ay

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ay", aþ, and -aþ

Languages (27)

Translingual • English

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Ainu • Albanian • Anguthimri • Ashkun • Azerbaijani • Beja • Chavacano • Crimean Tatar • Czech • Gagauz • Highland Popoluca • Ladino • Middle English • Middle French • Rayón Zoque • Salar • Scots • Spanish • Sranan Tongo • Tagalog • Tày • Tewa • Turkish • Wolof • Zaghawa

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Page categories

Translingual

Etymology

Clipping of English Aymara or Spanish aymara.

Symbol

ay

1. (international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for Aymara.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Aymara terms

English

Etymology 1

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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aɪ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪ
• Homophones: aye, ay, ey (“island”), eye, I

Interjection

ay

1. Ah! alas! Expressing anger, alarm, frustration, pain, etc.

   Alternative forms: aie, aye

   • 1559, Lucius, Anneus, Seneca, translated by Iasper Heywood, “The Preface to the Tragedye”, in The Sixt Tragedie of the Most Graue and Prudent Author Lucius, Anneus, Seneca, Entituled Troas, […], London: […] Richard Tottyll, →OCLC, signature [A5], verso:

     And ſuch as yet, coulde neuer weapon wꝛeſt, / But on the lappe are woont to dandled be, / Ne yet foꝛgotten had the mothers bꝛeſt, / How greekes them ſlew, alas here ſhall ye ſe, / To make repoꝛte therof, ay woe is me, / My ſong is miſchiefe, murder miſerye.

2. (now chiefly Northern England and Scotland) Expressing earnestness, surprise, wonder, etc.
   • 1863, Mrs. Toogood, Specimens of the Yorkshire Dialect; quoted in “Ay (ēⁱ), int.”, in James A[ugustus] H[enry] Murray [et al.], editors, A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), volume I (A–B), London: Clarendon Press, 1884–1928, →OCLC, page 601, column 2:

     Ay my word! I am glad to see you.

   • 1886 January 5, Robert Louis Stevenson, “Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case”, in Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., →OCLC, page 137:

     Under the strain of this continually impending doom and by the sleeplessness to which I now condemned myself, ay, even beyond what I had thought possible to man, I became, in my own person, a creature eaten up and emptied by fever, languidly weak both in body and mind, and solely occupied by one thought: the horror of my other self.

   • 1888 December 9, Æthelbert [Binns], “Thoughts in Verse. On Finding a Buttercup.”, in The Keighley News, Keighley, West Yorkshire, published 16 March 1889, →OCLC, page 7, column 7:

     Ay! bonny little buttercup, what are ta dewin’ heear, / Hoddin’ up thi tiny heead, this raw, cowd time o’ t’year?

   • 1917 December 29, “Mary Maxwell; or, The Shadow on the Manse”, in The People’s Journal, Dundee, →OCLC, page 6, column 3:

     “Ay, I’m glad he’s going to be mairrit,” he said a few minutes later as he sat in the manse kitchen.

   • 1930 January 4, Northern Weekly Gazette, Stockton-on-Tees, Durham, →OCLC, page 21, column 3:

     AY BY GUM. They’ve summat to put up wi’ hez t’ tram conductors, especially wheer t’ swells lives.

   • 2011, Cynthia B. Huntington, “Full Circle”, in Through Her Eyes: An Infidel’s Perspective […], [Bloomington, Ind.]: Xlibris, →ISBN, page 88:

     Ay, lass, you’ve ruined your chances now. When you left for New York to become a Pan Am stewardess we thought you’d got it made.

3. Used in ay, ay.

Derived terms

• ay, chihuahua
• ay me

See also

• ay oop
• ay up
• ay up me duck

Etymology 2

See aye.

Interjection

ay

1. (Mid-Ulster, others) Alternative spelling of aye (“yes”).
   • 1883, Howard Pyle, “Robin Hood Turns Butcher”, in The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood […], New York, N.Y.: […] Charles Scribner’s Sons […], →OCLC, part second, page 48:

     "Good morrow to thee, jolly fellow," quoth Robin; "thou seemest happy this merry morn."
     "Ay, that am I," quoth the jolly Butcher; "and why should I not be so? […]"

   • 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, “The Spirit of Life”, in She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC, page 284:

     I swear also that I will honour and will cherish thee, Kallikrates, who hast been swept by the wave of time back into my arms, ay, till the very end, come it soon or late.

