April 17, 2008: Issue 235
A casual synonym for yes is yeah, pronounced with a short a sound (like yak without the k on the end): Yeah, the pink walls and green counters had to go.
A positive response to a roll call vote is yea, pronounced with a long a (rhymes with way): The yeas have it; we’re adjourning for lunch.
Yea is also the spelling of the cheer: Yea, the Jayhawks won the championship!
Yay is not a word, according to Webster’s dictionaries.
(Thanks to Molly Reid Sinnett, who asked this question and who promised to bring us treats if we gratuitously mentioned the Kansas win.)
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