nay

«nay» in Mova's school dictionary: «no» — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

adverb and interjection (nay — old or formal); noun (a nay, nays)

meaning for a pupil

1) (old-fashioned) Nay means «no». tree →

2) (formal) Nay is used to add a stronger word: «It was hard, nay, impossible», meaning «not only that, but even». tree →

3) (noun) A nay is a «no» vote, as in «the ayes and the nays». tree →

sense in the lessons

In stories and the Bible (old translations), characters say «nay» for «no»: «Let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay.» In parliaments and meetings, votes are counted as yeas (or ayes) and nays. In formal writing, «nay» strengthens a point. Common phrases: «yea or nay», «the ayes and the nays», «nay, even», «say nay».

examples

• «Nay, my lord,» said the knight, «I will not go.» tree →
• The vote was ten yeas and four nays. tree →
• The task was difficult, nay, impossible. tree →
• In the King James Bible: «Let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay.» tree →
• The senators shouted «nay!». tree →
• Whether you say yea or nay, we must decide tonight. tree →
• “Nay,” purred Bagheera, “that may not be. tree →

note

Homophone trap: «nay» (no) sounds like «neigh» (the sound a horse makes). Say NAY. Opposite: «yea» or «aye» (yes). In everyday talk, use «no»; «nay» sounds old or jokey.

In the corpora

• le nez ("NAY") is the nose; the z is silent and the plural is also nez.
• And He said: 'Nay; but thou didst laugh.'
• And they said unto him: 'Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come.
• And he said unto them: 'Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.'
• And the people said unto Joshua: 'Nay; but we will serve the LORD.'

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «nay» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.