# Yea not Yay **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 18, 2009, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yea-not-yay/500140 "2009-06-18T03:48:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yea-not-yay/500140/1 "2009-06-18T03:48:24Z")
I am perhaps wrong, but I don’t believe so. The phrase is “Yea or Nay” (Yes or No). “Yay or Nay” is similar to asking “Woohoo or Nay”. > **[Yea Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/yea?r=75)** > > Yea definition, yes (used in affirmation or assent). See more. > **[Yay Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/yay?r=75)** > > Yay definition, (an exclamation used to express joy, excitement, etc.) See more. [http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/errors/yea.html](http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/errors/yea.html) [http://marcvz.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/grammar-nazi.jpg](http://marcvz.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/grammar-nazi.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yea-not-yay/500140/2 "2009-06-18T03:56:04Z")
I think people write “yay or nay” because, to them, “yea” is what you and I would spell “yeah.” ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yea-not-yay/500140/3 "2009-06-18T04:21:02Z")
Yeah is pronounced entirely different. But more importantly, “yeah” means “yes”, which is what the question is asking. So, I’m not following. Because it means what’s being asked, it can’t possibly be right? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yea-not-yay/500140/4 "2009-06-18T04:51:54Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > I am perhaps wrong, but I don’t believe so. The phrase is “Yea or Nay” (Yes or No). “Yay or Nay” is similar to asking “Woohoo or Nay”. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yea-not-yay/500140/5 "2009-06-18T05:42:58Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Yeah is pronounced entirely different. But more importantly, “yeah” means “yes”, which is what the question is asking. So, I’m not following. > > Because it means what’s being asked, it can’t possibly be right? You are aware that “yeah” and “yea” are pronounced differently. Many, many people are not aware of that. Many people, in attempting to write “yeah,” write “yea” and think they are correct. I was suggesting that those same ignorant people also write “yay” for “yea,” perhaps because they don’t realize those two words are pronounced the same. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yea-not-yay/500140/6 "2009-06-18T06:07:16Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Many people, in attempting to write “yeah,” write “yea” and think they are correct. Hm, I’ve never seen anyone write “yea” for anything other than “yea or nay”, given that it’s an archaic word that pretty much only survives in that phrase. I’d generally guess that most people simply aren’t aware that there is such a word. ---
**Author:** ![StinkyBurrito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9e5f3/32.png) [@StinkyBurrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StinkyBurrito)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yea-not-yay/500140/7 "2009-06-18T13:37:33Z")
Just last night I wrote on facebook, “Yea, I’m glad you’re back in town!” And oddly enough, I was unaware of the word “yay” until this thread. I was, however, aware that “yeah” and “yea” are pronounced differently. But I’m weird. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yea-not-yay/500140/8 "2009-06-18T14:03:17Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Hm, I’ve never seen anyone write “yea” for anything other than “yea or nay”, given that it’s an archaic word that pretty much only survives in that phrase. > > I’d generally guess that most people simply aren’t aware that there is such a word. I’m communicating badly in this thread. Let me try again. Step One: Ignorant person A, unaware of spelling conventions, invents the spelling “yea” for “yeah,” not knowing or caring that “yea” is a distinct word with a distinct pronunciation but similar meaning. Step Two: Ignorant person B wants the phrase “yea or nay,” which they have heard but not seen. The word “yea” is unknown to them, except possibly when they have seen it incorrectly used for “yeah,” so they invent “yay or nay,” unaware that “yay” is already a spelling used for the celebratory utterance. Ignorant persons A and B may or may not be the same, but they use the same internet and they all enroll in my classes. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yea-not-yay/500140/9 "2009-06-18T14:31:41Z")
The thing I don’t get is, someone will demand the yeas and nays on a question, but then when they vote, they vote “aye”. I think it’s all a scam to provide more three-letter words for crossword puzzles. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yea-not-yay/500140/10 "2009-06-18T14:53:15Z")
My pet peeve is related but on the other side: it is people who use _yea_ when they mean _yay_. Worse are the ones who use _yeah_ when they mean _yay_. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yea-not-yay/500140/11 "2009-06-18T16:46:54Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > You are aware that “yeah” and “yea” are pronounced differently. Many, many people are not aware of that. Many people, in attempting to write “yeah,” write “yea” and think they are correct. Yea, verily. I wonder if “yeah” evolved from “yea.” I’m imagining the sixteenth-century Beatles singing “She loveth thou, yea, yea, yea…” ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yea-not-yay/500140/12 "2009-06-18T20:45:36Z")
How do you vote, yay or neigh?😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yea-not-yay/500140/13 "2009-06-18T20:47:16Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I’m imagining the sixteenth-century Beatles singing > “She loveth thou, yea, yea, yea…” OED sez: yea: in Old English, from 731 (about as early as you get), many Germanic cognates. yeah: from 1905, “casual pronunciation of ‘yes.’” yep: from 1891, “a dial. or vulgar pronunciation of ‘yes.’” yes: from circa 888, evidently _yea_ plus the third-person singular subjunctive of “be” (but they note this is a disputed etymology). Pedantic P.S.: She loveth _thee_, yea, yea, yea. “Thou” is nominative. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yea-not-yay/500140/14 "2009-06-18T21:06:45Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Pedantic P.S.: She loveth _thee_, yea, yea, yea. “Thou” is nominative. :smack: Yea(h), you’re right. I knew that. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2009, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yea-not-yay/500140/15 "2009-06-18T22:09:12Z")
> [@AskNott](#): > > How do you vote, yay or neigh? Remember the old Far Side? “For the first time in the history of the Horse Parliament, somebody had voted ‘aye’!”