▪ I. yes, n.1 dial.
Also 8 yesse, 9 yis, yesh.
[Variant of easse, prob. the same word as ees, OE. ǽs food, bait.]
The earthworm.
| 1787 Grose Prov. Gloss., Yesse, an earth-worm, particularly those called dew-worms. W. c 1820 Quekett's Sayings (1888) 33 Yeshes..are large worms which they make use of as baits..to catch eels. 1825 Jennings Obs. Dial. W. Eng., Yes. 1863 Barnes Dorset Gloss., Yis. |
▪ II. yes, adv. (n.2)
(jɛs)
Forms: α. 1 ᵹese, 3–4 ȝes, 4–5 ȝeis, (5 yhes, ȝeysse, yesse, 9 dial. ees), 5– yes. β. 1 ᵹise, 2–4 ȝise, (4 yijs), 4–5 ȝhis, ȝys, 4–6 ȝis, 4–6 (9 dial.) yis, (5 yhis, yys, ȝisse, 6 yisse, 6–7 is, 9 dial. iss). γ. 1 ᵹyse, 3 ȝuse, 4 ȝhus, yus, 4–5 ȝus, (5 ȝeus).
[An affirmative word confined to English: OE. ᵹése, ᵹ{iacu}se, ᵹ{yacu}se, the forms of which point to early WS. *ᵹ{iacu}ese:—*ᵹéasī, prob. f. ᵹéa yea + s{iacu} 3 sing. pres. subj. of bēon to be; a similar formation is seen in nese (Northumb. næse, næsi), prob. f. ne ne adv. + sī (as above).
The acceptance of this derivation necessitates the assumption that ᵹése was orig. applicable as an answer to a particular class of question, which is intrinsically not improbable. The suggested derivation from *ᵹéa swā ‘yea, so’ is phonologically inadequate.
The pronunciation (jɪs), still widespread in dialects, was formerly current in polite speech and is recorded as such in Walker's Pronouncing Dict.]
A. adv. A word used to express an affirmative reply to a question, statement, command, etc.
1. a. In answer to a question not involving a negative; standing for the affirmative sentence corresponding to the interrogative one constituting the question: = ‘It is so.’ Phr. to say yes: to assent, comply; spec. to accept a proposal of marriage.
Formerly usually more emphatic than yea or ay; in later use taking the place of these as the ordinary affirmative particle: cf. 2 below.
| c 1000 ælfric Hom. I. 14 Hwi! wolde God swa lytles þinges him forwyrnan..? Ᵹyse; hu mihte Adam tocnawan [etc.]. c 1200 Vices & Virtues 31 Hwat seist þu, Dauið? Hafst þu aniȝe sikernesse herof?.. ‘Ȝise,’ [he] seið, ‘we bieð all siker of godes behate.’ 1375 Barbour Bruce iv. 470 (MS. E.) The kyng..sperit..Giff ony man couth tell tithand Of any strange man in that land. ‘Ȝhis [v.r. ȝai]’, said a voman, ‘schir, perfay, Of strange men I can ȝow say’. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VI. 341 Þanne þe kyng com, and þe pope axede of hym ȝif he hadde i-holde his oth... Þe kyng..seide ‘Ȝis al at þe fulle’. Ibid. VIII. 313 Of þis erle..is ofte greet stryf.., wheþer he schulde be acounted for [v.r. among] seyntes oþer none. Some seyn ȝis... Oþer seien þe contrarie. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 539/1 Ȝys, ita, eciam. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. xxxiv. ix, Haue you hym sene in any time before? Yes yes quod she. 1583 Hollyband Campo di Fior 227 Hast thou found thy Tusculans questions? Is, so evill favoured that I knew them not. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. ii. iii. 25 Duk. Loue you the man that wrong'd you? Iul. Yes, as I loue the woman that wrong'd him. 1634 Milton Comus 584, 2. Bro... Is this the confidence You gave me Brother? Eld. Bro. Yes and keep it still. 1747 H. Walpole Let. to Mann 28 July, Bergen-op-zoom still holds out, and is the first place that has not said yes, the moment the French asked it the question. 1808 Scott Marm. i. Introd. 45 Will spring return,..And blossoms clothe the hawthorn spray? Yes, prattlers, yes; the daisy's flower Again shall paint your summer bower. 1866 Mrs. E. Lynn Linton Lizzie Lorton xvi, ‘Is it a nice clean place?’ asked Aunt Harriet... ‘Yis! yis! clean eneugh!’ said Isaac. 1883 D. C. Murray Hearts xiv. (1885) 111 She'd never say ‘Yes’ to a man she didn't care for. 1917 G. W. E. Russell Pol. & Pers. iv. x. 364 It is wise to be prepared for this evil? Until the dream of a universal..disarmament is realized, surely yes. |
b. Yes and No: a round game (see quots.).
