# hay
## English
### Pronunciation

* enPR: hā, IPA: /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, Danish hø, 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: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.
** 1994, “Bug Powder Dust”, performed by Bomb the Bass:Jeff Spicoli, roll me another hay
* A net set around the haunt of an animal, especially a rabbit.

##### Derived terms

* deer-hay
* hay-asthma
* haybag
* hay bag
* haybale
* hayband
* haybarn
* hay bed
* haybird
* haybote
* hay-bote
* haybox
* haycap
* haycart
* haycation
* haycock
* hay-cock
* hay devil
* hayer
* hayey
* hay fever
* hay-fever
* hayfever
* hayfield
* Hayford
* hayfork
* hayhead
* hay is for horses
* hay knife
* haylage
* hayland
* hayless
* haylift
* haylike
* hayloft
* hay loft
* haymaker
* haymaking
* Haymarket
* haymonger
* hay moon
* haymow
* haymower
* hay net
* haynet
* hayrack
* hayrake
* hayrick
* hayricker
* hay ride
* hayride
* hay-scented fern
* hayseed
* haysel
* hayshed
* haystack
* haystalk
* hay tea
* haytime
* hay wagon
* hay wain
* haywain
* hayward
* haywire
* hit the hay
* lunar hay fever
* make hay
* make hay while the sun shines
* meadow hay
* Oxhey
* roll in the hay
* romp in the hay
* salt hay
* salt marsh hay
* slough hay
* what the hay

##### 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
#### 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, Christopher Marlow[e], The Troublesome Raigne and Lamentable Death of Edward the Second, King of England: […], London: […] [Eliot’s Court Press] for Henry Bell, […], published 1622, →OCLC, (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, [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

### See also

* yeet hay

### Anagrams

* AYH, YHA, Yah, yah

## Fingallian
### Etymology

From Middle English hey, from Old English hīeġ, from Proto-West Germanic *hawi.

### Noun

hay
* dance
** 1689 James Farewell, The Irish Hudibras, or, Fingallian prince taken from the sixth book of Virgil's Æneids, and adapted to the present times. (Appendix: "Alphabetical Table" of "Fingallian Words, or Irish Phrases"):
    Hay,Irish-Hay, a Dance.

## Lushootseed
### Alternative forms

* haya

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /haɪ/

### Verb

hay
* to know

## Malagasy
### Etymology 1
#### Interjection

hay
* truly!, indeed!

### Etymology 2
#### Participle

hay
* possible
* known

### Etymology 3
#### Noun

hay
* (dialectal) burning

### Etymology 4
#### Adjective

hay
* (of land) exposed, bare

### Etymology 5
#### Noun

hay
* (Tankarana) an insect which damages rice crops

## Middle English
### Etymology 1
#### Noun

hay (plural hayes)
* Alternative form of haye (“net”)

### Etymology 2
#### Interjection

hay
* Alternative form of hey (“hey”)

### Etymology 3
#### Noun

hay (uncountable)
* Alternative form of hey (“hay”)

### Etymology 4
#### Pronoun

hay
* Alternative form of he (“they”)

### Etymology 5
#### Noun

hay
* Alternative form of heye (“hedge”)

### Etymology 6
#### Verb

hay
* Alternative form of haven (“to have”)

## Middle French
### Verb

hay
* first-person singular present indicative of hayr

## Old Galician-Portuguese
### Alternative forms

* hai, ai, ay

### Etymology

From ha + y, "there is".

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈaj]

### Verb

hay
* (impersonal, Galicia) there is, there are
** 1370, Ramón Lorenzo, editor, Crónica Troiana, page 533:Et moytas uegadas cõteçe que hay algũus que nõ catã senõ porlo que he sua prolAnd many times it happens that there are some than don't care but for their own interest

#### Descendants

* Galician: hai

### Further reading

* Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, Ana Isabel Boullón Agrelo (2006–2022) “aver”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
* Xavier Varela Barreiro, Xavier Gómez Guinovart (2006–2018) “hay”, in Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega

## 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 form of aver (“to have”), + ý (locative pronoun, compare modern French y and Catalan hi), from Latin ibī (“there”).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /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.

#### Usage notes

Impersonal form of haber, there is or there are, not he is or it was.

#### Derived terms

* donde hay confianza, da asco
* no hay mal que por bien no venga
* no hay quien

## Tagalog
### Pronunciation

* (Standard Tagalog) IPA: /haj/ [haɪ̯]
* Rhymes: -aj
* Syllabification: hay

### Etymology 1

Compare Hokkien 害矣 (hāi--ah).

#### Interjection

hay (Baybayin spelling ᜑᜌ᜔)
* 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
* hays

### Etymology 2

Borrowed from English high.

#### Adjective

hay (Baybayin spelling ᜑᜌ᜔)
* (slang) high on drugs; drugged
    Synonyms: sabog, basag, bogsa

### Etymology 3
#### Noun

hay (Baybayin spelling ᜑᜌ᜔) (obsolete)
* act of frighting or startling a dog

##### Derived terms

* hayan
* ihay
* maghay

### Further reading

* “hay”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018

## Vietnamese
### Pronunciation

* (Hà Nội) IPA: [haj˧˧]
* (Huế) IPA: [haj˧˧]
* (Saigon) IPA: [ha(ː)j˧˧]

### Etymology 1

Cognate with Arem hɪː ("to understand").

