Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

blay

/blˈeɪ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.83 in modern English

Syllables: blay
IPA: /blˈeɪ/

9

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

1

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The bleak (fish).

name

Countable; Uncountable

name

A commune in Calvados department, Normandy, France.

Countable; Uncountable

Etymology

From Middle English *blaye, *bleye, from Old English blǣġe (“blay, bleak, gudgeon”), from Proto-West Germanic *blaigijā, from Proto-Germanic *blaigijǭ (“blay, bleak, gudgeon”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleyk- (“to shine”). Cognate with West Frisian blei, Dutch blei, German Bleie, Bleihe (“blay”).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: *blaye, blǣġe, *blaigijā, *blaigijǭ, *bʰleyk-

Usage

Inflected Forms

blays (plural)

Homonyms

bley

Rhymes With

they way may day say one-way away play today pay stay re

Questions

How do you pronounce blay?: The recorded pronunciation is /blˈeɪ/.
What does blay mean?: The bleak (fish).
Where does blay come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce blay

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “blay”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/blˈeɪ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “blay”.
Repeat and practice — Say “blay” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.