Word
shay
US/ˈʃeɪ/
UK/ʃˈeɪ/
Definition
n. a light carriage with two wheels that is pulled by one horse. It was common in the past and usually has a folding top to protect you from the rain.
n. a light, horse-drawn carriage, typically with two wheels and a folding hood. An archaic corruption of the French 'chaise', often treated as a singular form in historical contexts.
Examples
“The old farmer drove his horse and shay into town.”
“The couple arrived at the garden party in a polished black shay pulled by a single grey mare.”
“The poet famously described a 'one-hoss shay' built so perfectly that every part failed at the exact same moment after a century of service.”
Examples
simple
“The old farmer drove his horse and shay into town.”
contextual
“The couple arrived at the garden party in a polished black shay pulled by a single grey mare.”
complex
“The poet famously described a 'one-hoss shay' built so perfectly that every part failed at the exact same moment after a century of service.”
Usage
Archaic; primarily encountered in 18th and 19th-century literature or historical descriptions.
Etymology
Variant of Shea, from Irish Ó Séaghdha.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/shay