way
/weɪ/ noun, interjection, verb, adverb, adjective, proper noun
Forms ways waying wayed waye waie 'way
- noun A road, a direction, a (physical or conceptual) path from one place to another. “Do you know the way to the airport? Come this way and I'll show you a shortcut.”
- noun A means to enter or leave a place. “We got into the cinema through the back way.”
- noun A roughly-defined geographical area. “If you're ever 'round this way, come over and visit me.”
- noun Distance in general “It's a long way from here.”
- noun A method or manner of doing something; a mannerism. “He's finally seen the error of his ways.”
- noun (with ‘the’, usually with modifier) A set of values and customs associated with and seen as central to the identity of a group of people.
- noun A state or condition “He's in a bad way.”
- noun Possibility (usually in the phrases ‘any way’ and ‘no way’). “There's no way I'm going to clean up after you.”
- interjection (slang, only in reply to no way) Yes; it is true; it is possible.
- verb (obsolete) To travel.
- adverb (informal, with an adverbial) Far. “I used to live way over there.”
- adverb (informal, with comparative or with too + adjective) Much, far, by a great degree. “I'm a way better singer than Emma.”
- adverb (slang, with positive adjective) Very. “I'm way tired.”
- adjective (informal, attributive) Extreme, far “Sitting in the way back of the bus”
- noun (glassblowing, obsolete) A seventeenth-century unit of Rhenish glass containing 60 bunches.
- noun The letter for the w sound in Pitman shorthand.
- proper noun (Christianity, with the definite article) Christianity.
- proper noun (Chinese philosophy, with the definite article) Synonym of Tao: the way of nature and/or the ideal way in which to live one's life.
- proper noun A surname.
- proper noun An unincorporated community in Madison County, Mississippi, United States.
Synonyms
yes way far much a lot loads so very so much web Tao manner mode style fashion means agency direction path way of life room elbow room right smart
Etymology
From Middle English way, wey, from Old English weġ, from Proto-West Germanic *weg, from Proto-Germanic *wegaz, from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ-. Doublet of voe and possibly via.
Cognate with North Frisian wai, wäi (“way”), Saterland Frisian Wai (“way”), West Frisian wei (“road; way”), Central Franconian Wääch (“way”), Cimbrian bege, bèg (“way”), Dutch weg (“way”), German, Low German Weg (“way”), Limburgish waeg (“way”), Luxembourgish Wee (“way”), Mòcheno be (“way”), Yiddish וועג (veg, “way”), Danish vej (“way”), Faroese and Icelandic vegur (“way”), Norwegian Bokmål veg, vei (“way”), Norwegian Nynorsk veg (“way”), Swedish väg (“way”), Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌲𐍃 (wigs, “path; road”).
Apheresis of away.
From the sound it represents, by analogy with other (velar) letters such as kay and gay.
From specific instances of way. In Christian contexts, a semantic loan from Ancient Greek ὁδός (hodós) used with that meaning in the Acts of the Apostles (for example, Acts 9:2). In Chinese contexts, a semantic loan from Chinese 道 (Dào).
Webster’s 1913
- adverb Away. [Obs. or Archaic] Chaucer. To do way, to take away; to remove. [Obs.] "Do way your hands." Chaucer.
- noun That by, upon, or along, which one passes or processes; opportunity or room to pass; place of passing; passage; road, street, track, or path of any kind; as, they built a way to the mine. "To find the way to heaven." Shak.
- noun Length of space; distance; interval; as, a great way; a long way. And whenever the way seemed long, Or his heart began to fail.
- verb To go or travel to; to go in, as a way or path. [Obs.] "In land not wayed." Wyclif.
Etymology [Aphetic form of away.]
Etymology [OE. wey, way, AS. weg; akin to OS., D., OHG., & G. weg, Icel. vegr, Sw. väg, Dan. vei, Goth. wigs, L. via, and AS. wegan to move, L. vehere to carry, Skr. vah. sq. root136. Cf. Convex, Inveigh, Vehicle, Vex, Via, Voyage, Wag, Wagon, Wee, Weigh.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “way”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details