aye-aye

[ ahy-ahy ]

/ ˈaɪˌaɪ /

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noun

an endangered species of omnivorous lemur, Daubentonia madagascariensis, the world’s largest nocturnal primate, having rodentlike incisors and long fingers: its extremely rare foraging technique involves gnawing small holes in trees and extracting grubs with its distinctly thin middle finger.

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Origin of aye-aye

First recorded in 1775–85; from French, from Malagasy aiay, probably imitative of its cry

Words nearby aye-aye

Ayckbourn, Aycliffe, Aydelotte, Aydin, aye, aye-aye, Ayer, Ayers Rock, Ayesha, A.Y.H., Ayia Napa

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use aye-aye in a sentence

“Aye,” his father said—the last thing he would ever say to him.
Alan Cumming: The Truth About My Father|Tim Teeman|October 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Four Senate Republicans did vote aye on Lilly Ledbetter back in 2009.
What That RNC Aide’s Equal Pay Blunder on MSNBC Says About Her Party|Michael Tomasky|April 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“Aye ready;” and arm-in-arm we raced into the dining-room, scandalizing the servants.
Read ‘The King in Yellow,’ the ‘True Detective’ Reference That’s the Key to the Show|Robert W. Chambers|February 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The vote in the Senate was 81-18, with 27 Republicans voting aye and 18 nay.
No Country for Old Moderates|Michael Tomasky|October 24, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Boehner and Paul Ryan voted aye, Eric Cantor and Kevin McCarthy no.
The End of the Hastert Rule|Michael Tomasky|January 2, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Sur le confluant des deux rivieres, y avoit la plus belle assemble des Sauvages que j'aye point encore veue.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614|Various
If you cannot bear the cigar in your mouth—aye, and enjoy it—you have no business with it: go back to your brown paper and cane!
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
My own individuality is entirely in the background; aye, I am not conscious of any personality in matters pertaining to the Cause.
Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist|Alexander Berkman
There is great perseverance, aye, moral courage of no mean order, in his survival in the movement.
Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist|Alexander Berkman
Aye,’ ses he, ‘and it makes the monied vulgarian think he is as good as those who only tolerate him.
The Whale and the Grasshopper|Seumas O'Brien

British Dictionary definitions for aye-aye

aye-aye

/ (ˈaɪˌaɪ) /

noun

a rare nocturnal arboreal prosimian primate of Madagascar, Daubentonia madagascariensis, related to the lemurs: family Daubentoniidae. It has long bony fingers and rodent-like incisor teeth adapted for feeding on insect larvae and bamboo pith

Word Origin for aye-aye

C18: from French, from Malagasy aiay, probably of imitative origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012