Meanings
interjection
- archaicExpressing grief, sorrow etc.
Ay me, it is my husband.
c. 1594 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Comedie of Errors”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals)2 more examples
Ay-me, to whom did I reserve, to discover that singular and loving affection, which in my soule I bare unto him?
, II. 8Ay me! they little know / How dearly I abide that boast so vain[…].
1667, John Milton, “Book LXXXIX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 76-77
Origin
- Middle Frenchaymi
- Englishay me
From Middle French aymi.
More words from Middle French
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
ay me. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ay%20me
MLA
“ay me.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ay%20me. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ay me,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ay%20me.
Source: ay me on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.