| 1843 Dickens Christmas Carol iii, It was a Game called Yes and No, where Scrooge's nephew had to think of something, and the rest must find out what; he only answering to their questions yes or no, as the case was. 1854 Round Games (ed. 2) 111 Yes and No. This game..was formerly called Animal, Vegetable, and Mineral. A player was sent out of the room, and a word (or rather thing) thought of. The player was called in, and proceeded to ask certain members of the company to which of the three kingdoms—animal, vegetable, or mineral—the object in question belonged... He then proceeded to ask other questions, to which the players were only compelled to answer ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. |
c. yes and no, in answer to a question to which it is difficult to reply: partly, perhaps, to a certain degree.
| 1873 C. M. Yonge Pillars of House I. vii. 154 ‘Do you come from his father?’ ‘Well—yes and no. His father is still in Oregon; but he and I have always been one.’ 1896 ‘M. Rutherford’ Clara Hopgood xxii. 212, I said ‘yes and no’ and there is another side. 1933 W. S. Maugham Sheppey iii. 75 Bessie:..Expecting somebody? Florrie: Yes and no. 1964 R. Petrie Murder by Precedent v. 78 ‘That's why you gave him a home?’ he asked. ‘Well yes and no.’ 1981 B. Murphy Enigma Variations xiii. 137 ‘Do you believe that if you continue seeing me you'll be damned?’ ‘Yes and no.’ |
d. yes or no: used attrib. (freq. hyphenated) to denote a question, etc., answerable by, or definable in terms of, yes or no; spec. in Linguistics. Also ellipt. as yes-no.
| 1924 [see pronominal a. 2]. 1935 [see okey-doke a.]. 1952 Mind LXI. 52 The yes-or-no question is the one we like to ask. 1957 D. L. Bolinger in Publ. Amer. Dialect Soc. xxviii. 24 Yes-no Qs are essentially true-false Qs. 1961 F. W. Householder in Saporta & Bastian Psycholinguistics 17/1 Beside this graded kind of ‘grammaticalness’..there is also an absolute yes-or-no type. 1963, 1964 [see more C. adv. 2]. 1966 A. Battersby Math. in Management vii. 180 This type of work [sc. simulation] lends itself very readily to electronic computation, because it comprises a number of repetitive ‘loops’ of instructions, controlled by simple ‘yes-no’ decisions. 1976 H. Kemelman Wednesday Rabbi got Wet xlvi. 257 The law is not a yes-or-no thing. 1977 Times 8 Feb. 17/1 The Government is proposing to put a single yes-no question to the voters of Scotland and Wales. 1979 Economist 16 June 98/2 Whitehall's traditional passion for compromise only makes for trouble in a crisis which needs yes-or-no decisions, fast. 1984 Word XXXV. 188 Sentences other than declaratives are broken up into a speech act operator (a wh-question operator, a yes-no question operator, a command operator, etc.) and a propositional kernel. |
2. a. In answer to a question involving a negative.
