Etymology

dey

D2E1Y4

Today it means: A servant who has charge of the dairy; a dairymaid. Full definition →

Middle English deye ← Old English dǣġe ← Proto-West Germanic *daigijā
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dey · noun1

  1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*dʰeyǵʰ-“to knead, form, build”
  2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*daigijǭ“kneader of bread, maid”
  3. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*daigijā
  4. Old English · inherited fromdǣġe“maker of bread; baker; dairy-maid”
  5. Middle English · inherited fromdeye
  6. English todaydey

From Middle English deye, deie, daie, from Old English dǣġe (“maker of bread; baker; dairy-maid”), from Proto-West Germanic *daigijā, from Proto-Germanic *daigijǭ (“kneader of bread, maid”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- (“to knead, form, build”). Cognate with Swedish deja, Icelandic deigja (“dairy-maid”); compare dairy, dough, lady.

dey · noun2

  1. Ottoman Turkish · derived fromدایی
  2. Algerian Arabic · derived fromداي
  3. French · borrowed fromdey
  4. English todaydey

From French dey, from Algerian Arabic داي from Ottoman Turkish دایی (modern Turkish dayı).

dey · interjection3

  1. Tamil · borrowed fromடேய்“hey!”
  2. English todaydey

From Tamil டேய் (“hey!”).

Dey · proper noun4

  1. Persian · derived fromدی
  2. English todayDey

From Persian دی.

Words from the same roots

Middle Englishdeye all →

dye

Proto-Indo-European*dʰeyǵʰ- all →

figuredoughfaint

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.