ey

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ey"

English

Etymology 1

A box of ten eyren.

Etymology tree

Old English ǣġ

Middle English ey

English ey

Inherited from Middle English ey, ei, from Old English ǣġ, from Proto-West Germanic *aij, from Proto-Germanic *ajją (“egg”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm (“egg”), probably from *h₂éwis (“bird”). Doublet of egg, huevo, oeuf, and ovum.

Cognates

Cognate with North Frisian ai (“egg”), Saterland Frisian Oai (“egg”), West Frisian aai, aei (“egg”), Bavarian Oa (“egg”), Dutch ei (“egg”), German Ei (“egg”), German Low German Ai, Ägg (“egg”), Limburgish ei, Éï (“egg”), Luxembourgish Ee (“egg”), Mòcheno oi (“egg”), Vilamovian e (“egg”), Yiddish איי (ey, “egg”), Danish æg (“egg”), Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk egg (“egg”), Swedish ägg (“egg”), Crimean Gothic ada (“egg”); also Breton vi (“egg”), Cornish oy (“egg”), Welsh wy (“egg”), Latin ōvum (“egg”), Greek αβγό (avgó), αυγό (avgó, “egg”), Albanian vo (“egg”), Belarusian and Russian яйцо́ (jajcó, “egg”), Bulgarian яйце́ (jajcé, “egg”), Czech vejce (“egg”), Macedonian јајце (jajce, “egg”), Polish jajo (“egg”), Serbo-Croatian ја́јце, jájce (“egg”), Slovak vajce (“egg”), Slovene jájce (“egg”), Ukrainian яйце́ (jajcé, “egg”), Ossetian айк (ajk), айкӕ (ajkæ, “egg”), Armenian ձու (ju, “egg”), Northern Kurdish hêk (“egg”), Southern Kurdish خا (xa, “egg”), Zazaki hak (“egg”), Pashto هګۍ (hagë́y), ويه (wë́ya, “egg”), Persian خاگ (xâg), خایه (xâye, “egg”).

This native English form was displaced by the Old Norse–derived egg in the 16th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈeɪ̯/, [ˈeɪ̯]
• Homophones: A, a, ay, aye, eh, 'ey

Noun

ey (plural eyren)

1. (obsolete) An egg. [dated since the 16th century]
   • 1787, originally 1381, Liber quotidianus contrarotulatoris garderobae:

     Take brothe of capons withoute herbes, and breke eyren, and cast into the pot, and make a crudde therof, and colour hit with saffron, and then presse oute the brothe and kerve it on leches; and then take swete creme of almondes, or of cowe mylk, and boyle hit; […]

Related terms

• Cockney

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ékʷeh₂der.

Proto-Germanic *awjō

Proto-West Germanic *auwju

Old English īeġ

Middle English ei

English ey

Inherited from Middle English ei, i, ie, from Old English ēġ, īġ, īeġ, from Proto-West Germanic *auwju, from Proto-Germanic *awjō (“watery land, floodplain, island”), earlier *agwjō ~ *ahwjō (literally “(that which is) of the water”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ékʷeh₂ (“flowing water”) +‎ *-yeh₂.

Cognate with Saterland Frisian Äi, German Aue, Icelandic ey, Faroese oyggj, Swedish ö, Norwegian Bokmål øy, Norwegian Bokmål øy, Danish ø. Doublet of oe.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈaɪ̯/, [ˈaɪ̯]
• Rhymes: -aɪ
• Homophones: ay, aye, I, eye

Noun

ey (plural eys) (UK, rare, otherwise obsolete)

1. A small island formed by the buildup of silt or gravel at the confluence of two rivers or streams.
   • 1927, Essex Naturalist, page 280:

     Now it will be seen that each of the three small streamlets named forms, at its junction with the larger river into which it flows, an ey, or island, of this latter kind — Crip's-ey, Dom's-ey, and Pin's-ey, respectively; and I suggest that, from these three eys, each of the three streams indicated derived the final element of its name.

   • 2009, Julie Wileman, War and Rumours of War, page 81:

     Runnymede Bridge is situated on an 'ey' – a small gravel islet close to the river bank.

