Why say "nay" when you could say "no"

Question

I am curious as to why "nay" replaces the simple unequivocal "no" in the context of voting.

My research in Merriam-Webster tells me that "nay" means "no" (not the other way around) and the first known use of "nay" appeared in 1400s. Since the use of "no" existed before 1400 and the word remains to be used afterward, why would "nay" become the preferred choice of word when it comes to voting. Any idea?

Not in the UK's House of Commons, where those in favour of a motion say 'Aye', and those against say . . . 'No'. — Barrie England, Jan 03 '13 at 14:10
@BarrieEngland: "The eyes to the left... the nose to the right..." — Hugo, Jan 03 '13 at 14:32

score 23 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 03 '13 at 14:18

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Apparently, Early Modern English had a four-form system of yes and no, where yes and no were used to answer negatively phrased questions (e.g., "Will he not go?") whilst yea and nay were used to answer positively phrased questions (e.g., "Will he go?"). Since the sort of questions voted on by assemblies are positively phrased, I'd imagine that the legislative use of yea and nay is a relic of this earlier usage.

answered Jan 03 '13 at 14:18

Branimir Ćaćić

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Hugely related: http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/28581/did-english-ever-have-a-word-for-yes-for-negative-questions – Andrew Leach Jan 03 '13 at 14:42
Indeed it is! The comparison to the situation in French and German is very much worth thinking about. – Branimir Ćaćić Jan 03 '13 at 14:50

score 4 · Answer 2 · answered Dec 05 '16 at 04:35

Section 7 of the US Constitution specifies that Congress must vote on bills using Yea and Nay, and so it does. That specification instead of Yes and No still had meaning in formal matters the 1700s per the four-form Yea/Yes/Nay/No system mentioned by Branimir Ćaćić, even though Yea and Nay were by then falling out of use in common speech.

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 13 '23 at 14:55

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The truth is a little more complex. It have to do with the fact that English is a compound language, created by the two main waves of invasions that happened between the 9th and the 11th century. Basically English is a combination of French and Danish. No comes from French "no" while Nay comes from Danish "nej" It is an aberration that French is the dominant form for a simple word like a negation, the norm is that the complicated words like "government" comes from French, while simple words like "cat" comes from Danish. In other cases the two root languages are used simultaneously like with freedom and liberty. But to be short, nay was introduced into English in the 9th century, while no arrived in the 11th

answered Jun 13 '23 at 14:55

Alastir

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Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please [edit] to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center. – Community Jun 13 '23 at 14:58
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The OED's first cite for "nay" is c. 1175; it suggests an Old Scandinavian origin, but not specifically Danish. – Stuart F Jun 13 '23 at 15:29

Why say "nay" when you could say "no"

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