different between nay vs nee

English

Etymology

From Middle English nai, nei, from Old Norse nei (“no”), contraction of ne (“not”) + ei (“ever”), itself from Proto-Germanic *nai (“never”), *n? (“not”). More at no.

Pronunciation

• enPR: n?, IPA^(key): /ne?/
• Homophones: nee, neigh, Neagh
• Rhymes: -e?

Adverb

nay (not comparable)

1. (now chiefly archaic or regional) No. [from 12th c.]
2. (now chiefly archaic or regional) Introducing a statement, without direct negation. [from 14th c.]
   • 1876, Henry James, Roderick Hudson:

     Nay, what are you smiling at so damnably?

3. (now archaic or humorous) Or rather, or should I say; moreover (introducing a stronger and more appropriate expression than the preceding one). [from 16th c.]

Translations

Usage notes

In Early Modern English, nay was used to respond to a positive question, while no was used to respond to a negative question. Over time, this distinction disappeared.

Interjection

nay

1. (archaic) No.

Derived terms

• nay-say
• naysayer

Noun

nay (plural nays)

1. A vote against.

   Antonyms: aye, yea

2. A person who voted against.

3. (archaic) A denial; a refusal. [1]

Verb

nay (third-person singular simple present nays, present participle naying, simple past and past participle nayed)

1. (obsolete) To refuse.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Holinshed to this entry?)

Adjective

nay (not comparable)

1. (obsolete) Nary. (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Anagrams

• AYN, Ayn, NYA, Yan, any, any%, ayn, yan

Ainu

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /naj/

Noun

nay

1. swamp.
2. small river.

Trivia

The ainu word -nay is frequently seen in names of places in Hokkaido and Northeast Japan, such as Wakkanai, Shizunai, etc.

Tagalog

Noun

nay

1. abbreviation of nanay, the informal form of ina

Vietnamese

Etymology

Cognate with này.

Pronunciation

• (Hà N?i) IPA^(key): [naj??]
• (Hu?) IPA^(key): [naj??]
• (H? Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [na(?)j??]

Adjective

nay • (????, ????, ????)

1. now, nowadays

Derived terms

Related terms

• này (“this”)

English

Etymology 1

From French née, feminine of né, past participle of naître, to be born.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ne?/
• Homophones: nay, neigh, né, Neagh

Adjective

nee (not comparable)

1. Alternative spelling of née

Usage notes

• As it is not a naturalised word in English, nee is often italicised.

Etymology 2

From Old English ne or na (“no”). Cognate with Standard English no.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ni?/
• Homophone: knee

Interjection

nee

1. (Tyneside) no, used to express no as a quantity, i.e. not any, like German kein/Dutch geen/French rien. Compare with na.

Anagrams

• -een, -ene, ENE, e'en, een

Afar

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ne?/

Pronoun

nee

1. we, us

See also

References

• Mohamed Hassan Kamil (2015) L’afar: description grammaticale d’une langue couchitique (Djibouti, Erythrée et Ethiopie)?^[1], Paris: Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (doctoral thesis)

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch nee, from Middle Dutch neen, nee, from Old Dutch *n?n.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ni??/

Particle

nee

1. no

Anagrams

• een

Dutch

Alternative forms

• neen

Etymology

From Middle Dutch neen, nee, from Old Dutch *n?n (“none, not one”), from *ne ?n, from Proto-Germanic *ne + *ainaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ne?/, [ne?]
• Hyphenation: nee
• Rhymes: -e?

Adverb

nee

1. no
   • 1992, A. F. Th. van der Heijden, Weerborstels, Em. Querido's Uitgeverij, page 23:

     Nee, de stemming zat er goed in.

     No, the atmosphere was great.

Usage notes

• Nee is used to show disagreement or negation.

• Nee has an alternative form, neen. In Belgium, it functions as a stressed variant of nee. In the Netherlands, it is an archaic, formal form in spoken language, but was quite common in written language until recently.

Descendants

• Afrikaans: nee

Anagrams

• een, één, ene

Dutch Low Saxon

Etymology

Ultimately cognate to German nein.

Adverb

nee

1. (in some dialects) no

Finnish

Numeral

nee

1. (colloquial) four

See also

• neljä (“four”)

Anagrams

• een

German

Alternative forms

• ne

Etymology

Of dialectal origin, particularly Low German nee. Cognate to Dutch nee.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ne?/

Interjection

nee

1. (colloquial, regional) Alternative form of nein (“no”)

Usage notes

• Nee is the most common colloquial word for “no” in northern and central Germany. It has also come to be used quite regularly in southern Germany, but is not used in Austria or Switzerland.

Further reading

• “nee” in Duden online

Hunsrik

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ne?/

Adverb

nee

1. no

Further reading

• Online Hunsrik Dictionary

Low German

Etymology 1

Ultimately cognate to German nein, Dutch nee and neen, English no and none.

Alternative forms

• nei, nää, nä (Low Prussian)
• ne, neh, nej (various dialects)

Adverb

nee

1. (in some dialects) no

Etymology 2

From Middle Low German nîe, nige, neye, nîwe, from Old Saxon niuwi, from Proto-Germanic *niwjaz, from Proto-Indo-European *néwos (“new”). Compare Dutch nieuw, West Frisian nij, English new, German neu.

Alternative forms

• ni, nie, nige, nig

Adjective

nee (comparative ne'er, superlative neest)

1. new

Declension

Derived terms

• Neeheit

Luxembourgish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ne?/

Adverb

nee

1. Alternative form of neen

Manx

Etymology 1

From Old Irish do·gní.

Pronunciation 1

• IPA^(key): /n?i?/

Verb

nee

1. future independent analytic form of jean

Etymology 2

From Old Irish ní.

Pronunciation 2

• IPA^(key): /n?e?/

Particle

nee

1. negative and interogative form of she

See also

• re (dependent form used with dy, nagh)

Navajo

Postposition

nee

1. with you, by means of you

Inflection

Pennsylvania German

Interjection

nee

1. no

West Frisian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ne?/

Interjection

nee

1. no

Further reading

• “nee”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011