Link Centre Dictionary

nay

UK/neɪ/ US/ˈneɪ/ fairly common
noun (1) adverb (1)

noun

1.

a negative

  • “the nays have it”
Antonyms

adverb

1.

not this merely but also; not only so but

  • “each of us is peculiar, nay, in a sense unique”

Origin

From Middle English nai, nei, from Old Norse nei (“no”), contraction of ne (“not”) + ei (“ever”), itself from Proto-Germanic *nai (“never”), *nē (“not”). More at no. The verb is from Middle English nayen (“to refuse, deny, gainsay”), from the interjection and adverb above.

Related words

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.