Noun

ay (plural ays)

1. Alternative spelling of aye (“yes”).

   counting the ays and the noes in a vote

Etymology 3

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”).

Alternative forms

• aye (archaic)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /eɪ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪ
• Homophones: A, a, eh

Adverb

ay (not comparable)

1. (archaic, poetic or Northern England or Scotland) Always; ever; continually; for an indefinite time (alternative or modern spelling of aye).
   • 1670, John Barbour, The Acts and Life of the most victorious Conquerour Robert Bruce King of Scotland, as cited in 1860, Thomas Corser, Collectanea Anglo-poetica, page 160

     O he that hath ay lived free, [...]

Synonyms

• always
• continually
• forever

Derived terms

• ay-green
• forever and ay

Etymology 4

Noun

ay (plural ays)

1. Alternative form of a: the name of the Latin script letter A/a.
   • 2004, Will Rogers, The Stonking Steps, page 170:

     It said, in a whispering, buzzing voice, "Gee-you-ess-ess-ay-dash-em-ee-ar-ar-wye-dash-em-eye-en-gee-oh-dash-pee-eye-pee-dash-pee-ee-ar-ar-wye-dash-pee-eye-en-gee-oh."

   • 2016 CCEB, Communications Instructions Radiotelephone Procedures: ACP125 (G), p. 3-5

     ETA [is spoken] as "ee-tee-ay" instead of "I SPELL Echo Tango Alfa".

Descendants

• ⇒ Alabama: eyka
• → Rohingya: ee
• → Tagalog: ey

Etymology 5

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /eɪ/, (New Zealand) [æe̯]

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪ
• Homophones: A, a, eh

Interjection

ay

1. New Zealand spelling of eh (question tag).
   • 2013 November 13, “Surprising changes in the way Aucklanders speak”, in Stuff‎^[2]:

     For example, New Zealanders tended to say "ay" at the end of sentences, but in the Asian community people used different tags to check whether people were still listening.

Alternative forms

• aye

Etymology 6

Origin uncertain; possibly related to eh and hey; popularized by a catch phrase in a 1970s sitcom. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term. Particularly: “which sitcom? Happy Days?”

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /eɪ/
• Rhymes: -eɪ
• Homophones: A, a, eh, ey, 'ey

Interjection

ay

1. All right (inter); hooray (inter); cool (inter).

Alternative forms

• ey, eyy

Synonyms

• (an expression of joy or happiness): See Thesaurus:yay

Further reading

• Ay in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)

Anagrams

• Ya, YA, ya

Ainu

Noun

ay (Kana spelling アイ)

1. arrow

References

• Batchelor, John (1926), An Ainu-English-Japanese Dictionary, third edition, Tokyo: Kyobunkan
• “ay (アイ)”, in Ainu-English Dictionary‎^[3], TranslationDirectory.com, 1 May 2023 (last accessed)

Albanian

Alternative forms

• ai

Pronoun

ay

1. he

Anguthimri

Noun

ay

1. (Mpakwithi) vegetable

References

• Terry Crowley, The Mpakwithi dialect of Anguthimri (1981), page 184

Ashkun

Etymology

Possibly borrowed from a descendant of Sanskrit अहम् (ahám).

Pronoun

ay (Sanu)

1. I

Azerbaijani

Other scripts

Cyrillic		ај
Arabic		آی

Etymology

Inherited from Old Anatolian Turkish آی (ay), from Proto-Turkic *āy. Cognate with Chuvash уйӑх (ujăh). See Turkish ay for more cognates.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɑj]

• Audio (Baku):

  (file)

Noun

ay (definite accusative ayı, plural aylar)

1. alternative letter-case form of Ay (“the Moon”)
2. month
3. date (day of the month)

   Bu gün ayın neçəsidir? ― What date is it today?

