aye, ay, int. (adv.), n.

Etymology -- [Appears suddenly about 1575, and is exceedingly common about 1600; origin unknown. The suggestion that it is the same as AY adv. ‘ever, always,’ seems set aside by the fact that it was at first always written I, a spelling never found with AY. But it may have been a dialect form of that word, from some dialect in which it had passed through the senses of always, in all cases, to by all means, certainly, yes (cf. aye but, in sense 2b; and the history of ALGATE), and so have been taken in literary English for a different word. It is less easy to see in it a phonetic variant or dialect form of ya ‘yea, yes.’ Spelt both aye and ay: the former is in accordance with parliamentary usage, and better on every ground. Aye and eye (which many identify in pronunciation, and which differ at most only in the ‘broader’ or more back sound of aye, are analogous diphthongal words usefully distinguished by their final e from the regular pronunciation of -ay, -ey, in bay, day, gay, hay, etc., and bey, dey, grey, they, convey, etc.: see AY.]