Emily Dickinson Lexicon

NAY, adv. [a contracted word; L. nego; Sw. ney or nej from neka, to deny; W. sac, from naca, to deny.]

1. No; a word that expresses negation. I tell you nay, but exccpt ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Luke xiii.
2. It expresses also refusal. He that will not when he may, When he would he shall have nay. Proverb. [In those senses it is now rarely used; no being substituted.]
3. Not only so; not this alone; intimating that somethin is to be added by way of amplification. He requested a answer; nay, he urged it.