Formerly regularly used thus (and as in b) in distinction from yea (see yea 1); the distinction became obsolete soon after 1600, and since then yes has been the ordinary affirmative particle in reply to any question positive or negative, and yea has become archaic. The distinction was still observed in the Bible of 1611, in which yes occurs four times (all in N.T.), always after a negative question or statement; the Revisers of 1881, apparently in ignorance of the usage, altered it in all these instances to yea.
| c 888 ælfred Boeth. xvi. §4 Wenst ðu þæt se godcunda anweald ne mihte afyrran þone anweald þam unrihtwisan kasere,..ᵹif he wolde? Þise, la, ᵹese; ic wat þæt he mihte, ᵹif he wolde. Ibid. xxxiv. § 6 Ða cwæð he: Ne sæde ic þe ær þæt sio ᵹesælð good wære? Ᵹyse, cwæð ic, ᵹe þu þæt sædest þæt hio þæt hehste good wære. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xvii. 25 Eower lareow, ne ᵹylt he gafol? Þa cwæð he: Ᵹyse, he deð. a 1225 Ancr. R. 392 Ne muhte he mid lesse gref habben ared us? Ȝe siker [MS. T. ȝuse I wis, MS. C. ȝes I wis]. a 1300 Cursor M. 5208 (Cott.) ‘How sua, es þar na noþer king?’ ‘Yus [Gött. Ȝes], bot he dus nakins thing.’ c 1315 Shoreham Poems vii. 499 Nys þys god laȝe? Ȝes, y-wys, god laȝe hys. 13.. Cursor M. 2761 (Gött.) ‘Ne sal þai all þar-fore liue?’ ‘Yis,’ said vr lauerd. 1375 Barbour Bruce ix. 84 Trow ȝe nocht than that thai Sall vencust in thair hertis be? Ȝhus, sall thai. c 1400 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) iv. xx. 66 Myn hertes greef, mote I not wepe? O yis. c 1450 Merlin iii. 54 ‘Haue ye no mynde of the sarazins..?’ And thei seide, ‘Yesse, full wele.’ c 1450 Cov. Myst. xxx. (Shaks. Soc.) 296 Thynk ȝe not he is worthy to dey? Et clamabant omnes. ‘ȝys! ȝys! ȝys! alle we seye his is worthy to dey, ȝa! ȝa! ȝa!’ 1533 More Debell. Salem Wks. 997/1 Wold not the iudges trow you geue them y⊇ hearing; yes yes I dout not. 1545 Joye Exp. Dan. iii. 38 b, Did we not cast thre men bownde into the fyer? which answerd, yisse trwly oh kynge. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. ii. i. 128 Val. What meanes your Ladiship? Doe you not like it? Sil. Yes, yes. 1632 Lithgow Trav. vi. 255 Was not the hand of the Almighty..able also, to drowne their..plaines with water? Yes and doubtlesse yes. 1646 Vaughan Juv. Sat. x. 485 But thy spruce boy must touch no other face Then a Patrician? Is of any race So they be rich. 1779 Johnson in Boswell (1904) II. 308 B. ‘Is not the Giant's Causeway worth seeing?’—J. ‘Worth seeing, yes; but not worth going to see.’ 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. iii. xvi, ‘You never can have walked, my dear?’ ‘Yes, I have.’ 1880 ‘Mark Twain’ Tramp Abr. xxvii, ‘I like to be always making acquaintances, don't you?’ ‘Lord, yes!’ |
b. In contradiction of or opposition to a negative statement expressed or implied, or a negative command or request.
