What does NAY mean?

Definitions for NAY
neɪnay

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word NAY.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. nayadverb

    a negative

    "the nays have it"

  2. nayadverb

    not this merely but also; not only so but

    "each of us is peculiar, nay, in a sense unique"

GCIDE

  1. nayadverb

    No; -- a negative answer to a question asked, or a request made, now superseded by no. Opposed to aye or yea. See also Yes.

Wiktionary

  1. naynoun

    A vote against.

    I vote nay, even though the motion is popular, because I would rather be right than popular.

  2. naynoun

    A person who voted against.

    The vote is 4 in favor and 20 opposed, the nays have it.

  3. nayadverb

    no

  4. nayconjunction

    or even, or more like, or should I say. Introduces a stronger and more appropriate expression than the preceding one.

  5. Etymology: From nai, nei, from nei, contraction of ne + ei. More at no.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Nayadverb

    Etymology: na, Saxon, or ne aye.

    Disputes in wrangling spend the day,
    Whilst one says only yea, and t’other nay. John Denham.

    A good man always profits by his endeavour, yea, when he is absent; nay, when dead, by his example and memory; so good authors in their stile. Ben Jonson, Discov.

    This is then the allay of Ovid’s writings, which is sufficiently recompensed by his other excellencies; nay, this very fault is not without its beauties; for the most severe censor cannot but be pleased. Dryden.

    If a son should strike his father, not only the criminal but his whole family would be rooted out, nay, the inhabitants of the place where he lived, would be put to the sword, nay, the place itself would be razed. Joseph Addison, Spect. №. 189.

    They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out. Acts xvi. 37.

    The fox made several excuses, but the stork would not be said nay; so that at last he promised him to come. Roger L'Estrange, Fable 31.

    He that will not when he may,
    When he would he shall have nay. Prov.

ChatGPT

  1. nay

    Nay is an old-fashioned or formal term used to express a negative response, disagreement, denial or refusal. It can also be used when voting against a proposal. It essentially means "no". Moreover, in some contexts, it can mean "and even more than that" to emphasize a point. In addition, "nay" can also refer to a denial or contradiction in law language.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Nayadverb

    no; -- a negative answer to a question asked, or a request made, now superseded by no. See Yes

  2. Nayadverb

    not this merely, but also; not only so, but; -- used to mark the addition or substitution of a more explicit or more emphatic phrase

  3. Naynoun

    denial; refusal

  4. Naynoun

    a negative vote; one who votes in the negative

  5. Nay

    to refuse

  6. Etymology: [Icel. nei; akin to E. no. See No, adv.]

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Nay

    nā, adv. no: not only so, but: yet more: in point of fact.—n. a denial: a vote against.—n. Nay′ward (Shak.), tendency to denial: the negative side. [M. E. nay, nai—Ice. nei, Dan. nei; cog. with no.]

Suggested Resources

  1. NAY

    What does NAY stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the NAY acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. NAY

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Nay is ranked #6949 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Nay surname appeared 4,826 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 would have the surname Nay.

    80.1% or 3,866 total occurrences were White.
    9.8% or 476 total occurrences were Asian.
    4.1% or 201 total occurrences were Black.
    3.2% or 156 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    1.8% or 90 total occurrences were of two or more races.
    0.7% or 37 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.

Anagrams for NAY »

  1. any

  2. Ayn

  3. AYN

  4. NYA

  5. yan

How to pronounce NAY?

How to say NAY in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of NAY in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of NAY in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of NAY in a Sentence

  1. Antoine De Saint-Exupery:

    He who has gone, so we but cherish his memory, abides with us, more potent, nay, more present than the living man.

  2. Jane Porter:

    Happiness is a sunbeam, Which may pass through a thousand bosoms Without losing a particle of its original ray Nay, when it strikes on a kindred heart, Like the converged light on a mirror, It reflects itself with redoubled brightness. It is not perfected till it is shared.

  3. Hippocrates:

    Idleness and lack of occupation tend - nay are dragged - towards evil.

  4. The Republicans:

    I know there are so many nay-sayers who say we'll get slammed in the midterms. Okay. The Republicans are working hard, they stick together, for good or evil. So, we just have to work harder.

  5. Joseph Conrad:

    You can t, in sound morals, condemn a man for taking care of his own integrity. It is his clear duty. And least of all can you condemn an artist pursuing, however humbly and imperfectly, a creative aim. In that interior world where his thought and his emotions go seeking for the experience of imagined adventures, there are no policemen, no law, no pressure of circumstance or dread of opinion to keep him within bounds. Who then is going to say Nay to his temptations if not his conscience?

Popularity rank by frequency of use

NAY#10000#12205#100000

Translations for NAY

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • oder sogarGerman
  • noSpanish
  • voire, ou plutôtFrench
  • अस्वीकारHindi
  • o per meglio dire, anziItalian
  • לָאוHebrew
  • 申し訳ありませんが、このテキストは翻訳することができません。文脈が不明確であるため、正確な翻訳ができません。もしご質問がありましたら、お知らせください。Japanese
  • mesmo, ouPortuguese
  • даже, нетRussian
  • nói đúng hơnVietnamese

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"NAY." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/NAY>.

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