hay
UK[heɪ]US[heɪ]
n
Grass that has been cut and dried, used as food for animals.
Etymology
The word 'hay' originates from the Old English 'hīeg' or 'hēg', which meant 'grass cut and dried for fodder'. This term is of Germanic origin, related to Old Norse 'hey', Dutch 'hooi', and German 'Heu'. It is derived from the Proto-Germanic 'hawją', a term specifically for cut grass, which in turn connects to the Proto-Indo-European root 'kou-', meaning 'to hew, strike, cut'. Thus, the core logic of the word is intrinsically linked to the action of cutting, directly describing the processed grass rather than the living plant.
Analysis
The word 'hay' is a simplex word of Old English origin. It does not contain separable morphemes in its modern English form.
Examples
The farmer stored the hay in the barn for the winter.
Cows and horses were feeding on the fresh hay.
The smell of hay filled the air on the warm summer afternoon.