#### Verb

hay • (咍, 𫨩, 台, 能)
* (archaic or literary) to know; to get to know; to learn
** Phật thuyết đại báo phụ mẫu ân trọng kinh (佛說大報父母恩重經), folio 35a
    合(Hợp)咍(hay)㝵(người)𱍸(ấy)咍(hay)把(trả)特(được)恩(ơn)盎(áng)那(nạ)Certainly, [one will] know that such a person can repay their parents' kindness.
** 15th century, Nguyễn Trãi, “歸崑山重九偶作 Quy côn sơn trùng cửu ngẫu tác”, in Quốc âm thi tập (國音詩集):𣈜恪咍兠群役恪 節冷馬女底朱戈Ngày khác hay đâu còn việc khác, Tiết lành mựa nỡ để cho qua.Who knows on a different day if I would be busy or not, [So] I would rather not miss out on this nice weather [right now].
** 1820, Nguyễn Du (阮攸), Đoạn trường tân thanh (Truyện Kiều)‎:𬖉𦋦𦰟𦹵𦲿核 𧡊囂囂𱢻時能姉𧗱Trông ra ngọn cỏ lá cây, Thấy hiu hiu gió thì hay chị về.And when you look outside, to where the grass and leaves are, And if you see them sway in the light breeze, then you know that I, your sister, will come home soon.
** 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.
* (obsolete, auxiliary) can, could, may, might
** Phật thuyết đại báo phụ mẫu ân trọng kinh (佛說大報父母恩重經), folio 35a
    合(Hợp)咍(hay)㝵(người)𱍸(ấy)咍(hay)把(trả)特(được)恩(ơn)盎(áng)那(nạ)Certainly, [one will] know that such a person can repay their parents' kindness.

#### Adjective

hay
* (obsolete) able, capable
** 1914 [c. 5th century CE], “Kinh tin-kính [Apostles' Creed]”, in Edmond Nordemann, compiler, Chrestomathie annamite, translation of Symbolum Apostolorum (in Latin), page 152:Tôi tin kính Dêu cha hay lọn vậy, dựng nên lời-đất. […][original: Credo in Deum Patrem omnipotentem, Creatorem caeli et terrae, […]]I believe in God, the Father All Capable, Creator of heaven and earth, […]

##### 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”, literally “to let [someone] know”), in the non-literary language.

##### Derived terms

* cho hay
* có hay
* đến đâu hay đến đó
* hay biết
* hay chữ

### Etymology 2
#### Adjective

hay • (咍, 𫨩, 台)
* 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
* hay hớm
* ô hay
* ơ hay

#### Adverb

hay • (𫨩)
* well
    Antonyms: dở, tệ, tồi
** c. 1990s, Đậu Kinh Luân (lyrics and music), “Hoa Tay [Deftness]”‎:Ai hay vẽ rồi sẽ vẽ hay.Whoever draws often will draw well.

### Etymology 3
#### Adverb

hay
* often, habitually
    Con hay nói nhiều lắm.You, child, are talkative.(literally, “You, child, habitually talk too much.”)
** c. 1990s, Đậu Kinh Luân (lyrics and music), “Hoa Tay [Deftness]”‎:Ai hay vẽ rồi sẽ vẽ hay.Whoever draws often will draw well.

### Etymology 4
#### Conjunction

hay • (咍, 台, 能)
* or
    Chọn cái này, hay chọn cái kiaChoose this one, or choose that one
** 1820, Nguyễn Du (阮攸), Đoạn trường tân thanh (Truyện Kiều)‎:吏輸妸李半命能牢Lại thua ả Lý bán mình hay sao?Could I fall short of Lady Li, who sold herself?

##### Derived terms

* hay là

##### See also

* hoặc

## Walloon
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /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, page 130, line 6:"Hay was mee gude plowere,"He was my good plougher,
** 1927, “YOLA ZONG O BARONY VORTH”, in THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD, page 132, line 4:Fan Buckeen hay pooked lik own thing mad.When Buckeen he jumped like a thing mad.
** 1927, “YOLA ZONG O BARONY VORTH”, in THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD, page 132, line 7:Wi spur upa heel hay gaed him a goad,With a spur on his heel, he gave him a goad,
** 1927, “PAUDEEN FOUGHLAAN'S WEDDEEN”, in THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD, page 133, line 3:Shu bin vrem Vorth, an hay vrem Bargee,She being from Forth and he from Bargy;
** 1927, “PAUDEEN FOUGHLAAN'S WEDDEEN”, in THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD, page 133, line 5:Yola Vather Deruse hay raree cam thoare,Old Father Devereux (he) early came there,
** 1927, “PAUDEEN FOUGHLAAN'S WEDDEEN”, in THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD, page 133, line 6:Wi buke an wi candale hay tackled a paare.With book and with candle he tackled the pair;

### References

* Kathleen A. Browne (1927) “THE ANCIENT DIALECT OF THE BARONIES OF FORTH AND BARGY, COUNTY WEXFORD.”, in Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of lreland (Sixth Series)‎, volume 17, number 2, Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, page 130