Now usually accompanied by a short asseverative phrase echoing the preceding statement; e.g. in quot. 1611, mod. colloq. usage would require Yes, it was.
| c 1205 Lay. 17208 Þa andswarede þe king: Mærlin þu sæist sællic þing Þe nauere nan iboren mon Ne maie heom bringgen þenne... Hu mihte ich heom þenne Heom bringen þeonne? Þa andswerede Mærlin Þan kinge..Ȝuse, ȝuse lauerd king. 13.. Cursor M. 1249 (Gött.) ‘Sun,’ he said, ‘þe bus ga To paradis þat I cam fra{ddd}’ ‘Ȝa, sir, wist i queþirward.’.. ‘Ȝeis,’ he said, ‘i sal þe tell and say, Hugat þu sal ta þi right way.’ c 1350 Will. Palerne 1567 ‘Ȝe, wist y þat,’ seide william ‘witterly to speke, Of alle harmes were ich hol.’.. ‘Ȝis, be marie,’ seide meliors ‘misdrede ȝow neuer.’ c 1375 Cursor M. 5066 (Fairf.) We ar noȝt of a kithe saide he, Ȝus þat salle I shew to þe. c 1400 Rom. Rose 4659 Knowest hym ought? Lamaunt. Yhe, dame, parde. Raisoun. Nay, nay. Lamaunt. Yhis, I. c 1420 [see yea 4]. c 1450 Mirk's Festial 252 Then..þe Iewe..sayde hit was not soo. ‘Ȝeus’ quod þe cristyn man. 1470–85 Malory Arthur i. xx. 66 How sholdest thou knowe it, for thow arte not so old of yeres to knowe my fader, yes sayd Merlyn I knowe it better than ye or ony man lyuynge. 1552 Lyndesay Monarche 5952 We neuer saw thyne excellence Subdewit to sic Indigence. Ȝis, sall he [sc. Christ] say,..Quhen euer ȝe did ressaue the pure. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. ii. ii. 49 Isab. Must he needs die? Ang. Maiden, no remedie. Isab. Yes: I doe thinke that you might pardon him. 1611 ― Cymb. i. iv. 52 Post... My Quarrell was not altogether slight. French. Faith yes, to be put to the arbiterment of Swords. 1779 Johnson in Boswell (1904) II. 304 Boswell. ‘You did now know what you were undertaking.’ Johnson. ‘Yes, Sir, I knew very well what I was undertaking.’ 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. ii. xv, ‘But it's not in the way, Charley.’ ‘Yes, it is,’ said the boy, petulantly. 1880 ‘Mark Twain’ Tramp Abr. xxvii, ‘I do not know he ever preached there.’ ‘Oh, yes, he did.’ |
3. a. Expressing assent to a command, request, proposal, or summons.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 4341 ‘Lauedi’, he said, ‘com to þi mete.’ ‘Yus’, sco said. Ibid. 7363 ‘Þat childs nam yee will me scau.’ ‘Yijs’, he said, ‘i sal þe ken To knau him a-mang oþer men.’ c 1320 Sir Tristr. 436 He bede hem pens mo..Ȝif þai wald wiþ him go... ‘Ȝis’ þai sworen þo. c 1369 Chaucer Dethe Blaunche 753, I telle hyt the vp a condicion That thou shalt hooly..Doo thyn entent to herkene hitte. Yis syr. c 1425 Cast. Persev. 440 in Macro Plays 90 Now go we forth..& bere þee manly euere a-mong..Humanum genus. Ȝys, & ellys haue þou my necke. 1470–85 Malory Arthur ii. xv. 93 Hast thow slayn my broder, thow shalt dye therfor or thou departe, wel said balen do it your self, yis sayde kyng pellam, ther shall no man haue ado with the, but my self. 1728 De Foe Street Robb. Consid. 15 Prithee call him, Child, said he, to me,..Yes, Sir, said I. 1837 Dickens Pickw. iv, ‘Joe!’ ‘Yes, sir.’ 1859 Ruskin Two Paths iii. §82 Nay, but you will take Christian ornament—purest mediæval Christian—thirteenth century! Yes: and do you suppose you will find the Christian less human? 1898 G. B. Shaw Mrs. Warren's Prof. i, The Clergyman [calling]. Frank! Frank... Yes, gov'nor. |
b. Expressing assent to a statement or implication.
