aye

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B2 — Upper-Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Etymology

From Middle English ay, ai, aȝȝ, from Old Norse ei, ey, from Proto-Germanic *aiwa, *aiwō (“ever, always”), from *aiwaz (“age; law”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eyu- (“long time”). Doublet of aeviternity and aevum. See also Old English āwo, āwa, ā, ō, Middle Dutch ie, German je; also Old English ǣ(w) (“law”), West Frisian ieu (“century”), Dutch eeuw (“century”); also Irish aois (“age, period”), Breton oad (“age, period”), Latin ævum (“eternity”), Ancient Greek αἰών (aiṓn).

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