Meaning & use
yea or nay
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Meanings
phrasefixed phraseold-fashionedformal
A yes or no answer, especially a vote for or against a proposal.
Grammar: Used as a noun phrase: waiting for a yea or nay.
Patterns
- a yea or nay from someone
- wait for a yea or nay
The council waited for the mayor's yea or nay.
Members cast their yea or nay by raising a hand.
We need a clear yea or nay before the end of the week.
phrasefixed phrasehumorous
Used humorously in everyday speech to ask whether someone agrees or disagrees.
Grammar: Often used jokingly: so, yea or nay?
Patterns
- yea or nay?
Pizza for dinner, yea or nay?
So, a road trip this weekend, yea or nay?
Yea or nay on the new schedule?
Common combinations
- give a yea or nay
- The board will give a yea or nay on Friday.
- vote yea or nay
- Each member must vote yea or nay.
- await a yea or nay
- We await a final yea or nay.
- the yeas and nays
- The clerk counted the yeas and nays.
Synonyms and how they differ
- yes or no
- Yes or no is plain and everyday, whereas yea or nay sounds formal or jokingly old-fashioned.
- aye or nay
- Aye or nay is nearly identical but more used in British and parliamentary settings.
- thumbs up or down
- Thumbs up or down is informal and visual, used for approval rather than formal votes.
Word family
Commonly confused: yea or nay or neigh? yea or nay or yay?
yea or nay vs neigh
Neigh is the sound a horse makes; it sounds like nay but has a different spelling and meaning.
yea or nay vs yay
Yay is a cheer of excitement; yea is a formal vote in favor.
Practice
The committee will give its final ____ on Monday.
Choose one answer.
Yea or nay is the fixed phrase for a vote for or against. Neigh and yay sound similar to the correct words but have unrelated meanings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “yea or nay”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.