hay

nounverbnounnouncommon in dialogue

//heɪ//

Grass cut and dried for use as animal fodder.

noun

1
Grass cut and dried for use as animal fodder.
Make hay while sunne shines.
Hay may be dried too much as well as too little.
2
Any mix of green leafy plants used for fodder.
3
slangCannabis; marijuana.
I would like some of that hay. Enclose $20.
Jeff Spicoli, roll me another hay
4
A net set around the haunt of an animal, especially a rabbit.

Etymology

From Middle English hey, from Old English hīeġ, from Proto-West Germanic *hawi, from Proto-Germanic *hawją, from *hawwaną (“to hew, cut down”). Cognate with West Frisian hea (“hay”), Alemannic German Heuw (“hay”), Cimbrian höobe (“hay”), Dutch hooi (“hay”), German Heu (“hay”), Luxembourgish Hee (“hay”), Mòcheno hei (“hay”), Yiddish היי (hey, “hay”), Danish hø (“hay”), Faroese hoyggj (“hay”), Gutnish hoy (“hay”), Icelandic hey (“hay”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk høy (“hay”), Swedish hö (“hay”), Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐍅𐌹 (hawi, “grass, hay”). More at hew.

verb

1
To cut grasses or herb plants for use as animal fodder.
2
To lay snares for rabbits.

noun

1
obsoleteA hedge.
2
obsoleteA net placed around the lair or burrow of an animal.
3
obsoleteAn enclosure, haw.
4
obsoleteA circular country dance.
My men like Satyres grazing on the lawnes, Shall with their Goate feete daunce an antick hay,
I’ll make one in a dance, or so; or I will play On the tabour to the Worthies, and let them dance the hay.

Etymology

From Middle English haye, heye, a conflation of Old English heġe (“hedge, fence”) and Old English ġehæġ (“an enclosed piece of land”).

noun

1
The letter for the h sound in Pitman shorthand.

Etymology

From the sound it represents, by analogy with other letters such as kay and gay. The expected form in English if the h had survived in the Latin name of the letter "h", hā.

Forms

plural: hays
past tense: hayed
past participle: hayed
present participle: haying
third person singular: hays

Hawkins · An English surname originating as a patronymic.Hawks · A surname.Hawthorne · A topographic or habitational surname from Middle English for…

hay · Grass cut and dried for use as animal fodder.

Hay · A surname.Hayden · A habitational surname from Old English.Hayes · A surname An English habitational surname from Old English.

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