Declension

Declension of ay

	singular	plural
nominative	ay	aylar
definite accusative	ayı	ayları
dative	aya	aylara
locative	ayda	aylarda
ablative	aydan	aylardan
definite genitive	ayın	ayların

Possessive forms of ay

	nominative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	ayım	aylarım
sənin (“your”)	ayın	ayların
onun (“his/her/its”)	ayı	ayları
bizim (“our”)	ayımız	aylarımız
sizin (“your”)	ayınız	aylarınız
onların (“their”)	ayı or ayları	ayları
	accusative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	ayımı	aylarımı
sənin (“your”)	ayını	aylarını
onun (“his/her/its”)	ayını	aylarını
bizim (“our”)	ayımızı	aylarımızı
sizin (“your”)	ayınızı	aylarınızı
onların (“their”)	ayını or aylarını	aylarını
	dative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	ayıma	aylarıma
sənin (“your”)	ayına	aylarına
onun (“his/her/its”)	ayına	aylarına
bizim (“our”)	ayımıza	aylarımıza
sizin (“your”)	ayınıza	aylarınıza
onların (“their”)	ayına or aylarına	aylarına
	locative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	ayımda	aylarımda
sənin (“your”)	ayında	aylarında
onun (“his/her/its”)	ayında	aylarında
bizim (“our”)	ayımızda	aylarımızda
sizin (“your”)	ayınızda	aylarınızda
onların (“their”)	ayında or aylarında	aylarında
	ablative
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	ayımdan	aylarımdan
sənin (“your”)	ayından	aylarından
onun (“his/her/its”)	ayından	aylarından
bizim (“our”)	ayımızdan	aylarımızdan
sizin (“your”)	ayınızdan	aylarınızdan
onların (“their”)	ayından or aylarından	aylarından
	genitive
	singular	plural
mənim (“my”)	ayımın	aylarımın
sənin (“your”)	ayının	aylarının
onun (“his/her/its”)	ayının	aylarının
bizim (“our”)	ayımızın	aylarımızın
sizin (“your”)	ayınızın	aylarınızın
onların (“their”)	ayının or aylarının	aylarının

Further reading

• Orucov, Əliheydər, editor (2006), “ay”, in Azərbaycan dilinin izahlı lüğəti [Explanatory Dictionary of the Azerbaijani Language]‎^[4] (in Azerbaijani), 2nd edition, volume 1, Baku: Şərq-Qərb, page 170

Beja

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈaj/

Etymology 1

Possibly related to Egyptian djw (“five”) or Proto-Semitic *yad- (“hand”), since the loss of d before y is known gwedi (singular) vs gwey (plural).

Noun

áy m (plural áy)

1. hand

Etymology 2

From ay (“hand”).

Beja cardinal numbers

<  4	5	6  >
Cardinal : ay

Numeral

ay m (feminine ayt)

1. five

References

• Reinisch, Leo (1895), Wörterbuch der Beḍauye-Sprache‎^[5] (in German), Wien, Austria, pages 295, 293

Chavacano

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: ay

Adverb

ay

1. Indicates the future tense.

Crimean Tatar

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Turkic *āy (“moon, month”). Compare Turkish ay (“moon, month”).

Noun

ay

1. month
2. moon

Declension

Declension of ay

	singular	plural
nominative	ay	aylar
genitive	aynıñ	aylarnıñ
dative	ayğa	aylarğa
accusative	aynı	aylarnı
locative	ayda	aylarda
ablative	aydan	aylardan

References

• Mirjejev, V. A.; Usejinov, S. M. (2002), Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary]‎^[6], Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN
• “ay”, in Luğatçıq (in Russian)

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈaɪ]

Interjection

ay

1. obsolete spelling of aj

Gagauz

Dolu Ay

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑj/

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Anatolian Turkish آیْ (ay), from Proto-Turkic *āy (“moon, month”). Compare Turkish ay (“moon, month”), Azerbaijani ay.

Noun

ay (definite accusative ayı, plural aylar)

1. moon

   dolu ay

   full moon

   eni ay

   new moon

   ay tutulması

   lunar eclipse

   (literally, “the holding of the moon”)

2. month

   ay bitkisi

   the end of the month

   aydan aya

   from month to month

   • 2026, “Gagauziyada “ATATÜRKü anma Günü” hem “Gençlik hem sport Günü” sıraları düzennendi”, in Ana Sözü‎^[7], Chișinău:

     1919-cu yılın Hederlez ayın (may) 19-da Büük Mustafa Kemal ATATÜRK, Kurtuluş cengindä askerlän Samsun kasabasına çıkarak, türk miilli savaşma ruhunu ateşledi.

