# dey

> English word · Noun · IPA /deɪ/ · frequency rank #26,753

## Definitions
1. A servant who has charge of the dairy; a dairymaid.

## Etymology
From Middle English deye, deie, daie, from Old English dǣġe (“maker of bread; baker; dairy-maid”), from Proto-West Germanic *daigijā, from Proto-Germanic *daigijǭ (“kneader of bread, maid”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵʰ- (“to knead, form, build”). Cognate with Swedish deja, Icelandic deigja (“dairy-maid”); compare dairy, dough, lady.

## Easily confused with
- **do** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dey-vs-do)
- **Dr** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dey-vs-dr)
- **di** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dey-vs-di)
- **DJ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dey-vs-dj)
- **DM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dey-vs-dm)
- **DS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dey-vs-ds)
- **DL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dey-vs-dl)
- **DT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dey-vs-dt)
- **DP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dey-vs-dp)
- **dw** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dey-vs-dw)
- **Dx** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dey-vs-dx)
- **DG** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dey-vs-dg)
- **DV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dey-vs-dv)
- **dy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dey-vs-dy)
- **DQ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dey-vs-dq)
- **did** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dey-vs-did)
- **due** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dey-vs-due)
- **dog** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dey-vs-dog)
- **die** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dey-vs-die)
- **dry** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/dey-vs-dry)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/dey