Yay slang word | Learn English (2024)

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Yay slang word | Learn English? ›

used to express joy, approval, or excitement.

While yea is the word we sometimes use for yes, yay is the word we use to express joy, approval, or excitement.

an exclamation indicating approval, congratulation, or triumph.

Street names for cocaine include co*ke, crack, rock, Charlie, snow, dust, and yay-yo.

Yay – rhymes with and is a synonym of hooray. It's used in cases of excitement. Yah – is also an expression of agreement but there is no excitement. “How are ya?”

Yay and nay might sound like antiquated words, but we still use them in certain situations.

The earliest known use of the interjection yay is in the 1960s. OED's earliest evidence for yay is from 1963, in the Sunday Mail (Brisbane). It is also recorded as an adverb from the 1960s. yay is perhaps formed within English, by conversion.

The OED's earliest citation for “yay” is from 1963, and its first example of “yeah” is from 1905 (Merriam-Webster's has a slightly earlier date, 1902). But we've found what look like 19th-century usages of both words.

/jeə/ → yeah informal : "Did you hand in your homework?" "Yeh.

What's another way to say yay? ›

Yay is an exclamation that shows feelings such as excitement, joy, happiness, triumph, and approval.

First off, we must note that all of these words come from the word “yes”. “Yeah” is an informal variation of “yes”, and it is also the most common out of your list. As for the rest, “yea”, “yah”, and “ya” are all shortened versions of the word “yeah”.

From Middle English ye, ȝea, ya, ȝa, from Old English ġēa, iā (“yea, yes”), from Proto-West Germanic *jā, from Proto-Germanic *ja (“yes, thus, so”), from Proto-Indo-European *yē (“already”).

interjection. , Slang. yes! (used as a strong expression of excitement, approval, agreement, etc.)

an informal word for yes, often used to indicate derision or contempt.