ya
A letter of the Cyrillic alphabet: Я, я.
Adverb
- yea; yes
- 'Ya, wilt thou!' said Wallace, 'then tak thee that, […]' - 1806, Jamieson, Pop. Ballads:
- Ya, auld man, ye ken fine ye wad like me. - 1894, W. G. Stevenson, Puddin' iii.:
- Ya, bur 'ee did, […] - 1896, Ackworth, Clog Shop Chron.:
Origin
From Middle English ya, from Old English ġēa, iā (“yea, yes”). More at yea.
Forms
Determiner
- Nonstandard spelling of your.
Derived
Interjection informal
- Yeah; yes.
Origin
Apparently from German ja and cognates in other Germanic languages; related to English yeah.
Interjection informal
- Go. (Spoken to horses and cattle.)
Origin
Variation of hyah.
Interjection Malaysia, Singapore
- Yes, yeah (used to express affirmation)
Origin
From Malay ya, from Dutch ja (and ultimately Proto-Germanic *ja). Reinforced by informal variants of yes in English (e.g., yeah). Doublet of yes.
Forms
Noun
- A letter of the Cyrillic alphabet: Я, я.
Origin
From Russian я (ja).
Forms
Particle
- Used to form a confirmation-seeking tag question, expecting an affirmative response.
- What about yourself Mr Chee, never look a day older, you'll see the rest of us six feet under… Really you look very well. I heard you went for new treatment in Switzerland ya?… - 1983, Stella Kon, Emily of Emerald Hill,...
Forms
Related
Pronoun
- Nonstandard spelling of you.
- But you don't really care for music, do ya? - 1984, Leonard Cohen, “Hallelujah”, in Various Positions:
- Lola got a shocked look on her face then said, “Ya need to stop actin' jealous if ya aint, and ya can't control what I do. Ya aint my daddy and ya aint my man. I'll see ya tomorrah after work if ya want. Just give me a...
Origin
Reduced form of you. Compare Dutch je, reduced/unstressed form of jij (“you”).
Related
Derived
-cha get it in ya hey ya hiya -ja love ya smell ya later there ya go whaddaya ya think?