adverb
1.
yes.
noun
2.
an affirmative vote or voter, especially in British Parliament, corresponding to yea in U.S. Congress.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
adverb
ay1.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To aye
00:10
Aye
is always a great word to know.
So is quincunx. Does it mean:
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
ay or aye2 (eɪ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —interj | |
| archaic, poetic an expression of misery or surprise | |
| [C14 ey: from an involuntary cry of surprise] | |
| aye or aye2 | |
| —interj | |
| [C14 ey: from an involuntary cry of surprise] | |
| aye or ay1 (aɪ) | |
| —sentence substitute | |
| 1. | yes: archaic or dialectal except in voting by voice |
| 2. | aye aye |
| a. an expression of compliance, esp used by seamen | |
| b. (Brit) an expression of amused surprise, esp at encountering something that confirms one's suspicions, expectations, etc | |
| —n | |
| 3. | a. a person who votes in the affirmative |
| b. an affirmative vote | |
| [C16: probably from pronoun I, expressing assent] | |
| ay or ay1 | |
| —sentence substitute | |
| —n | |
| [C16: probably from pronoun I, expressing assent] | |
| aye2 (əɪ) | |
| —adv | |
| (Scot) always; still | |
| [Old Norse ei ever; Old English ā; compare Latin aevum an age, Greek aion aeon, aiei ever, always] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
aye
"assent," 1570s, perhaps a variant of I, meaning "I assent;" or an alt. of M.E. yai "yes," or from aye (2) "always, ever."
aye
"always, ever," c.1200, from O.N. ei "ever" (cognate with O.E. a "always, ever"), from PIE *aiw- "vital force, life, long life, eternity" (cf. Gk. aion "age, eternity," L. aevum "space of time;" see eon).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Cite This Source
Example sentences
Aye, the subtleties in the trading floor can only be surmised for now.
Aye, but arguments can become tedious, and sometimes rampant imagination may add levity to an otherwise heavy discussion.
The legislature there can vote aye or nay on the computer-drawn map but can't change it.
The aye-aye has long, crooked fingers with big claws.
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