# yay
## English
### Pronunciation

* enPR: yā, IPA: /jeɪ/
* Audio (US):(file)
* Audio (US):(file)
* Rhymes: -eɪ
* Homophones: yea, Ye

### Etymology 1

Alteration of yea (“yes; even, truly, verily”). More at yea.

#### Alternative forms

* yea

#### Interjection

yay
* (colloquial) An expression of happiness.
    Yay! I have finally finished my work!
* Misspelling of yea.

##### Synonyms

* (an expression of happiness): hooray

##### Derived terms

* yay-boo
* yayness
* yippee ki-yay

##### Descendants

* → Icelandic: jei
* → Japanese: イェイ (yei), イェーイ (yēi)
* → Ukrainian: єй (jej)

##### Translations
#### Adverb

yay (not comparable)
* Alternative spelling of yea
    The tree was yay big.
** 2018 October 30, CGP Grey, 5:29 from the start, in Who Owns The Statue of Liberty?‎, archived from the original on 16 July 2024:See, in the 1800s, the island was yay big, but by the 1990s, it was yay big.

#### See also

* nay

### Etymology 2

Clipping of yayo, from Spanish llello.

#### Alternative forms

* yayo, yay-yo, yeyo

#### Noun

yay (uncountable)
* (US, slang) Cocaine (powder or crack).
** 2006 December, “They Shootin'”, in Vibe:In Billy Corben's engrossing new documentary, Cocaine Cowboys (Magnolia Pictures), self-described "assassin" Jorge "Rivi" Ayala (among others) give up the goods on Miami's explosive early '80s yay trade.
** 2009, Tyrone Pierson, Murder in the Moonlight, AuthorHouse, published 2009, →ISBN, page 339:I'm in charge of a whole city block, and I always wear gloves when I touch the yay, cuz traces of cocaine show up on my u. a., when I touch it with my bare hands.
** 2012, Azealia Banks, “Liquorice”, in 1991:I don't do yay, but if you want to, fine

##### Synonyms

* See also Thesaurus:cocaine.

### Anagrams

* ayy

## Azerbaijani
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [jɑj]
* Audio:(file)

### Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Turkic *yāy (“summer”).

#### Noun

yay (definite accusative yayı, plural yaylar)
* summer
    Yayda uşaqlar məktəbə getmir. ― Children don't go to school in the summer.
    Yay ilin isti mövsümüdür. ― Summer is the hot season of the year.

##### Declension
#### See also

Seasons in Azerbaijani · fəsillər (layout · text) · category :
| yaz (“spring”) | yay (“summer”) | payız (“autumn”) | qış (“winter”) |

### Etymology 2

Inherited from Proto-Turkic *yā(y) (“bow”).

#### Noun

yay (definite accusative yayı, plural yaylar)
* bow (a weapon used for shooting arrows)
* spring, coil

### References

* ↑ Starostin, Sergei, Dybo, Anna, Mudrak, Oleg (2003) “*jāj”, in Etymological dictionary of the Altaic languages (Handbuch der Orientalistik; VIII.8)‎, Leiden, New York, Köln: E.J. Brill

## Middle English
### Pronoun

yay
* Alternative form of þei (“they”)

## Ojibwe
### Particle

yay
* exclamation
    Way, yay, wewiib enda-gizhigaawan iniw ininaatigoon.Goodness gracious, hurry, the maples are running just fast.

## Turkish
### Etymology 1

From Ottoman Turkish یای (yay), from Proto-Turkic *yā(y) (“bow”).
Cognate with Azerbaijani yay, Crimean Tatar yay, Gagauz yay, Bashkir йәйә (yəyə), Chuvash укҫу (ukśu), Nogai яй (yay), Khakas чааӌах (çaacax), Karaim jaj, йайа, йаа, Kazakh жақ (jaq), Kyrgyz жаа (jaa), Southern Altai јаа (ǰaa), Tatar җәя (cäya), Turkmen ýāý, Uzbek yoy, Tuvan ча (ça), Uyghur يا (ya), etc.

#### Noun

yay (definite accusative yayı, plural yaylar)
* bow (weapon)

### Etymology 2
#### Verb

yay
* second-person singular imperative of yaymak