ayah

[Port. aya, aia; Ital. aia = a governe , a chambermaid; cognate with Port. aio, ayo a tutor: Sp. ayo; Ital. aio = a tutor, a governor of youth.] Anglo-Indian: The ordinary appellation given by Anglo-Indians to a lady's or nursemaid of Hindoo or Mohammedan extraction, or who, whatever her faith, belongs to one of the native races of India. The term, originally borrowed from the Portuguese, is now tending to become naturalised in various Hindoo languages. †ayd'e, v.t. [AID, v.] Obsolete, except in poetry, and then in imitation of antiquity. "When the bells of Rylstone play'd Their Sabbath music 'God us ayde !" Words worth: White Doe of Rylstone, vil. * aye (1), adv. [AYEN.] aye (2), tāy, *āi, adv . [A.S. a , aa = always, ever, for ever; awaaway; Icel.aesi; O. Icel æ; Ger. ewig O. H. Ger, eo , io , ewa ; Goth. aiv; Lat. ærum; Gr. αἰών ( αion )=...eternity; ἀεί ( αρί ) = always.] [COEVAL, EKE.] 1. Always, perpetually, for ever. ( Poetic .) "Fro that time we tellen ay." Story of Gen. & Exod . (ed. Morris), 87. "The soul, though made in time, survives for aye; And, though it hath beginning, sees no end." Sr J. Davies. 2. Always, ever, in all cases, on all occasions; through all bygone time. (O. Eng . & Scotch prose and poetry .) and sykirly, ay the bettyr man, ay the mar lawly,..."- The Craft of Deyng (ed. Lumby), 145-6 "For ai was rigt and kire beforn On man, on wif, till he was born." Story of Gen. & Exod . (ed. Morris), 451-2. "I daur say, Mr. Waverley, ye never kend that s the eggs that were sne weel roasted at supper in the Ha' house were aye turned by our Davie?"- Scott : Waverley, ch. lxix. 3. Always; without intermi ion. "Th' astonish'd mariners aye ply the pump: No stay, nor rest, till the wide breach is clos'd." Phillips . Ay - forth : Ever after. "His godhede lees he nought the i he come lowe, That at he was God ay forth in in his his crete prete str eng the." Joseph of Aramathie (ed. Skeat), 125-6. [Etym- aye (3), Aye, ay, *ī, adv. & s. ology somewhat doubtful. Perhaps it is con- nected with Eng. yea ; A.S. ia , gea ; Sw. ja (pronounced ya ); Dan. ja = yes, yea, nay; jo =yes, yea; Dut. ja = yea, nay; Goth. ja , jai . Mahn considers it more probable that aye is connected with Ger. ei, ey = why, hey, ay well, ah ha; M. H. Ger. ei, eia; Dan ej; L Ger. ih . Wedgwood believes it to have deve- loped by a proce which he illustrates from aye always, and in fact to be that word] Yes, a particle of affirmation or a ent, used in the same way as yes . A. As adverb : "What say'st thou? Wilt thou be of our consort? Say ay, and be the captain of us all." Shakesp.: Two Gent. of Ver., iv. 1. The form i occurs in old editions of Shakespeare and other dramatic works. Nautical : Ay , ay, sir, or Aye , aye, sir : A common phrase in the mouths of sailors, who mean by it to expre their willingne cheerfully to carry out the command just i ued to them by their superior. "Heard the voices of men through the mist, the rattle of cordage Thrown on the deck, the shouts of the mate, and the sailors' 'Ay, ay , Sir!'" Long fellow: The Courtship of Miles Standish, iv. B. As substantive : 1. Of things : A vote in any legislative body or elsewhere in favour of a motion as opposed to No equals a vote against it. "There were a hundred and sixty Ayes to a hundred and sixty-four Noes."- Macaulay : Hist. Eng . , ch. xxiv. 2. Of persons: One who in such a case votes affirmatively. opinion."-Macaulay: Hist . Eng . , ch. xviii.