     On the month of May 19, 1919, Great Mustafa Kemal ATATÜRK landed in Samsun with soldiers for the War of Independence, igniting the Turkish national warrior spirit.

Declension

Declension of ay

	singular (tekil)	plural (çoğul)
nominative (yalın)	ay	aylar
definite accusative (belirtme)	ayı	ayları
dative (yönelme)	aya	aylara
locative (bulunma)	ayda	aylarda
ablative (çıkma)	aydan	aylardan
genitive (tamlayan)	ayın	ayların

Possessive forms of ay

benim (my)	singular (tekil)	plural (çoğul)
nominative (yalın)	ayım	aylarım
definite accusative (belirtme)	ayımı	aylarımı
dative (yönelme)	ayıma	aylarıma
locative (bulunma)	ayımda	aylarımda
ablative (çıkma)	ayımdan	aylarımdan
genitive (tamlayan)	ayımın	aylarımın
senin (your)	singular (tekil)	plural (çoğul)
nominative (yalın)	ayın	ayların
definite accusative (belirtme)	ayını	aylarını
dative (yönelme)	ayına	aylarına
locative (bulunma)	ayında	aylarında
ablative (çıkma)	ayından	aylarından
genitive (tamlayan)	ayının	aylarının
onun (his/her/its)	singular (tekil)	plural (çoğul)
nominative (yalın)	ayı	ayları
definite accusative (belirtme)	ayını	aylarını
dative (yönelme)	ayına	aylarına
locative (bulunma)	ayında	aylarında
ablative (çıkma)	ayından	aylarından
genitive (tamlayan)	ayının	aylarının
bizim (our)	singular (tekil)	plural (çoğul)
nominative (yalın)	ayımız	aylarımız
definite accusative (belirtme)	ayımızı	aylarımızı
dative (yönelme)	ayımıza	aylarımıza
locative (bulunma)	ayımızda	aylarımızda
ablative (çıkma)	ayımızdan	aylarımızdan
genitive (tamlayan)	ayımızın	aylarımızın
sizin (your)	singular (tekil)	plural (çoğul)
nominative (yalın)	ayınız	aylarınız
definite accusative (belirtme)	ayınızı	aylarınızı
dative (yönelme)	ayınıza	aylarınıza
locative (bulunma)	ayınızda	aylarınızda
ablative (çıkma)	ayınızdan	aylarınızdan
genitive (tamlayan)	ayınızın	aylarınızın
onların (their)	singular (tekil)	plural (çoğul)
nominative (yalın)	ayları	ayları
definite accusative (belirtme)	aylarını	aylarını
dative (yönelme)	aylarına	aylarına
locative (bulunma)	aylarında	aylarında
ablative (çıkma)	aylarından	aylarından
genitive (tamlayan)	aylarının	aylarının

Related terms

• ayaz
• aydın

Etymology 2

Clipping of ayoz.

Noun

ay (definite accusative ayı, plural aylar)

1. saint

Declension

Declension of ay

	singular (tekil)	plural (çoğul)
nominative (yalın)	ay	aylar
definite accusative (belirtme)	ayı	ayları
dative (yönelme)	aya	aylara
locative (bulunma)	ayda	aylarda
ablative (çıkma)	aydan	aylardan
genitive (tamlayan)	ayın	ayların