| a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 2079 ‘Be his kniȝtis as kene as me þis cornes shewis, All þe werd war to waike his wrothe to with-stand.’.. ‘Ȝ is, he ledis bot a lite, lord, with ȝoure lefe..Bot mare fersere in feld fell neuire of modire.’ 1633 Marmion Fine Comp. iv. vi, Spr. I heare she is runne mad. Aur. Is. 1723 C. Walker Mem. Sally Salisb. 26 She would bring out a Word something like Abdication, in this manner, Yes, yes, Abdillication was of great use to you, &c. 1732 Pope Ep. Cobham 1 Yes, you despise the man to books confin'd, Who from his study rails at human kind. 1818 Shelley Rosal. & Helen 77 Henry. This is not the way, Mamma; it leads behind those trees that grow Close to the little river. Helen. Yes: I know: I was bewildered. 1837 Dickens Pickw. xiv, ‘They must have been very nice men, both of 'em.’.. ‘Yes, they were,..very nice men indeed!’ 1898 ‘Merriman’ Roden's Corner vii. 74 The exquisite sense of humour had also slightly evaporated. People said, ‘Oh yes, very funny,’ than which nothing is more fatal to humour. Ibid. viii. 82 ‘But we were talking of Mr. Cornish.’ ‘Yes’, answered Dorothy... ‘Yes; but I must not talk any longer or I shall be late.’ |
c. Expressing concessive assent (sometimes sarcastically), and introducing an objection: often repeated in sign of impatience.
| 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. i. iii. 34 Iew... May I speake with Anthonio? Bass. If it please you to dine with vs. Iew. Yes, to smell porke. 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xxii, ‘Miss Ophelia has taught Topsy to read’, continued Eva. ‘Yes, and you see how much good it does.’ 1865 ‘L. Carroll’ Alice's Adv. in Wonderland vii, ‘It was the best butter.’.. ‘Yes, but some crumbs must have got in as well.’ 1880 ‘Mark Twain’ Tramp Abr. xxv, One morning I said:—‘There is an American party.’ Harris said,—‘Yes, but name the State.’ |
d. (Usually interrogative.) Expressing provisional assent, with desire for further information or statement; hence as an inquiry addressed to a person waiting in silence (= ‘what is it?’ ‘what do you want?’); also as a mere expression of interest (= ‘indeed?’ ‘is it so?’).
| 1842 Dickens Amer. Notes iv, If you are an Englishman, he expects that that railroad is pretty much like an English railroad. If you say ‘No’, he says ‘Yes?’ (interrogatively) and asks in what respect they differ. You enumerate the heads of difference one by one, and he says ‘yes?’ (still interrogatively) to each. 1858 O. W. Holmes Aut. Breakf.-t. i, My landlady's daughter... Tender-eyed blonde. Long ringlets... Says ‘Yes?’ when you tell her anything. Ibid., ‘I was only giving some hints on the fine arts.’ ‘Yes?’ 1898 Punch 16 Apr. 173/1 After a few moments I was joined by a gentleman... ‘Yes?’ he said, in a tone of interrogation. |
4. Used to emphasize or strengthen the speaker's own preceding statement: = yea 3.
In first quot. perh. used as an ordinary intensive adverb: = yea 2.
| 1598 Shakes. Merry W. ii. ii. 108 Surely I thinke you haue charmes, la: yes in truth. 1613 ― Hen. VIII, i. ii. 176, I say, take heed; Yes, heartily beseech you. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. xxii, ‘Ah, Madam’, cried her mother, ‘this is but a poor place you are come to after so much finery... Yes, Miss Livy, your poor father and I have suffered very much of late.’ 1810 Crabbe Borough xxii. 12 His father's love he scorn'd,..But being drunk, wept sorely when he died. Yes! then he wept. 1827 Scott Highl. Widow iv, ‘The race of Dermid, whose children murdered—yes’, she added, with a wild shriek, ‘murdered your mother's fathers.’ 1866 Meredith Vittoria iv, ‘He rendered payment for it’, said Agostino. ‘He perished; yes! as we shake dust to the winds.’ 1888 ‘J. S. Winter’ Bootle's Childr. ii, He was living a month ago, and drunk enough to knock me down. Yes, me..me with a babe of a month old. |
† 5. In construction after a verb of thinking, etc., standing for a clause expressing affirmation or assent: = yea 1 e. Obs.
