nay
adverb
[ neɪ ]
• or rather (used to emphasize a more appropriate word than one just used).
• "permission to build the superstore will take months, nay years"
Similar:
or rather,
and more than that,
(and) indeed,
and even,
in fact,
in point of fact,
actually,
in truth,
• no.
• "nay, I must not think thus"
nay
noun
• a negative answer.
• "the cabinet sits to give the final yea or nay to policies"
Origin:
Middle English (in nay (sense 2 of the adverb)): from Old Norse nei, from ne ‘not’ + ei ‘ever’ (compare with aye2).
