ey

plural eyren

1. obsoleteAn egg.First known use dated since the 16th century

   Take brothe of capons withoute herbes, and breke eyren, and cast into the pot, and make a crudde therof, and colour hit with saffron, and then presse oute the brothe and kerve it on leches; and then take swete creme of almondes, or of cowe mylk, and boyle hit; […]

   1787, originally 1381, Liber quotidianus contrarotulatoris garderobae

plural eys

1. A small island formed by the buildup of silt or gravel at the confluence of two rivers or streams.

   Runnymede Bridge is situated on an 'ey' – a small gravel islet close to the river bank.

   2009, Julie Wileman, War and Rumours of War, page 81

   1 more example

   Now it will be seen that each of the three small streamlets named forms, at its junction with the larger river into which it flows, an ey, or island, of this latter kind — Crip's-ey, Dom's-ey, and Pin's-ey, respectively; and I suggest that, from these three eys, each of the three streams indicated derived the final element of its name.

   1927, Essex Naturalist, page 280

2. A place that has a name ending in "-ey" because it is or was located at such an island.

   Bermondsey, Stepney, Hackney; there are many of these 'eys' in London and they were all once islands, or higher, dryer points in the surrounding marshlands.

   2018, Bob Gilbert, Ghost Trees: Nature and People in a London Parish

   2 more examples

   Among the many eys, eyots, or islands, clustering about Oxford, at or near the confluence of the Isis and Cherwell, viz., Binsey, Botley, Hinksey, Iffley, Osney, Oxey, Pixey, &c., there are two, vis., Osney and Oxey, which manifestly enshrine this rivername.

   1888 January 28, Walter de Gray Birch, “WASA, ISIS, OCK”, in Academy and Literature, volume 33, number 821, page 63

   In Saxon the word ey meant peninsula as well as island, and there are plenty of other eys about —Langney and Hydeney and Horsey to wit, Chilly and Rickney and Northeye and Mountney.

   1924, Arthur Hadrian Allcroft, Downland Pathways, page 76

accusative em · adjective possessive eir · noun possessive eirs · reflexive emself · alternative 'ey

1. epicenenominativenonstandardraresingularthird personA gender-neutral third-person singular subject pronoun, one of the so-called Spivak pronouns, equivalent to the singular they and coordinate with gendered pronouns he and she.

   I'm not familiar with this book, but I encourage Marksmill to look for it-- and while ey is at it, to also look at a number of other books.

   1996 December 22, Shirley Worth, “New To Yoga”, in alt.yoga (Usenet), message-ID <32BDCA0C.6C8@worth.org>

   2 more examples

   Eir sentences would sound smoother since ey wouldn't clutter them with the old sexist pronouns. And if ey should trip up in the new usage, ey would only have emself to blame.

   1975 August 23, Judie Black, “Ey has a word for it”, in Chicago Tribune, section 1, page 12

   If a mobile user is far from eir home area, ey will pay a long-distance fee for carriage of the call *from* eir home area, just as a caller would pay long-distance on a call *to* that area.

   1997 November 25, Scott Robert Dawson, “Who Pays for Cellular Calls”, in alt.cellular (Usenet), message-ID <347acf56.333719@news.interlog.com>

   Synonyms: e

alternative 'ey

1. alternativeAlternative form of hey.

   JULIO. (Moves away.) No walking. I told you I’m not walking. / INES. You walked yesterday after the exercises. / JULIO. I can’t today. / INES. Then I’m going outside to smoke! / JULIO. Ey, don’t get angry!

   1999, Nilo Cruz, A Bicycle Country, New York, N.Y.: Dramatists Play Service, published 2004, →ISBN, act 1, scene 2, page 9

   2 more examples

   The night vault rests for a while and Tony springs to life, shifting his weight to the balls of his feet, and hurling a fusillade of punches which fall inches from my tummy. ‘Ey, ey stop that will you,’ Liam says, pulling him away from me, ‘Remember what we said about all that? A time and a place ey son?’

   2004, Helen Walsh, chapter 6, in Brass, Edinburgh: Canongate, →ISBN, pages 174–175

   Lad? Chris – that’s yer name, isn’t it? Chris, just help a feller out, ey? I’ve got me little girl ter think of. […] There’s a mug tree stood on the counter and I check it fer hangin keyrings. Nowt. / Ey. Ey, stop that. Get outta there, yer little sod.

   2009, Jacob Polley, chapter 14, in Talk of the Town, London: Picador, →ISBN, pages 136–137

plural eys

1. obsoleteObsolete form of eye.

alternative ay · alternative ayy · alternative eyy

1. alternativeAlternative spelling of ay (expression of elated surprise)

1. abbreviationinitialismInitialism of Ernst & Young.