hay
English
Pronunciation
- enPR: hā, IPA(key): /heɪ/
Audio (US) (file) - Homophone: hey
- Rhymes: -eɪ
Etymology 1
From Middle English hey, from Old English hīeġ, from Proto-West Germanic *hawi, from Proto-Germanic *hawją (compare West Frisian hea, Dutch hooi, German Heu, Norwegian høy), from *hawwaną (“to hew, cut down”). More at hew.
Noun
hay (countable and uncountable, plural hays)
- (uncountable) Grass cut and dried for use as animal fodder.
- 1605, M. N. [pseudonym; William Camden], Remaines of a Greater Worke, Concerning Britaine, […], London: […] G[eorge] E[ld] for Simon Waterson, OCLC 1064186951:
- Make hay while sunne shines.
- 1857, Charles Louis Flint, Grasses and Forage Plants: A Practical Treatise […]
- Hay may be dried too much as well as too little.
-
- (countable) Any mix of green leafy plants used for fodder.
- (slang) Cannabis; marijuana.
- 1947, William Burroughs, letter, 19 Feb 1947:
- I would like some of that hay. Enclose $20.
- 1947, William Burroughs, letter, 19 Feb 1947:
- A net set around the haunt of an animal, especially a rabbit.
Derived terms
- hay-asthma
- haybarn
- hay bed
- haybox
- haycock
- hay devil
- hay fever
- hayfork
- hay is for horses
- haylage
- hayloft
- haymaker
- Haymarket
- haymow
- haynet
- hayrack
- hayrick
- hayseed
- haysel
- haystack
- hay wagon
- haywain
- hayward
- hit the hay
- make hay while the sun shines
Translations
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Further reading
- hay on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Verb
hay (third-person singular simple present hays, present participle haying, simple past and past participle hayed)
- To cut grasses or herb plants for use as animal fodder.
- To lay snares for rabbits.
Translations
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See also
- bale
- straw
Etymology 2
From Middle English haye, heye, a conflation of Old English heġe (“hedge, fence”) and Old English ġehæġ (“an enclosed piece of land”).
Noun
hay (plural hays)
- (obsolete) A hedge.
- (obsolete) A net placed around the lair or burrow of an animal.
- (obsolete) An enclosure, haw.
- (obsolete) A circular country dance.
- 1594 (first publication), Christopher Marlow[e], The Trovblesome Raigne and Lamentable Death of Edvvard the Second, King of England: […], London: […] [Eliot’s Court Press] for Henry Bell, […], published 1622, OCLC 837836359, (please specify the page):
- My men like Satyres grazing on the lawnes,
Shall with their Goate feete daunce an antick hay,
- c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act V, scene i]:
- I’ll make one in a dance, or so; or I will play
On the tabour to the Worthies, and let them dance the hay.
-
Etymology 3
From the sound it represents, by analogy with other letters such as kay and gay. The expected form in English if the h had survived in the Latin name of the letter "h", hā.
Noun
hay (plural hays)
- The letter for the h sound in Pitman shorthand.
Related terms
- aitch, the Latin letter for this sound
Further reading
- Hay (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
Anagrams
- AYH, YHA, Yah, yah
Lushootseed
Alternative forms
- haya
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /haɪ/
Verb
hay
- to know
Malagasy
Interjection
hay
- truly!, indeed!
Participle
hay
- possible
- known
Noun
hay
- (dialectal) burning
Adjective
hay
- (of land) exposed, bare
Noun
hay
- (Tankarana) an insect which damages rice crops
Middle English
Noun
hay (plural hayes)
- Alternative form of haye (“net”)
Interjection
hay
- Alternative form of hey (“hey”)
Noun
hay (uncountable)
- Alternative form of hey (“hay”)
Pronoun
hay
- Alternative form of he (“they”)
Noun
hay
- Alternative form of heye (“hedge”)
Verb
hay
- Alternative form of haven (“to have”)
Middle French
Verb
hay
- first-person singular present indicative of hayr
Somali
Verb
hay
- to hold, have
Spanish
Etymology
From Old Spanish ha ý (“it has there”) (compare Catalan hi ha and French il y a), from ha, third-person singular present of aver (“to have”), + ý (locative pronoun, compare modern French y and Catalan hi), from Latin ibī (“there”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈai/ [ˈai̯]
Audio (Colombia) (file) - Rhymes: -ai
- Syllabification: hay
- Homophone: ay
Verb
hay
- third-person singular present indicative of haber
- there is, there are
- Hay dos tiendas que venden películas.