2. A place that has a name ending in "-ey" because it is or was located at such an island.
   • 1888 January 28, Walter de Gray Birch, “WASA, ISIS, OCK”, in Academy and Literature, volume 33, number 821, page 63:

     Among the many eys, eyots, or islands, clustering about Oxford, at or near the confluence of the Isis and Cherwell, viz., Binsey, Botley, Hinksey, Iffley, Osney, Oxey, Pixey, &c., there are two, vis., Osney and Oxey, which manifestly enshrine this rivername.

   • 1924, Arthur Hadrian Allcroft, Downland Pathways, page 76:

     In Saxon the word ey meant peninsula as well as island, and there are plenty of other eys about —Langney and Hydeney and Horsey to wit, Chilly and Rickney and Northeye and Mountney.

   • 2018, Bob Gilbert, Ghost Trees: Nature and People in a London Parish:

     Bermondsey, Stepney, Hackney; there are many of these 'eys' in London and they were all once islands, or higher, dryer points in the surrounding marshlands.

Related terms

• ea
• eyot
• island
• oe

Etymology 3

Coined by Christine M. Elverson in 1975 by removing the "th" from they.

Pronunciation

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

Pronoun

ey (third-person singular, nominative case, accusative em, possessive adjective eir, possessive noun eirs, reflexive emself)

1. (rare, epicene, nonstandard) A gender-neutral third-person singular subject pronoun, one of the so-called Spivak pronouns, equivalent to the singular they and coordinate with gendered pronouns he and she.
   • 1975 August 23, Judie Black, “Ey has a word for it”, in Chicago Tribune, section 1, page 12:

     Eir sentences would sound smoother since ey wouldn't clutter them with the old sexist pronouns. And if ey should trip up in the new usage, ey would only have emself to blame.

   • 1996 December 22, Shirley Worth, “New To Yoga”, in alt.yoga‎^[3] (Usenet), message-ID <32BDCA0C.6C8@worth.org>:

     I'm not familiar with this book, but I encourage Marksmill to look for it-- and while ey is at it, to also look at a number of other books.

   • 1997 November 25, Scott Robert Dawson, “Who Pays for Cellular Calls”, in alt.cellular‎^[4] (Usenet), message-ID <347acf56.333719@news.interlog.com>:

     If a mobile user is far from eir home area, ey will pay a long-distance fee for carriage of the call *from* eir home area, just as a caller would pay long-distance on a call *to* that area.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:ey.

Alternative forms

• 'ey

Synonyms

• e
• see Appendix:English third-person singular pronouns

Etymology 4

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈeɪ̯/, [ˈeɪ̯]

Interjection

ey

1. Alternative form of hey.
   • 1999, Nilo Cruz, A Bicycle Country, New York, N.Y.: Dramatists Play Service, published 2004, →ISBN, act 1, scene 2, page 9:

     JULIO. (Moves away.) No walking. I told you I’m not walking. / INES. You walked yesterday after the exercises. / JULIO. I can’t today. / INES. Then I’m going outside to smoke! / JULIO. Ey, don’t get angry!

   • 2004, Helen Walsh, chapter 6, in Brass, Edinburgh: Canongate, →ISBN, pages 174–175:

     The night vault rests for a while and Tony springs to life, shifting his weight to the balls of his feet, and hurling a fusillade of punches which fall inches from my tummy. ‘Ey, ey stop that will you,’ Liam says, pulling him away from me, ‘Remember what we said about all that? A time and a place ey son?’

   • 2009, Jacob Polley, chapter 14, in Talk of the Town, London: Picador, →ISBN, pages 136–137:

     Lad? Chris – that’s yer name, isn’t it? Chris, just help a feller out, ey? I’ve got me little girl ter think of. […] There’s a mug tree stood on the counter and I check it fer hangin keyrings. Nowt. / Ey. Ey, stop that. Get outta there, yer little sod.

