yea English · revision 6231

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=731|origins=gem-pro *ja}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /jeɪ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English ye, ya, [[inh|ang|gēa]], Anglian gē, so, yes,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(MWU 2024) from [[gem-pro|*ja]],^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) an affirmative word found throughout Germanic: compare [[osx|jā]], [[nl|ja]], [[de|ja]] and [[non|já]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) Etymonline takes it to PIE [[ine-pro|*yam-]], from the pronoun stem *i-.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As a simple affirmative answer: 731 in the OED.^(OED 1989) Barnhart has about 900 for Old English gēa and before 1325 for Middle English yai, yaa, in ''Cursor Mundi''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old English it was also an adverb meaning certainly or truly.^(Etymonline) As a noun, an affirmative vote, it is from the early 13th century,^(Etymonline) as is its use as a merely emphatic word introducing a statement.^(Etymonline) By the late 14th century it could introduce something to clarify or reinforce a point, ''yea, even more''.^(Etymonline) ''Yea or nay'' and ''the yeas and nays'' survive in voting.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023) In ordinary use it has been replaced by [[yes]] and is now archaic or dialectal,^(Hoad 1986)^(OED 1989) although it is still common in dialect.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 731 – yes.^(OED 1989)

+ * early 13th century – an affirmative vote.^(Etymonline)

+ * late 14th century – introducing a stronger statement.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adverb===

+ # ''(archaic)'' Yes; [[aye]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(archaic)'' Indeed; truly; and moreover.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # An affirmative vote, or a person who votes yes: ''the yeas and nays''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[yes]]

+ * [[aye]]

+ * [[yeah]]

+ * [[nay]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ NODE records a separate, informal yea from the 1960s, probably a variant of the adverb, used with a gesture to show size, as in ''yea big''.^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}