| a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon ix. 24 Then Huon..demandyd yf he myght ryde or not, ‘brother’ quod Gerarde ‘I thynke yes.’ 1634 Caine Necess. Separ. v. 218 His wordes import positively no, but we are sure yes. 1843 Carlyle Past & Pr. iii. xv, Thou shalt not disobey them. It were better for thee not. Better a hundred deaths than yes. |
¶ O yes (formula introducing a crier's announcement): see oyez.
B. as n. (Pl. yes's, yeses.) An utterance of the word ‘yes’; an affirmative reply, or expression of assent: often opposed to no.
| [c 897 ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xlii. 308 Wene ᵹe ðæt æᵹðer sie mid me ᵹe ᵹise ᵹe nese?] 1712 Steele Spect. No. 266 ¶4 Her innocent forsooths, yes's, and't please you's..moved the good old Lady to..hire her for her own Maid. 1775 Sheridan in Sheridaniana (1826) 62 No pearly teeth rejoice my view, Unless a ‘yes’ displays their hue. 1805 Southey Madoc i. xvii. 29 Madoc smiling on the Maid,..lightly gave the yes. 1818 Keats Endym. iv. 898 Striving their ghastly malady to cheer, By thinking it a thing of yes and no, That housewives talk of. 1840 Thackeray Shabby-genteel Story v, Dear yeses and noes, how beautiful you are when gently whispered by pretty lips! 1855 Tennyson Maud i. xvii. 9 Roses are her cheeks, And a rose her mouth When the happy Yes Falters from her lips. 1866 Meredith Vittoria ii, ‘Said yes!’ he remarked. ‘He might say no, for a diversion. He has yeses enough in his pay to earn a Cardinal's hat.’ 1879 ‘L. Hoffmann’ Drawing-r. Amusem. ii. 41 The ‘Twenty questions’... He is limited to twenty questions, which, with one exception, must be of such a character as to be answered by a simple ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. |
▪ III. yes, v.
[f. the adv.]
1. intr. To say ‘yes’; to assent: opp. to no v. (see after no adv.3 and n.).
| 1820 Blackw. Mag. VIII. 271 Thy hat low dangling from thy better hand, Yes-ing and No-ing to the great man's will. 1891 J. K. Stephen Quo Musa Tendis? 56, I don't know what we talked about; I smiled; the same old smile: I ‘yes'd’ and ‘no'd’ and ‘really'd’, till I thought he must discover That I was listening to the band. |
2. trans. To say ‘yes’ to or agree with (someone); to flatter by habitual assent. U.S.
| 1921 R. W. Lardner in Mencken Amer. Lang. (rev. ed.) 393 He..crossed me up. I ast him for a hook and he yessed me and then throwed a fast one. 1928 J. P. McEvoy Show Girl ix. 134 They yes you to death. 1933 Times Lit. Suppl. 23 Nov. 844/2 For Mr. Leonard..there is no fun in life as lived in the United States. Too much work..yessing the boss and dud liquor. 1935 [see rave n.2 2 b]. 1945 S. Lewis Cass Timberlane xvi. 89 A lot of bums are always yessing you..but me and Boone are good-enough friends to tell you the truth. 1983 N.Y. Times 23 Oct. 19/6 Mr. Reagan..is unable to get his proposal off the ground..; his aids yes him to death with plans. |
▪ IV. yes
obs. pl. of eye; obs. f. ice.