nay

nay
nay ay (n[=a]), adv. [Icel. nei; akin to E. no. See {No}, adv.] 1. No; -- a negative answer to a question asked, or a request made, now superseded by {no}. Opposed to {aye} or {yea}. See also {Yes}. [1913 Webster +PJC]

And eke when I say ``ye,'' ne say not ``nay.'' --Chaucer. [1913 Webster]

I tell you nay; but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. --Luke xiii. 3. [1913 Webster]

And now do they thrust us out privily? nay, verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out. --Acts xvi. 37. [1913 Webster]

He that will not when he may, When he would he shall have nay. --Old Prov. [1913 Webster]

Note: Before the time of Henry VIII. nay was used to answer simple questions, and no was used when the form of the question involved a negative expression; nay was the simple form, no the emphatic. --Skeat. [1913 Webster]

2. Not this merely, but also; not only so, but; -- used to mark the addition or substitution of a more explicit or more emphatic phrase. [1913 Webster]

Note: Nay in this sense may be interchanged with yea. ``Were he my brother, nay, my kingdom's heir.'' --Shak. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • Nay — or NAY may refer to: Ney (also nay, nye, nai), a wind instrument Nay, Manche, a place in the Manche département of France Nay, Pyrénées Atlantiques, a place in the Pyrénées Atlantiques département of France Ernst Wilhelm Nay, German abstract… …   Wikipedia

  • Nay — puede referirse a los siguientes artículos: Nay (Mancha), comuna de Mancha (Francia). Nay (Pirineos Atlánticos), comuna francesa de los Pirineos Atlánticos. ney o nay, tipo de flauta oriental. Esta página de desambiguación cataloga artículos… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Nay — Nay, n.; pl. {Nays}. 1. Denial; refusal. [1913 Webster] 2. A negative vote; one who votes in the negative. [1913 Webster] {It is no nay}, there is no denying it. [Obs.] haucer. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • NAY — could refer to:* Beijing Nanyuan Airport, People s Republic of China; IATA airport code NAY. * Newton Aycliffe railway station, England; National Rail station code NAY …   Wikipedia

  • nay — ● nay ou ney nom masculin Flûte de roseau arabo persane, à embouchure terminale et ouverte aux deux extrémités. ● nay ou ney (homonymes) nom masculin nais forme conjuguée du verbe naître naît forme conjuguée du verbe naître nay nom masculin né… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • nay — is still in use as a somewhat rhetorical (and often affected) way of expressing the meaning ‘and more than that…’: • One could not but notice how theatrical, nay operatic, the whole adornment of the church was Oxford Magazine, 1991. As a noun,… …   Modern English usage

  • nay — [nā] adv. [ME < ON nei < ne, not + ei, ever: see AYE1] 1. no: now seldom used except in voting by voice 2. not that only, but also: used to reinforce a statement [I permit, nay, encourage it] n. 1. a refusal or denial 2 …   English World dictionary

  • Nay — Nay, v. t. & i. To refuse. [Obs.] Holinshed. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • nay — /nay/, adv. 1. and not only so but; not only that but also; indeed: many good, nay, noble qualities. 2. Archaic. no (used in dissent, denial, or refusal). n. 3. a denial or refusal. 4. a negative vote or voter. [1125 75; ME nai, nei < ON nei no,… …   Universalium

  • nay — ► ADVERB 1) or rather: it will take months, nay years. 2) archaic or dialect no. ► NOUN ▪ a negative answer. ORIGIN Old Norse …   English terms dictionary

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