Etymograph

English

yay

Yay comes from English yea ‘yes’.

  1. English1500–presentyea‘yes’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 2018yay

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. English1500–presentyea‘yes’
  2. Englishearliest quotation 2018yay

Earliest quotation: 2018, CGP Grey: “See, in the 1800s, the island was yay big,…”

Every English word from English yea

Another origin of yay

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*megʰ-‘to be able’uncertain
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*(me)mógʰe‘to have power, to be able to’uncertain
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*maganą‘to be able, may’uncertain
  4. Frankishc. 250–700*maganuncertain
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CE*magāreuncertain
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400esmaier‘to perturb’uncertain
  7. Spanishc. 1500–presentdesmayar‘to cause a person to faint’uncertain
  8. Spanish, derivedc. 1500–presentdesmayo‘faint, swoon’uncertain
  9. Spanish, derivedc. 1500–presentyeyo‘weak, fainting’uncertain
  10. Spanish, derivedc. 1500–presentllello‘coke’
  11. Englishtodayyay

Today it means

intj An expression of happiness.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / English yea / yay

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