge a command from a superior, usually preceded by a verbatim repeat-back.
verb
To respond with an "aye".
noun
An affirmative vote; one who votes in the affirmative.
intj
Alternative spelling of ay: expressing anger, alarm, frustration, pain, etc.
Example Sentences
- "[…]Do that good miſcheefe, which may make this Iſland / Thine owne for euer, and I thy Caliban, / For aye thy foot-licker."
- "The ship drove fast, loud roared the blast, / And southward aye we fled."
- "Huge hills and mountains of casks on casks were piled upon her wharves, and side by side the world-wandering whale ships lay silent and safely moored at last; while from others came a sound of carpenters and coopers, with blended noises of fires and forges to melt the pitch, all betokening that new cruises were on the start; that one most perilous and long voyage ended, only begins a second; and a second ended, only begins a third, and so on, for ever and for aye."
- "Let the Amen sound from His people again; / Gladly for aye we adore Him."
- "Tro[ylus]. Haue I not tarried? Pan[darus]. I the grinding; but you muſt tarry the boulting. Troy. Haue I not tarried? Paude.^([sic]) I the boulting; but you muſt tarry the leauening. Troy. Still haue I tarried. Pan. I, to the leauening, but heares yet in the word hereafter, the kneading, […]"
- "david: […] Will he surely give him his daughter? The daughter of his house in Gilgal? soldier: Aye, surely he will."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂ey- Proto-Indo-European *-u Proto-Indo-European *h₂óyu Proto-Indo-European *-osinflu. Proto-Germanic *aiwazder. Old Norse eyder. Middle English ay English aye From Middle English ay, ai, aȝȝ, from Old Norse ei, ey, from Proto-Germanic *aiwa, *aiwō (“ever, always”), from *aiwaz (“age; law”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyu- (“long time”). Doublet of aeviternity and aevum. See also Old English āwo, āwa, ā, ō, Middle Dutch ie, German je; also Old English ǣ(w) (“law”), West Frisian ieu (“century”), Dutch eeuw (“century”); also Irish aois (“age, period”), Breton oad (“age, period”), Latin aevum (“eternity”), Ancient Greek αἰών (aiṓn).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: ay, ei, *aiwa, *h₂eyu-, a ye, အေး
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Religion.