yea
/jeɪ/ adverb, conjunction, interjection, noun, proper noun
Forms yeas
- adverb Yes, indeed.
- adverb (Midwestern US) Thus, so (now often accompanied by a hand gesture by way of measurement).
- conjunction (archaic) Or even, or more like, nay. Introduces a stronger and more appropriate expression than the preceding one.
- interjection (Southern US, Western US, African-American Vernacular) Yeah, right, yes.
- noun An affirmative vote, usually but not always spoken
- proper noun A town in the Shire of Murrindindi, central eastern Victoria, Australia.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English ye, ȝea, ya, ȝa, from Old English ġēa, iā (“yea, yes”), from Proto-West Germanic *jā.
The modern pronunciation shows an irregular development of Early Modern English /ɛː/ to /eɪ/ in the standard language, probably from association with the antonym nay.
From yeah.
See yay.
Webster’s 1913
- adverb Yes; ay; a word expressing assent, or an affirmative, or an affirmative answer to a question, now superseded by yes. See Yes.
- adverb More than this; not only so, but; --used to mark the addition of a more specific or more emphatic clause. Cf. Nay, adv., 2.
- noun An affirmative vote; one who votes in the affirmative; as, a vote by yeas and nays.
Etymology [OE. ye, ya, ýe, ýa, AS. geá; akin to OFries. g, i, OS., D., OHG., G., Dan. & Sw. ja, Icel, ja, Goth. ja, jai, and probably to Gr. Yes.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “yea”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details