tay en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /teɪ/
- tā
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
Spelling form indicating original pronunciation of tea. The digraph ea represented /ɛː/ in Early Modern English; it later merged chiefly with ee, but regionally or sporadically with ay (in standard English break, great, steak). Compare the song Polly put the kettle on, where tea rhymes with away.
Meanings
-
(dialectal, obsolete) Tea.
"[T]hen the Tulip, - ah! didn't the Tulip die hard, - he fout hard for it, even after he had a hole in his head as big as a tay cup."
1856 October 18, The People's Advocate and New South Wales Vindicator, Sydney, page 6, column 1:Well, ma'am, you see it was whin I was jist about the age of Mary, there. I was comin' home late one Monday evenin' from the market; for my aunt Kitty, God be marciful to her! would keep me to take a cup of tay.
1850, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, London: H.G. Bohn, page 381:"There's your tay set for you an' drawin' nicely this minute, Miss Ethel," called old Bridget from the hall.
1930, Norman Lindsay, Redheap, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, →OCLC, page 207:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| tays | Number=Plur | lexicographic |