Alternative forms

• 'ey

Etymology 5

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈaɪ̯/, [ˈaɪ̯]

Noun

ey (plural eys)

1. Obsolete form of eye.

Etymology 6

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈeɪ̯/, [ˈeɪ̯]

Interjection

ey

1. Alternative spelling of ay (expression of elated surprise)

Alternative forms

• ay, ayy
• eyy

See also

• ey up
• -ey (suffix)

Anagrams

• YE, Ye, ye

Azerbaijani

Pronunciation

• Audio (Baku):

  (file)

Interjection

ey

1. Used to call someone's attention.

Dena'ina

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əj/

Pronoun

ey (Inland)

1. alternative form of yi (third-person non-human pronoun)

References

• Kari, James (2013), Denaʼina Topical Dictionary, Revised Edition, Alaska Native Language Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, page 65

German

Etymology

Derived from Middle High German ei, a common interjection. In contemporary German possibly reinforced by Turkish ey (“vocative particle”), English hey.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛɪ̯/

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

  (file)

Interjection

ey (colloquial, originally youth slang)

1. Used to call someone's attention, or as an intensifier when placed at the end.

   Boah, ey!

   (Whoa), man!

   Ey Peter, komm mal kucken, was hier auf dem Schild steht!

   Hey Peter, check out what this sign here says!

   • 2016 April 8, Jenni Zylka, quoting Udo Lindenberg, “Echo-Verleihung: Preis, der es jedem recht machen will”, in Die Tageszeitung: taz‎^[5], →ISSN:

     Der unkorrumpierbare Udo Lindenberg, der seinen „Bestes Video national“-Gewinn galant mit „Geilomat, ey“ kommentierte […]

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. Expresses indignation or disgust; oi

   Ey, lass den Scheiß! So geht man nicht mit anderen Leuten um.

   Oi, quit that shit! That is not how you treat other people.

See also

• ei

Icelandic

Etymology

Derived from Old Norse ey, from Proto-Germanic *awjō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈeiː]
• Rhymes: -eiː

  Homophone: ei, Ey

Noun

ey f (genitive singular eyjar, nominative plural eyjar)

1. island

   Synonyms: eyja, eyland

Usage notes

• The inflections of the strong and weak nouns ey and eyja tend to be mixed together:
  • The weak inflection is more common in the nominative, accusative and dative singular (nom. eyja(n), acc. eyju(na), dat. eyju(nni)), but the strong inflections are also used (nom. ey(in), acc. ey(na), dat. ey(nni) or eyju(nni)). The strong definite form eyin, however, is rare compared to weak eyjan.
  • The strong genitive (eyjar(innar)) is dominant compared to the weak (eyju(nnar)).
  • The strong inflection is more common in the nominative/accusative plural (eyjar(nar)) but the dative and genitive plurals are indistinguishable for both strong and weak forms (dat. eyjum/eyjunum, gen. eyja(nna)).
• The alternative archaic strong dative singular eyju(nni) is indistinguishable from the weak form.
• All plural place names for islands use the strong eyjar rather than the weak eyjur: Færeyjar, Vestmannaeyjar. Singular place names, however, may be based on ey or eyja.

Declension

Declension of ey (feminine)

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	ey	eyin	eyjar	eyjarnar
accusative	ey	eyna	eyjar	eyjarnar
dative	ey, eyju	eynni, eyjunni	eyjum	eyjunum
genitive	eyjar	eyjarinnar	eyja	eyjanna

References

• Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989), “ey”, in Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, →ISBN (Available at Málið.is under the “Eldri orðabækur” tab.)
• Kristín Bjarnadóttir, editor (2002–2026), “ey”, in Beygingarlýsing íslensks nútímamáls [The Database of Modern Icelandic Inflection] (in Icelandic), Reykjavík: The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies
• Mörður Árnason (2019), Íslensk orðabók, 5th edition, Reykjavík: Forlagið
• “ey” in the Dictionary of Modern Icelandic (in Icelandic) and ISLEX (in the Nordic languages)

Kankanaey

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Tagalog ey, from English ay, the English name of the letter A/a.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʔej/ [ˈʔei̯]
• Rhymes: -ej
• Syllabification: ey

Noun

ey

1. The name of the Latin script letter A/a.

See also

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

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʔəj/ [ˈʔɨi̯]
• Rhymes: -əj
• Syllabification: ey

