ey meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

ey

noun

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English ei, ey, from Old English ǣġ, from Proto-West Germanic *aij, from Proto-Germanic *ajją (“egg”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ōwyóm (“egg”), probably from *h₂éwis (“bird”), from *h₂ew- (“to consume”). Doublet of egg, huevo, oeuf, and ovum. Cognates Cognate with North Frisian ai (“egg”), Saterland Frisian Oai (“egg”), West Frisian aai, aei (“egg”), Bavarian Oa (“egg”), Dutch ei (“egg”), German Ei (“egg”), German Low German Ai, Ägg (“egg”), Limburgish ei, Éï (“egg”), Luxembourgish Ee (“egg”), Mòcheno oi (“egg”), Vilamovian e (“egg”), Yiddish איי (ey, “egg”), Danish æg (“egg”), Faroese, Icelandic, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk egg (“egg”), Swedish ägg (“egg”), Crimean Gothic ada (“egg”); also Breton vi (“egg”), Cornish oy (“egg”), Welsh wy (“egg”), Latin ōvum (“egg”), Greek αβγό (avgó), αυγό (avgó, “egg”), Albanian vo (“egg”), Belarusian and Russian яйцо́ (jajcó, “egg”), Bulgarian яйце́ (jajcé, “egg”), Czech vejce (“egg”), Macedonian јајце (jajce, “egg”), Polish jajo (“egg”), Serbo-Croatian ја́јце, jájce (“egg”), Slovak vajce (“egg”), Slovene jájce (“egg”), Ukrainian яйце́ (jajcé, “egg”), Ossetian айк (ajk), айкӕ (ajkæ, “egg”), Armenian ձու (ju, “egg”), Northern Kurdish hêk (“egg”), Southern Kurdish خا (xa, “egg”), Zazaki hak (“egg”), Pashto هګۍ (hagë́y), ويه (wë́ya, “egg”), Persian خاگ (xâg), خایه (xâye, “egg”). This native English form was displaced by the Old Norse–derived egg in the 16th century.

An egg.

Otherwise obsolete

Take brothe of capons withoute herbes, and breke eyren, and cast into the pot, and make a crudde therof, and colour hit with saffron, and then presse oute the brothe and kerve it on leches; and then take swete creme of almondes, or of cowe mylk, and boyle hit; […]1787, originally 1381, Liber quotidianus contrarotulatoris garderobae:

Related terms: Cockney

ey

pron

/eɪ/

Etymology Coined by Christine M. Elverson in 1975 by removing the "th" from they.

Epicene, Nominative, Nonstandard, Rare, Third person A gender-neutral third-person singular subject pronoun, one of the so-called Spivak pronouns, equivalent to the singular they and coordinate with gendered pronouns he and she.

Eir sentences would sound smoother since ey wouldn't clutter them with the old sexist pronouns. And if ey should trip up in the new usage, ey would only have emself to blame.1975 August 23, Judie Black, “Ey has a word for it”, in Chicago Tribune, section 1, page 12:
I'm not familiar with this book, but I encourage Marksmill to look for it-- and while ey is at it, to also look at a number of other books.1996 December 22, Shirley Worth, “New To Yoga”, in alt.yoga (Usenet), message-ID <32BDCA0C.6C8@worth.org>:

1 more example

If a mobile user is far from eir home area, ey will pay a long-distance fee for carriage of the call *from* eir home area, just as a caller would pay long-distance on a call *to* that area.1997 November 25, Scott Robert Dawson, “Who Pays for Cellular Calls”, in alt.cellular (Usenet), message-ID <347acf56.333719@news.interlog.com>:

Synonyms: e

ey

noun

Etymology Inherited from Middle English ei, i, ie, from Old English ēġ, īġ, īeġ, from Proto-West Germanic *auwju, from Proto-Germanic *awjō (“watery land, floodplain, island”), earlier *agwjō ~ *ahwjō (literally “(that which is) of the water”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ékʷeh₂ (“flowing water”) + *-yeh₂. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Äi, German Aue, Icelandic ey, Faroese oyggj, Swedish ö, Norwegian Bokmål øy, Norwegian Bokmål øy, Danish ø.

UK A small island formed by the buildup of silt or gravel at the confluence of two rivers or streams.

Now it will be seen that each of the three small streamlets named forms, at its junction with the larger river into which it flows, an ey, or island, of this latter kind — Crip's-ey, Dom's-ey, and Pin's-ey, respectively; and I suggest that, from these three eys, each of the three streams indicated derived the final element of its name.1927, Essex Naturalist, page 280:
Runnymede Bridge is situated on an 'ey' – a small gravel islet close to the river bank.2009, Julie Wileman, War and Rumours of War, page 81:

A place that has a name ending in "-ey" because it is or was located at such an island.

Among the many eys, eyots, or islands, clustering about Oxford, at or near the confluence of the Isis and Cherwell, viz., Binsey, Botley, Hinksey, Iffley, Osney, Oxey, Pixey, &c., there are two, vis., Osney and Oxey, which manifestly enshrine this rivername.1888 January 28, Walter de Gray Birch, “WASA, ISIS, OCK”, in Academy and Literature, volume 33, number 821, page 63:
In Saxon the word ey meant peninsula as well as island, and there are plenty of other eys about —Langney and Hydeney and Horsey to wit, Chilly and Rickney and Northeye and Mountney.1924, Arthur Hadrian Allcroft, Downland Pathways, page 76:

1 more example

Bermondsey, Stepney, Hackney; there are many of these 'eys' in London and they were all once islands, or higher, dryer points in the surrounding marshlands.2018, Bob Gilbert, Ghost Trees: Nature and People in a London Parish:

Related terms: ea, eyot, island, oe

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.