Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
adv
Always; ever; continually; for an indefinite time.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Northern-England, Scotland, archaic, not-comparable, poetic
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
intj
Ah! alas! Expressing anger, alarm, frustration, pain, etc.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
intj
Expressing earnestness, surprise, wonder, etc.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Northern-England, Scotland
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
intj
Used in ay, ay.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
intj
Alternative spelling of aye (“yes”).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: alt-of, alternative
Qualifier: others
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
intj
New Zealand spelling of eh (question tag).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
intj
All right (inter); hooray (inter); cool (inter).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Alternative spelling of aye (“yes”).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: alt-of, alternative
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Alternative form of a: the name of the Latin script letter A/a.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: alt-of, alternative
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Initialism of academic year.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
From Middle English 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”).
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.
See aye.
Origin uncertain; possibly related to eh and hey; popularized by a catch phrase in a 1970s sitcom.