Possessive forms of ay

benim (my)	singular (tekil)	plural (çoğul)
nominative (yalın)	ayım	aylarım
definite accusative (belirtme)	ayımı	aylarımı
dative (yönelme)	ayıma	aylarıma
locative (bulunma)	ayımda	aylarımda
ablative (çıkma)	ayımdan	aylarımdan
genitive (tamlayan)	ayımın	aylarımın
senin (your)	singular (tekil)	plural (çoğul)
nominative (yalın)	ayın	ayların
definite accusative (belirtme)	ayını	aylarını
dative (yönelme)	ayına	aylarına
locative (bulunma)	ayında	aylarında
ablative (çıkma)	ayından	aylarından
genitive (tamlayan)	ayının	aylarının
onun (his/her/its)	singular (tekil)	plural (çoğul)
nominative (yalın)	ayı	ayları
definite accusative (belirtme)	ayını	aylarını
dative (yönelme)	ayına	aylarına
locative (bulunma)	ayında	aylarında
ablative (çıkma)	ayından	aylarından
genitive (tamlayan)	ayının	aylarının
bizim (our)	singular (tekil)	plural (çoğul)
nominative (yalın)	ayımız	aylarımız
definite accusative (belirtme)	ayımızı	aylarımızı
dative (yönelme)	ayımıza	aylarımıza
locative (bulunma)	ayımızda	aylarımızda
ablative (çıkma)	ayımızdan	aylarımızdan
genitive (tamlayan)	ayımızın	aylarımızın
sizin (your)	singular (tekil)	plural (çoğul)
nominative (yalın)	ayınız	aylarınız
definite accusative (belirtme)	ayınızı	aylarınızı
dative (yönelme)	ayınıza	aylarınıza
locative (bulunma)	ayınızda	aylarınızda
ablative (çıkma)	ayınızdan	aylarınızdan
genitive (tamlayan)	ayınızın	aylarınızın
onların (their)	singular (tekil)	plural (çoğul)
nominative (yalın)	ayları	ayları
definite accusative (belirtme)	aylarını	aylarını
dative (yönelme)	aylarına	aylarına
locative (bulunma)	aylarında	aylarında
ablative (çıkma)	aylarından	aylarından
genitive (tamlayan)	aylarının	aylarının

Etymology 3

Inherited from Old Anatolian Turkish هَایْ (hay). Compare Turkish ay.

Alternative forms

• hay

Interjection

ay

1. (informal) Used to express joy, surprise, pain, frustraiton, shock etc., wow! oh my God! oh!

   ay, ne gözäl!

   wow, how beautiful!

   ay! Acêêr!

   Ouch! It hurts!

   ay, ne titsi!

   Oh, how terrible!

2. (informal, when repeated twice) Used to express reproach, oh, well, eh, oh my

   ay-ay, oolum!

   oh my, son!

Derived terms

• ayol
• haydimää
• haylaz

Related terms

• ey

Further reading

• N. A Baskakov, editor (1972), “ай”, in Gagauzsko-Russko-Moldavskij Slovarʹ [Gagauz-Russian-Moldovan Dictionary], Moskva: Izdatelʹstvo Sovetskaja Enciklopedija, →ISBN, page 30
• Kopuşçu M. İ., Todorova S. A., Kiräkova T.İ., editors (2019), “ay”, in Gagauzça-rusça sözlük: klaslar 5-12, Komrat: Gagauziya M.V. Maruneviç adına Bilim-Aaraştırma merkezi, →ISBN, page 21
• Mavrodi M. F., editor (2019), “ay”, in Gagauzça-rusça sözlük: klaslar 1-4, Komrat: Gagauziya M.V. Maruneviç adına Bilim-Aaraştırma merkezi, →ISBN, page 13

Highland Popoluca

Noun

ay

1. leaf

References

• Elson, Benjamin F.; Gutiérrez G., Donaciano (1999), Diccionario popoluca de la Sierra, Veracruz (Serie de vocabularios y diccionarios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 41)‎^[8] (in Spanish), Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., →ISBN, page 10

Ladino

Etymology

From Old Spanish ha i (“it has there”).

Verb

ay

1. there is, there are

Middle English

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Old Norse ei, ey, from Proto-Germanic *aiwa, *aiwō (“ever, always”), perhaps equivalent to the instrumental form of *aiwaz. Doublet of ō / ā (“ever, always”), which it displaced.

Alternative forms

• ai, ey

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /æi̯/

Adverb

ay

1. always, constantly, unceasingly; eternally, forever

Descendants

• English: aye, ay
• Yola: aye

References

• “ai, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

Noun

ay

1. alternative form of ey (“egg”)

Middle French

Verb

ay

1. first-person singular present indicative of avoir

Rayón Zoque

Noun

ay

1. leaf
2. brim (of a hat)

References

• Harrison, Roy; B. de Harrison, Margaret; López Juárez, Francisco; Ordoñes, Cosme (1984), Vocabulario zoque de Rayón (Serie de diccionarios y vocabularios indígenas Mariano Silva y Aceves; 28)‎^[9] (in Spanish), México, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, page 4

Salar

Etymology

From Proto-Turkic *āy (“moon, month”).

Noun

ay (3rd person possessive [please provide], plural [please provide])

1. moon

References

Tenishev, Edhem (1976), “ay”, in Stroj salárskovo jazyká [Grammar of Salar], Moscow: Nauka

Scots

Etymology 1

Inherited from Middle English ey.