Interjection

ëy

1. An interjection beginning each strophe in daing songs

Noun

ëy

1. act of carrying, transporting, moving, going

Derived terms

• emey
• eyak
• iey
• ipeey
• makaey
• mangipay-an
• pay-am
• pay-en
• umey

References

• Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino (2016), Ortograpiya di Kankanaëy [Kankanaey Orthography]‎^[6] (in Kankanaey and Tagalog), →ISBN, pages 10-11
• Morice Vanoverbergh (1933), “ey”, in A Dictionary of Lepanto Igorot or Kankanay. As it is spoken at Bauco (Linguistische Anthropos-Bibliothek; XII)‎^[7], Mödling bei Wien, St. Gabriel, Österreich: Verlag der Internationalen Zeitschrift „Anthropos“, →OCLC, page 153
• Allen, Larry (2021), “ey”, in Kankanaey – English Dictionary, Summer Institute of Linguistics
• Wallace, Judy (2018), “ey”, in Northern Kankanay – English Dictionary, Summer Institute of Linguistics

Middle English

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old English ǣġ, from Proto-West Germanic *aij, from Proto-Germanic *ajją, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm (“egg”). Doublet of eg.

Alternative forms

• ay, aye, ei, eye, eyȝ
• æȝ (Early Middle English)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /æi̯/

Noun

ey (plural eyren or (rare) eyre)

1. egg (especially of a chicken or other fowl)

   Synonym: eg

   • 1490, William Caxton, Prologue to Eneydos:

     And one of theym […] cam in to an hows and axed for mete and specyally he axyd after eggys, and the goode wyf answerde that she could speke no Frenshe. And the marchaunt was angry, for he also coude speke no Frenshe, but wolde have hadde egges; and she understode hym not. And thenne at laste a-nother sayd that he wolde have eyren. Then the good wyf sayd that she understod hym wel. Loo, what sholde a man in thyse dayes now wryte, egges, or eyren? Certaynly it is hard to playse every man, by-cause of dyversite and chaunge of langage.

     And one of them […] came into a house and asked for food, and especially he asked for eggs; and the goodwife answered that she did not speak French. And the merchant was angry, for he did not speak French either, but he wanted eggs and she did not understand him. And then at last someone else said that he wanted to have eyren. Then the goodwife said that she understood him well. Lo, what should these days be written: eggs or eyren? Certainly it is hard to please everyone, because of the diversity and change of language.

   • a. 1398, John Trevisa, transl. Bartholomeus Anglicus, as De Proprietatibus Rerum (MS BL Add. 27944), Vol. I, p. 628:

     A forlyued cok leiþ eiren in his laste elde... and ȝif any venemous worme sittiþ on broode þerevppon in þe canyculer dayes, þerof is igendrid... a cocatrice.

     An elderly rooster lays eyren in his last days... and if any venomous snake broods them in the canicular days, thereof is hatched... a cockatrice.

Usage notes

• Due to its rarity, it has sometimes incorrectly been asserted that the plural eyre is found nowhere in the Middle English corpus.

Related terms

• kideney

Descendants

• English: (obsolete) ey

Etymology 2

Derived from Latin ei and Old French ahi, äi.

Alternative forms

• ei, i, eygh, eyghe, ye

Interjection

ey

1. An exclamation of surprise, challenge, or inquiry.

Descendants

• English: ay
• Scots: ay, ae

References

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

Etymology 3

Adverb

ey

1. alternative form of ay (“always”)

Etymology 4

Noun

ey (plural eyen)

1. alternative form of eye (“eye”)

Etymology 5

Noun

ey (uncountable)

1. alternative form of eye (“fear; awe”)
   • c. 1470, O lord omnipotent:

     Exhorting thy people to have a special ey, That thee to praise they never cease.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Verb

ey

1. to awe

Middle Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈe.ɨ/

Verb

ey

1. second-person singular present indicative of mynet

Old Norse

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /eɥ/, [øɥ]

Etymology 1

Derived from Proto-Germanic *aiwaz m, *aiwō f (“long time, age, eternity”), itself from Proto-Indo-European *h₂óyu ~ *h₂yéws.

Adverb

ey

1. always, ever

Alternative forms

• ei, æ

Further reading

• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), “ey1”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive

Etymology 2

Inherited from Proto-Norse *ᚨᚢᛃᚢ (*auju), inherited from Proto-Germanic *awjō.

