vay
Translingual
Symbol
vay
See also
- Wiktionary’s coverage of Vayu terms
English
Verb
vay (plural vays)
- Pronunciation spelling of way.
- 1913 March, Jeffery Farnol, “Which Relates, among other Things, How Barnabas Lost his Hat”, in The Amateur Gentleman, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown, and Company, →OCLC, page 481:
- “Going to be a fine night for a little walk,” said he, “Oliver vill be in town later on.” / “Oliver?” inquired Barnabas. / “Ah! that ’s flash for the moon, sir. Jest a nice light there ’ll be. This vay, sir.” With the words Mr. Shrig turned sharp to his left along the alley towards the River.
- 1981, Daniel Keyes, chapter 5, in The Minds of Billy Milligan, New York, N.Y.: Random House, →ISBN, book 1 (The Mix-up Time), chapter section 3, page 111:
- Ragen spoke out: “I disagree. I do not think book should be written.” / “Why not?” Allen asked. / “Let me put it this vay. Billy vill talk to this man and so vill you and the others. You might tell him things for vich I could still be charged—other crimes.”
Derived terms
Francisco León Zoque
Noun
vay
References
- Engel, Ralph, Allhiser de Engel, Mary, Mateo Alvarez, José (1987) Diccionario zoque de Francisco León (Serie de vocabularios y diccionarios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 30)[1] (in Spanish), México, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, page 220
Ladino
Etymology 1
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Interjection
vay (Hebrew spelling ב׳איי)[1]
- hey; oi
- 1986, Matilda Koén-Sarano, edited by Matilda Koén-Sarano, קואינטוס: סיפורים מהווי המשפחה היהודית־ספרדית[2], כנה, →ISBN, page 171:
- Disho Djohá: "Vay! Este es naví! Iré detrás de él i le demandaré kuando me vo murir!"
- Djohá said, "Oi! This is [a] prophet! I'll go after him and ask him when I am going to die!"
Alternative forms
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
vay
- second-person singular imperative of ir
References
Malagasy
Etymology 1
From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *baʀəq (“abscess, boil, swelling on the body”).
Noun
vay
Etymology 2
From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *baʀah (“ember, glowing coal”).
Noun
vay
Further reading
- vay in Malagasy dictionaries at malagasyword.org
Portuguese
Verb
vay
- obsolete spelling of vai
Turkish
Etymology
From Ottoman Turkish وای (vay), from Persian وای (vây, “alas!”), from Proto-Indo-European *wai. Cognate with English woe, Latin vae, Lithuanian vai̇̃, Russian увы́ (uvý), Old Irish fae, among others.
Interjection
vay
- (colloquial) woe, alas!
- (exclamation) Vay, vay, vay! (reminiscent of English exclamation "well, well, well")
Vietnamese
Pronunciation
Verb
- to borrow
- cho vay ― to loan
- xin ngân hàng cho vay ― to ask a bank for a loan
- người cho vay ― creditor
Usage notes
- This is chiefly said of money. Rarely used in Southern Vietnam, where the word mượn predominates.
Derived terms
Zazaki
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [vɑyˈ]
- Hyphenation: vay
Noun
vay
- alternative form of vaye