Alternative forms

• ae

Interjection

ay

1. An exclamation of surprise or wonder.

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

• aye

Interjection

ay

1. yes; yea; a word expressing assent, or an affirmative answer to a question

Etymology 3

Adverb

ay

1. alternative form of aye

References

• “ay, adv.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, retrieved 24 May 2024, reproduced from William A[lexander] Craigie, A[dam] J[ack] Aitken [et al.], editors, A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue: […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, 1931–2002, →OCLC.
• “ay, interj.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, retrieved 24 May 2024, reproduced from W[illiam] Grant and D[avid] D. Murison, editors, The Scottish National Dictionary, Edinburgh: Scottish National Dictionary Association, 1931–1976, →OCLC.
• “ay, interj.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, retrieved 24 May 2024, reproduced from W[illiam] Grant and D[avid] D. Murison, editors, The Scottish National Dictionary, Edinburgh: Scottish National Dictionary Association, 1931–1976, →OCLC.
• “aye, adv.”, in The Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries, 2004–present, →OCLC, retrieved 24 May 2024, reproduced from W[illiam] Grant and D[avid] D. Murison, editors, The Scottish National Dictionary, Edinburgh: Scottish National Dictionary Association, 1931–1976, →OCLC.

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈai/ [ˈai̯]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ai
• Syllabification: ay
• Homophone: hay

Etymology 1

Onomatopoeic.

Interjection

¡ay!

1. ah!, alas!
2. woe!
3. expresses pain, sorrow, or surprise
   • 1877, Benito Pérez Galdós, Gloria:

     ¡Ay de ti si no te rebelas!

     Woe is you if you do not rebel!

Synonyms

• guay (archaic, poetic)

Derived terms

• ay ay ay
• ay de mí
• ay Dios
• ay ve vos

Etymology 2

Verb

ay

1. obsolete spelling of hay

Further reading

• “ay”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Sranan Tongo

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ai̯/, [a̠i̯], [ɑ̟i̯]

Noun

ay

1. alternative spelling of ai

Tagalog

Etymology 1

Compare Hanunoo ay, Cebuano kay, Remontado Agta ay, and Ibanag ay. Similar function to Kapampangan yang, Ilocano ket and Pangasinan et.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ʔaj/ [ʔaɪ̯], (colloquial) /ʔe/ [ʔɛ]
• Rhymes: -aj
• Syllabification: ay

Particle

ay (Baybayin spelling ᜀᜌ᜔)

1. Separates the subject and the predicate. Indicative of a sentence inversion, i.e. from predicate-first form to subject-first form.

   Ako ay Pilipino. (Pilipino ako.)

   I am Filipino.

   Ika'y isang sirena. (Sirena ka.)

   You're a mermaid.

2. then; so

   Kung gayon ay sumunod sa akin

   If that is so then follow me

3. (dialectal) Particle used in start or end of sentences to express warning or catch attention. See also: a, o, oy, and aya / ayaa.

   Parini ka ay/Ay, parini ka. ― Come here.

Usage notes

• (inversion marker): This word is often confused (by speakers of English or similar languages) to mean to be due to its similarity in location on sentences in subject-first form.
• This is usually elided to 'y following a word ending in a vowel in speeches, casual, or poetic writing.

Alternative forms

• 'y — elided form, informal, following a word ending with a vowel or "n"
• e

Etymology 2

From Proto-Austronesian *ai and/or Spanish ay. Related to English ay. Compare Hokkien 哎 (ai).

Alternative forms

• hay

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈʔaj/ [ˈʔaɪ̯]
• Rhymes: -aj
• Syllabification: ay

Interjection

ay (Baybayin spelling ᜀᜌ᜔)

1. general exclamation: alas; no; oh; oops

   Ay! Nahulog.

   Oops! It fell.

   Ay! Mali.

   Oh! It's wrong.

Derived terms

• ay kabayo!
• ay palaka!

