NAY

nay. Nay, ad. no, by no means, not only so but more

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Nay (nā), adv. [[Icel. nei; akin to E. no. See No, adv.]] 1. 1. No; — a negative answer to a question asked, or a request made, now superseded by no. See Yes.
And eke when I say “ye,” ne say not “nay.” Chaucer. I tell you nay; but except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Luke xiii. 3. And now do they thrust us out privily? nay, verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out. Acts xvi. 37. He that will not when he may, When he would he shall have nay. Old Prov. ☞ Before the time of Henry VIII. nay was used to answer simple questions, and no was used when the form of the question involved a negative expression; nay was the simple form, no the emphatic. Skeat. 2. 2. Not this merely, but also; not only so, but; — used to mark the addition or substitution of a more explicit or more emphatic phrase.
☞ Nay in this sense may be interchanged with yea. “Were he my brother, nay, my kingdom's heir.” Shak.