ey

== English == === Etymology 1 === Inherited from Middle English ei, ey, from Old English ǣġ, from Proto-West Germanic *aij, from Proto-Germanic *ajją (“egg”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm (“egg”), probably from *h₂éwis (“bird”), from *h₂ew- (“to consume”). Doublet of egg, huevo, oeuf, and ovum. This native English form was displaced by the Old Norse–derived egg in the 16th century. ==== Noun ==== ey (plural eyren) (obsolete) An egg. [dated since the 16th century] ===== Related terms ===== Cockney === Etymology 2 === Coined by Christine M. Elverson in 1975 by removing the "th" from they. ==== Pronunciation ==== enPR: ā, IPA(key): /eɪ/ Homophone: a Rhymes: -eɪ ==== Pronoun ==== ey (third-person singular, nominative case, accusative em, possessive adjective eir, possessive noun eirs, reflexive emself) (rare, epicene, nonstandard) A gender-neutral third-person singular subject pronoun, one of the so-called Spivak pronouns, equivalent to the singular they and coordinate with gendered pronouns he and she. For more quotations using this term, see Citations:ey. ===== Synonyms ===== e see Appendix:English third-person singular pronouns === Etymology 3 === Inherited from Middle English ei, i, ie, from Old English ēġ, īġ, īeġ, from Proto-West Germanic *auwju, from Proto-Germanic *awjō (“watery land, floodplain, island”), earlier *agwjō ~ *ahwjō (literally “(that which is) of the water”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ékʷeh₂ (“flowing water”) +‎ *-yeh₂. ==== Noun ==== ey (plural eys) (UK) A small island formed by the buildup of silt or gravel at the confluence of two rivers or streams. A place that has a name ending in "-ey" because it is or was located at such an island. ===== Related terms ===== === Etymology 4 === ==== Interjection ==== ey Alternative form of hey. === Etymology 5 === ==== Noun ==== ey (plural eys) Obsolete form of eye. === See also === suffix -ey ey up (probably etymologically unrelated) === Anagrams === YE, Ye, ye == Azerbaijani == === Pronunciation === === Interjection === ey Used to call someone's attention. == German == === Etymology === Derived from Middle High German ei, a common interjection. In contemporary German possibly reinforced by Turkish ey (“vocative particle”), English hey. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ɛɪ̯/ === Interjection === ey (colloquial, originally youth slang) Used to call someone's attention, or as an intensifier when placed at the end. Expresses indignation or disgust; oi === See also === ei == Icelandic == === Etymology === Derived from Old Norse ey, from Proto-Germanic *awjō. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /eiː/ Rhymes: -eiː Homophone: ei, Ey === Noun === ey f (genitive singular eyjar, nominative plural eyjar) island Synonyms: eyja, eyland ==== Usage notes ==== The inflections of the strong and weak nouns ey and eyja tend to be mixed together: The weak inflection is more common in the nominative, accusative and dative singular (nom. eyja(n), acc. eyju(na), dat. eyju(nni)), but the strong inflections are also used (nom. ey(in), acc. ey(na), dat. ey(nni) or eyju(nni)). The strong ey(in), however, is rare compared to weak eyja(n). The strong genitive (eyjar(innar)) is dominant compared to the weak (eyju(nnar)). The strong inflection is more common in the nominative/accusative plural (eyjar(nar)) but the dative and genitive plurals are indistinguishable for both strong and weak forms (dat. eyjum/eyjunum, gen. eyja(nna)). The alternative archaic strong dative singular eyju(nni) is indistinguishable from the weak form. All plural place names for islands use the strong eyjar rather than the weak eyjur: Færeyjar, Vestmannaeyjar. Singular place names, however, may be based on ey or eyja. ==== Declension ==== === References === Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989), “ey”, in Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, →ISBN (Available at Málið.is under the “Eldri orðabækur” tab.) Kristín Bjarnadóttir, editor (2002–2026), “ey”, in Beygingarlýsing íslensks nútímamáls [The Database of Modern Icelandic Inflection] (in Icelandic), Reykjavík: The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies Mörður Árnason (2019), Íslensk orðabók, 5th edition, Reykjavík: Forlagið “ey” in the Dictionary of Modern Icelandic (in Icelandic) and ISLEX (in the Nordic languages) == Kankanaey == === Etymology 1 === Borrowed from Tagalog ey, from English ay, the English name of the letter A/a. ==== Pronunciation ==== IPA(key): /ˈʔej/ [ˈʔei̯] Rhymes: -ej Syllabification: ey ==== Noun ==== ey The name of the Latin script letter A/a. ===== See also ===== (Latin-script letter names) letra; ey, bi, si, di, i, ef, dyi, eyts, ay, dyey, key, el, em, en, enye, endyi, o, pi, kyu, ar, es, ti, yu, vi, dobolyu, eks, way, zi === Etymology 2 === ==== Pronunciation ==== IPA(key): /ˈʔəj/ [ˈʔɨi̯] Rhymes: -əj Syllabification: ey ==== Interjection ==== ëy An interjection beginning each strophe in daing songs ==== Noun ==== ëy act of carrying, transporting, moving, going ===== Derived terms ===== === References === Komisyon ng Wikang Filipino (2016), Ortograpiya di Kankanaëy [Kankanaey Orthography]‎[6] (in Kankanaey and Tagalog), →ISBN, pages 10-11 Morice Vanoverbergh (1933), “ey”, in A Dictionary of Lepanto Igorot or Kankanay. As it is spoken at Bauco (Linguistische Anthropos-Bibliothek; XII)‎[7], Mödling bei Wien, St. Gabriel, Österreich: Verlag der Internationalen Zeitschrift „Anthropos“, →OCLC, page 153 Allen, Larry (2021), “ey”, in Kankanaey – English Dictionary, Summer Institute of Linguistics Wallace, Judy (2018), “ey”, in Northern Kankanay – English Dictionary, Summer Institute of Linguistics == Middle English == === Etymology 1 === Inherited from Old English ǣġ, from Proto-West Germanic *aij, from Proto-Germanic *ajją, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm (“egg”). Doublet of eg. ==== Alternative forms ==== ay, aye, ei, eye, eyȝ æȝ (Early Middle English) ==== Pronunciation ==== IPA(key): /æi̯/ ==== Noun ==== ey (plural eyren or (rare) eyre) egg (especially of a chicken or other fowl) Synonym: eg ===== Usage notes ===== Due to its rarity, it has sometimes incorrectly been asserted that the plural eyre is not found. ===== Descendants ===== English: (obsolete) ey ==== References ==== === Etymology 2 === Derived from Latin ei and Old French ahi, äi. ==== Alternative forms ==== ei, i, eygh, eyghe, ye ==== Interjection ==== ey An exclamation of surprise, challenge, or inquiry. ===== Descendants ===== English: ay Scots: ay, ae ==== References ==== “ei, interj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007. === Etymology 3 === ==== Adverb ==== ey alternative form of ay (“always”) === Etymology 4 === ==== Noun ==== ey (eyen) alternative form of eye (“eye”) === Etymology 5 === ==== Noun ==== ey alternative form of eye (“fear; awe”) ==== Verb ==== ey to awe == Middle Welsh == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈe.ɨ/ === Verb === ey second-person singular present indicative of mynet == Old Norse == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /eɥ/, [øɥ] === Etymology 1 === Derived from Proto-Germanic *aiwaz m, *aiwō f (“long time, age, eternity”), itself from Proto-Indo-European *h₂óyu ~ *h₂yéws. ==== Adverb ==== ey always, ever ===== Alternative forms ===== ei, æ ==== Further reading ==== Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), “ey1”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive === Etymology 2 === Inherited from Proto-Norse *ᚨᚢᛃᚢ (*auju), inherited from Proto-Germanic *awjō. ==== Noun ==== ey f (genitive eyjar, dative eyju, plural eyjar) island ===== Declension ===== ===== Alternative forms ===== ᚢ (u) — runic ===== Descendants ===== ==== Further reading ==== Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), “ey2”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive === Etymology 3 === Inherited from Proto-Norse ᚨᚢᛃᚨ (auja), itself from Proto-Germanic *aują n, itself from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew- (“enjoy”). Related to auð- (“easy, easily”), from Proto-Germanic *auþuz (“easy”), whence Old English ieþe (“easy”). ==== Noun ==== ey n (hapax legomenon) luck, fortune In a prayer towards the Cross recorded in Landnámabók ===== Declension ===== ===== Derived terms ===== Eyvindr m ==== Further reading ==== ey ‘good fortune’ at the Dictionary of Old Norse Prose == Portuguese == === Verb === ey obsolete spelling of hei == Somali == === Etymology === Compare Egyptian jw (“dog”). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ʔei/ ==== Noun ==== èy m (definite eyga) dog ==== Inflection ==== == Spanish == === Alternative forms === hey === Etymology === Borrowed from English hey. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈei/ [ˈei̯] Rhymes: -ei Syllabification: ey === Interjection === ¡ey! hey! Synonym: eh ==== Related terms ==== === Further reading === “ey”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025 == Swedish == === Etymology === Perhaps borrowed from Turkish ey (vocative article). === Interjection === ey (slang) Used to call someone's attention. === See also === hej (has a list of greetings and farewells) === References === Slangopedia == Tagalog == === Etymology === Borrowed from English ay, the English name of the letter A / a. === Pronunciation === (Standard Tagalog) IPA(key): /ˈʔej/ [ˈʔeɪ̯] Rhymes: -ej Syllabification: ey === Noun === ey (Baybayin spelling ᜁᜌ᜔) the name of the Latin script letter A/a, in the Filipino alphabet Synonym: a === See also === (Latin-script letter names) titik; ey, bi, si, di, i, ef, dyi, eyts, ay, dyey, key, el, em, en, enye, en dyi, o, pi, kyu, ar, es, ti, yu, vi, dobolyu, eks, way, zi eyyy === Further reading === “ey”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, 2018 === Anagrams === ye == Turkish == === Etymology === Compare Azerbaijani ey. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ej/ Hyphenation: ey === Interjection === ey vocative particle