Noun

ey f (genitive eyjar, dative eyju, plural eyjar)

2. island

Declension

Declension of ey (strong jō-stem)

feminine	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	ey	eyin	eyjar	eyjarnar
accusative	ey	eyna	eyjar	eyjarnar
dative	ey, eyju	eynni, eyjunni	eyjum	eyjunum
genitive	eyjar	eyjarinnar	eyja	eyjanna

Alternative forms

• ᚢ (u) — runic

Descendants

• Icelandic: ey f, eyja f
• Faroese: oyggj f, oy f
• Norwegian Nynorsk: øy
  • Norwegian Bokmål: øy
• Old Swedish: ø̄
  • Swedish: ö c, oͤ, oͤoͤ (archaic)
    • → English: oe (partly)
• Danish: ø c
  • → English: oe (partly)
• Gutnish: oy
• → Old Irish: í f
  • Irish: í f
• → English: -ey, -ay (in place names)

Further reading

• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), “ey2”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive

Etymology 3

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew-der.

Proto-Germanic *aują

Proto-Norse ᚨᚢᛃᚨ (auja)

Old Norse ey

Inherited from Proto-Norse ᚨᚢᛃᚨ (auja), itself from Proto-Germanic *aują n, itself from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew- (“enjoy”). Related to auð- (“easy, easily”), from Proto-Germanic *auþuz (“easy”), whence Old English ieþe (“easy”).

Noun

ey n

2. (hapax legomenon) luck, fortune
   • In a prayer towards the Cross recorded in Landnámabók

     Gótt ey gǫmlum mǫnnum, gótt ey ungum mǫnnum.

     Good fortune to old men, good fortune to young men.

Declension

Declension of ey (strong ja-stem)

neuter	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	ey	eyit	ey	eyin
accusative	ey	eyit	ey	eyin
dative	eyi	eyinu	eyjum	eyjunum
genitive	eys	eysins	eyja	eyjanna

Derived terms

• Eyvindr m

Further reading

• ey ‘good fortune’ at the Dictionary of Old Norse Prose

Portuguese

Verb

ey

1. obsolete spelling of hei

Somali

Etymology

Compare Egyptian jw (“dog”). Compare also yeey (“wolf”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʔéì/
• Hyphenation: ey

Noun

èy m (plural éy ?)

1. dog

Inflection

declension of ey
	singular
absolutive	èy
nominative	ey
genitive	éy
vocative	eyyahow

Derived terms

• Buur Eyle (“Hill of (Hunters) with Dogs”)

References

• “ey”, in Qaamuuska Af-Soomaaliga, 2012

Spanish

Alternative forms

• hey

Etymology

Borrowed from English hey.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈei/ [ˈei̯]
• Rhymes: -ei
• Syllabification: ey

Interjection

¡ey!

1. hey!

   Synonym: eh

Related terms

• ah
• hala
• oh

Further reading

• “ey”, 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

Swedish

Etymology

Perhaps borrowed from Turkish ey (vocative article).

Interjection

ey

1. (slang) Used to call someone's attention.

   Ey, mannen, vi gittar!

   Hey, man, let's get out of here!

See also

• hej (has a list of greetings and farewells)

References

• Slangopedia

Tagalog

Etymology

Borrowed from English ay, the English name of the letter A / a.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈʔej/ [ˈʔeɪ̯]
• Rhymes: -ej
• Syllabification: ey

Noun

ey (Baybayin spelling ᜁᜌ᜔)

1. the name of the Latin script letter A/a, in the Filipino alphabet

   Synonym: a

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
• eyyy

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• ye

Turkish

Compare Azerbaijani ey.

Etymology

Etymology tree

English aybor.

Classical Persian ای (ey)

Ottoman Turkish ای (ey)

Turkish ey

Inherited from Ottoman Turkish ای (ey), from Classical Persian ای (ey).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈej/
• Hyphenation: ey

Interjection

ey

1. vocative particle O, hey

   Ey Türk gençliği! Birinci vazifen, Türk istiklâlini, Türk Cumhuriyeti'ni, ilelebet muhafaza ve müdafaa etmektir.

   O Turkish youth! Your first duty is to conserve and to defend forever Turkish independence and the Turkish Republic.