- There are two stores that sell films.
Derived terms
- no hay mal que por bien no venga
- no hay quien
Tagalog
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /haj/, [haɪ̯]
Etymology 1
Compare Hokkien 害矣 (hāi--ah).
Interjection
hay
- Alternative form of ay
- an expression of fatigue, exhaustion, grief, sorrow, frustration, or the like: sigh
- Hay... Antok na ako!
- Sigh... I'm sleepy already!
Derived terms
- hay naku
Noun
hay
- (obsolete) act of frighting or startling a dog
Derived terms
- hayan
- ihay
- maghay
Etymology 3
Borrowed from English high.
Adjective
hay
- (slang) high on drugs; drugged
- Synonyms: sabog, basag, bogsa
Vietnamese
Pronunciation
- (Hà Nội) IPA(key): [haj˧˧]
- (Huế) IPA(key): [haj˧˧]
- (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA(key): [ha(ː)j˧˧]
Etymology 1
Cognate with Arem hɪː ("to understand").
Verb
hay • (𫨩)
- (archaic or literary) to know; to get to know; to learn
- 2018 January 22, Viễn Sự, Sơn Lâm, “Trẻ con lai ở miền Tây: Con không cha như nhà không nóc [The mixed children in Southwestern Vietnam: a fatherless child is like a roofless house]”, in Tuổi Trẻ Online:
- Hồi mẹ nó ẵm về nước, bà nội nó nói mua cho cái vé khứ hồi, tới hồi ra sân bay về lại Hàn Quốc thì mới hay cái vé đi có một chiều.
- When his mother carried him in her arms back to Vietnam, his paternal grandmother said they had bought a return ticket for her, but she realised it was only a one-way ticket when she was at the airport, trying to return to Korea.
- Hồi mẹ nó ẵm về nước, bà nội nó nói mua cho cái vé khứ hồi, tới hồi ra sân bay về lại Hàn Quốc thì mới hay cái vé đi có một chiều.
-
- (‘hay’ + verb) to have a habit of (doing something)
- Ai hay vẽ rồi sẽ vẽ hay.
- Who draws habitually will draw well.
- Con hay nói nhiều lắm.
- You, child, have a habit of talking too much / You, child, are talkative.
Usage notes
- The sense of “to know” is now mostly used in fixed expressions, such as đến đâu hay đến đó and cho hay (“to inform”), in the non-literary language.
Derived terms
- cho hay
- có hay
- đến đâu hay đến đó
- hay biết
- hay chữ
Adjective
hay • (𫨩)
- good, as in useful, inventive, interesting or entertaining; compare tốt (good as in high-quality, skillful or ethical)
- Antonyms: dở, tệ, tồi
- ý hay ― a good idea
- Phim hay quá ha !
- That was a great movie!
Derived terms
- hay ho (từ láy)
- hay hớm (từ láy)
- ô hay
- ơ hay
Adverb
hay • (𫨩)
- well
- Antonyms: dở, tệ, tồi
- Ai hay vẽ rồi sẽ vẽ hay.
- Who draws habitually will draw well.
Conjunction
hay (là) (咍)
- or
- Chọn cái này, hay chọn cái kia
- Choose this one, or choose that one
Derived terms
- hay là
See also
- hoặc
Walloon
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /haj/
Interjection
hay
- go, let us go
Yola
Pronoun
hay
- Alternative form of hea (“he”)
- 1927, “LAMENT OF A WIDOW”, in THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD, line 6:
- "Hay was mee gude plowere,
- "He was my good plougher,
-
References
- Kathleen A. Browne (1927) The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland Sixth Series, Vol.17 No.2, Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, page 130