noun
shay
shay
noun
1
An old-fashioned light horse-drawn carriage.
"The museum has a Victorian shay on display, complete with leather seats."
name
1
A given name or surname of Irish origin, often a short form of Seamus.
"Everyone at the reunion just called him Shay."
How to Use Shay
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishAn old two-wheeled or four-wheeled carriage pulled by a horse; also a common Irish first name.
Common mistake
The carriage sense is old-fashioned and mostly shows up in period fiction or history writing, not everyday speech.
Word Forms
shays plural, Shays plural
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The museum has a Victorian _____ on display, complete with leather seats.
Etymology
A back-formation from "chaise" — people heard the French plural-sounding \"-aise\" ending and assumed \"shay\" was the singular.