From Middle English ye, ȝea, ya, ȝa, from Old English ġēa, iā (“yea, yes”), from Proto-West Germanic *jā.
The modern pronunciation shows an irregular development of Early Modern English /ɛː/ to /eɪ/ in the standard language, probably from association with the antonym nay.
Meanings
(dated, not-comparable) Yes, indeed.
Something of the curate's aptitude for abasement came to him at that moment, and he wept, yea, holding with both hands to Miss Gimblet, in his grief he wept aloud, while Miss Gimblet wiped his countenance with her handkerchief and wept a little, too. 1913, Norman Lindsay, A Curate in Bohemia, Sydney: N.S.W. Bookstall Co., published 1932, page 120:
1597–1598, Joseph Hall, Virgidemiarum
Yea, and the prophet of the heav'nly lyre, / Great Solomon sings in the English quire […]
Let no man say that the Devil is not a cruel tyrant. He may give his folk some scrapings of unhallowed pleasure, but he will exact tithes, yea, of anise and cummin, in return, and there is aye the reckoning to pay at the hinder end. 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:
(Midwestern-US, dated, not-comparable) Thus, so (now often accompanied by a hand gesture by way of measurement).
This kid... What'd he look like? / Well, he was about yea high. You know, tiny like. I didn't get a good look at him, though. He was back in the kitchen. 2016, Stranger Things, season 1, episode 2, spoken by Hopper, Earl (David Harbour, David Dwyer):
From Middle English ye, ȝea, ya, ȝa, from Old English ġēa, iā (“yea, yes”), from Proto-West Germanic *jā.
The modern pronunciation shows an irregular development of Early Modern English /ɛː/ to /eɪ/ in the standard language, probably from association with the antonym nay.
Meanings
(archaic, dated) Or even, or more like, nay. Introduces a stronger and more appropriate expression than the preceding one.
O stay, three lives in one flea spare,
Where we almost, yea, more than married are. c. 1633, John Donne, The Flea:
[N]ow ſuch a liue vngodly, vvithout a care of doing the wil of the Lord (though they profeſſe him in their mouths, yea though they beleeue and acknowledge all the Articles of the Creed, yea haue knowledge of the Scripturs) yet if they liue vngodly, they deny God, and therefore ſhal be denied, […]
(with modern spelling) [N]ow such a life ungodly, without a care of doing the will of the Lord (though they profess him in their mouths, yea though they believe and acknowledge all the Articles of the Creed, yea have knowledge of the Scriptures) yet if they live ungodly, they deny God, and therefore shall be denied 1604, Jeremy Corderoy, A Short Dialogve, wherein is Proved, that No Man can be Saved without Good VVorkes, 2nd edition, Oxford: Printed by Ioseph Barnes, and are to be sold in Paules Church-yard at the signe of the Crowne, by Simon Waterson, →OCLC, page 40
From Middle English ye, ȝea, ya, ȝa, from Old English ġēa, iā (“yea, yes”), from Proto-West Germanic *jā.
The modern pronunciation shows an irregular development of Early Modern English /ɛː/ to /eɪ/ in the standard language, probably from association with the antonym nay.
From Middle English ye, ȝea, ya, ȝa, from Old English ġēa, iā (“yea, yes”), from Proto-West Germanic *jā.
The modern pronunciation shows an irregular development of Early Modern English /ɛː/ to /eɪ/ in the standard language, probably from association with the antonym nay.
Meanings
(dated) An affirmative vote, usually but not always spoken
Recently senators could fax in their yeas or nays to the committee chairman. 2009 January 6, “Still Broken After All These Years”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 26 Jan 2018: