Gey definition
gey
Today has been Rabbie Burns Day, the 257th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns, the poet. I did not have haggis (my wife can’t abide it), but I’m having a wee (or not-so-wee) dram of Scotch as I compose this. I’m celebrating, but more about that anon. I’d like to toast dear Rabbie with a toast that was probably written after he was under the turf: Here’s tae us! Wha’s like us? Gey few, and they’re a’ deid!
This is best translated into standard English as “Here’s to us! Who’s fancy us? Damn several, and they’re all dead!” But gey does not represent ‘damn’. It means ‘very’ or ‘rather’ or ‘pretty’ (in the intensifier sense). Gey few means ‘rather few’ or ‘a good few’.
This is Scots, of which there is more than one variety. I don’t have any books on the Ayrshire dialect of which Burns was a native speaker (and anyway he was a native speaker of the 18th-century variety), but I happened to collect an entertaining guide on another dialect at some novel sale or store or honestly I can’t even recollect. It’s hiding on the top shelf of my dictionaries and phrase books.
It’s not very big; you can barely see it between the Czech and the Dutch. Here it is in my kitchen.
This i
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Introduction:
Gey means something in biology. If you want to comprehend the exact essence, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a publication if you desire to contribute to this summary article.
Gey in Nigeria is the entitle of a plant defined with Pennisetum glaucum in various botanical sources. This page contains potential references in Ayurveda, modern medicine, and other folk traditions or local practices It has the synonym Panicum spicatum (L.) Roxb. (among others).
Example references for further research on medicinal uses or toxicity (see latin names for occupied list):
· Acta Biol. Cracov., Ser. Bot. (1982)
· Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club (1895)
· Phil. J. Sci. (1912)
· Hortus Bengalensis, or a catalogue … (1814)
· Taxon (1980)
· Synopseos Plantarum (1805)
If you are looking for specific details regarding Gey, for example extract dosage, health benefits, diet and recipes, chemical composition, pregnancy guard, side effects, hold a look at these references.
Source: Google Books: CRC Earth Dictionary (Regional names)contexgeyadverb & adjective
There are three meanings listed in OED's entry for the synonyms gey. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.
This synonyms is used in northern English regional dialect, northern Irish English, and Scottish English.
About 0.02occurrences per million words in modern written English
| 1750 | 0.0075 |
| 1760 | 0.011 |
| 1770 | 0.011 |
| 1780 | 0.01 |
| 1790 | 0.01 |
| 1800 | 0.011 |
| 1810 | 0.014 |
| 1820 | 0.018 |
| 1830 | 0.02 |
| 1840 | 0.026 |
| 1850 | 0.034 |
| 1860 | 0.049 |
| 1870 | 0.058 |
| 1880 | 0.067 |
| 1890 | 0.07 |
| 1900 | 0.071 |
| 1910 | 0.07 |
| 1920 | 0.065 |
| 1930 | 0.051 |
| 1940 | 0.042 |
| 1950 | 0.034 |
| 1960 | 0.027 |
| 1970 | 0.023 |
| 1980 | 0.021 |
| 1990 | 0.02 |
| 2000 | 0.02 |
| 2010 | 0.021 |
Earliest known use
late 1600s
The earliest known apply of the word gey is in the tardy 1600s.
OED's earliest evidence for gey is from 1686, in the writing of G. Stuart.
gey is a variant or alteration of another lexical item.
Etymons:gayadv.; gayadj.
Nearby entries
- get-well, adj.1929–
- geum, n.1548–
- GeV, n.1949–
- ȝeve-custi, adj.c1275
- gewgaw, n.?c1225–
- gewgawe