See also

• ayayay

Etymology 3

Borrowed from English i, the English name of the letter I / i.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ʔaj/ [ʔaɪ̯]
• Rhymes: -aj
• Syllabification: ay

Noun

ay (Baybayin spelling ᜀᜌ᜔)

1. the name of the Latin script letter I/i, in the Filipino alphabet

   Synonym: (in the Abecedario and Abakada alphabet) i

See also

• (Latin-script letter names) titik; ey, bi, si, di, i, ef, dyi, eyts, ay, dyey, key, el, em, en, enye, en dyi, o, pi, kyu, ar, es, ti, yu, vi, dobolyu, eks, way, zi

Further reading

• “ay”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, 2018

Anagrams

• ya

Tày

Etymology

From Proto-Tai *ʔajᴬ (“to cough”). Cognate with Northern Thai ᩋᩱ, Lao ໄອ (ʼai), Lü ᦺᦀ (˙ʼay), Shan ဢႆ (ʼǎi), Tai Nüa ᥟᥭ (ʼay), Aiton ဢ︀ႝ (ʼay), Ahom 𑜒𑜩 (ʼay), Zhuang ae, Saek ไอ๋, Thai ไอ (ai).

Pronunciation

• (Thạch An – Tràng Định) IPA^(key): [ʔaj˧˧]
• (Trùng Khánh) IPA^(key): [ʔaj˦˥]

Verb

ay

1. to cough

   da ay ― cough medicine

   ay oóc lượt ― to cough up blood

   ay oóc ngạp ― to cough up sputum

   ay khảu bẳng ― to cough into a tube (in fear of it being too noisy)

   ay mí oóc ngạp ― to have a dry cough (literally, “to cough without sputum”)

   ay bấu oóc pác ― to cough without a sound

   tầư lồm đảng, me̱n ay

   They caught the cold wind so they coughed.

Derived terms

• ay lồm

References

• Lương Bèn (2011), Từ điển Tày-Việt [Tay-Vietnamese dictionary]‎^[10][11] (in Vietnamese), Thái Nguyên: Nhà Xuất bản Đại học Thái Nguyên
• Léopold Michel Cadière (1910), Dictionnaire Tày-Annamite-Français [Tày-Vietnamese-French Dictionary]‎^[12] (in French), Hanoi: Impressions d'Extrême-Orient

Tewa

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔèː/ [ʔèː]

Noun

ay

1. child

References

• Martinez, Esther (1982), San Juan Pueblo Téwa Dictionary, San Juan Pueblo Bilingual Program, San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico: Bishop Publishing Co., →OCLC, page 9

Turkish

Ay. (sense 1)

Etymology 1

Etymology tree

Proto-Turkic *āy

Old Anatolian Turkish آیْ (ay)

Ottoman Turkish آی (ay)

Turkish ay

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish آی (ay), from Old Anatolian Turkish آیْ (ay), from Proto-Turkic *āy.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑj/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

ay (definite accusative ayı, plural aylar)

1. (astronomy) moon

   Ay'a ilk ayak basan insan Neil Armstrong'tur.

   The first person to set foot on the Moon was Neil Armstrong.

2. (time) month

   Bir yılda 12 ay var.

   There are 12 months in a year.

Declension

Declension of ay

	singular	plural
nominative	ay	aylar
definite accusative	ayı	ayları
dative	aya	aylara
locative	ayda	aylarda
ablative	aydan	aylardan
genitive	ayın	ayların

Related terms

• ay hali
• ay ışığı
• ay tutulması
• ayçiçeği
• aydede
• aydın
• aylı
• aylık
• aysız
• balayı
• dolunay
• matem ayı

Proper nouns

• Aysima

Etymology 2

From Ottoman Turkish آی (ay!), akin to Karakhanid [script needed] (ay!, “oh!”), Old Uyghur 𐽰𐽶𐽶 (ay!, “hey!, oh!”).

Interjection

ay

1. exclamation of surprise, shock or fear: oh!

   Ay kim gelmiş! ― Oh, (look) who is (apparently) here!

2. exclamation of pain: ouch!

   Ay, başım! ― Ouch, my head (hurts)!

Related terms

• ayol

See also

• hay!
• ey!

Further reading

• “ay”, in Turkish dictionaries, Türk Dil Kurumu

Wolof

Article

ay

1. some (plural indefinite article)

Usage notes

Precedes the noun.

Zaghawa

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aj/

Etymology 1

Noun

ay

1. I (first person pronoun)

Etymology 2

Noun

ay

1. iron

References

• Beria-English English-Beria Dictionary [provisional] ADESK, Iriba, Kobe Department, Chad