Ray

See also: ray, rây, rày, rầy, ra'y, and -raþ

English

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɹeɪ/
    • Audio (General American):(file)
  • Rhymes: -eɪ
  • Homophones: ray, Wray; Rae, Re, Rea (pane–pain merger); re, Rhea (one pronunciation)

Etymology 1

  • As an English surname, from pet forms derived from the root of Raymond.
  • Also as an English surname, from Old French rei (“king”). Compare Roy, King.
  • Also as an English surname, from Old English rā (“roe deer”). Compare Roe.
  • Also as an English surname, variant of Wray and Rye.
  • As a Scottish Gaelic surname, shortened from McRae.
  • As a French surname, from the verb raier (“to gush out, flow, radiate”). Compare Leray.
  • As a Polish and Slovene surname, Americanized from Raj, from raj (“paradise”).
  • As an Indian surname, variant of Rai.

Proper noun

Ray (countable and uncountable, plural Rays)

  1. A surname transferred from the nickname.
  2. A diminutive of the male given names Raymond, Rayane, and Rayan, also used as a formal given name.
    • 1980, Wright Morris, Plains Song, for Female Voices, Harper&Row, →ISBN, page 113:
      -, or Raymond if it happened to be a boy, choosing it in the hope that a name like Ray would make a boy's life easier.
    • 2005, Sam Weller, The Bradbury Chronicles: The Life of Ray Bradbury, William Morrow, →ISBN, page 12:
      Although the name on his birth certificate was spelled "Ray", Ray said he was originally given the name "Rae" after Rae Williams, a cousin on his father's side.
    • 2009 August 5, Matt Richtel, “Federal Agency Plans Distracted Driving Forum”, in The New York Times‎[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 9 June 2021:
      Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood linked the drunken driving and distracted driving issues in his statement announcing the meeting.
  3. A diminutive of the female given name Rachel, more often spelled Rae.
    • 2010, Sophie Hannah, A Room Swept White, Hodder & Stoughton, →ISBN, page 271:
      'Rachel told me―' 'Call her Ray. She hates Rachel.'
  4. A number of places in the United States:
    1. A census-designated place in Coosa County, Alabama.
    2. A ghost town in Pinal County, Arizona.
    3. An unincorporated community in Fremont Township, Steuben County, Indiana and Branch County, Michigan.
    4. A township in Macomb County, Michigan.
    5. An unincorporated community in Koochiching County, Minnesota.
    6. A minor city in Williams County, North Dakota.
  5. A river in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, England, which joins the River Cherwell.
  6. A river in north Wiltshire, England, which joins the Thames.
Derived terms
See also

Etymology 2

From Persian ری (ray / rey), from Middle Persian, from Old Persian 𐎼𐎥𐎠 (r-g-a /⁠ragā⁠/), a Median district. Compare Akkadian 𒊏𒂵𒀪 (ra-ga-'), Elamite 𒊩𒋡𒀭 (rák-ka4-an) (loc.), Ancient Greek Ῥάγαι (Rhágai), Latin Rhagae, Rhaganae, Iranian borrowings.

Alternative forms

Proper noun

Ray

  1. A city near Tehran, Iran.
  2. (historical) A region and satrapy in ancient Iran located between the Alborz and Zagros mountain ranges and the Dasht-e Kavir desert; Rhagiana.
Synonyms
Translations

Anagrams

Cebuano

Proper noun

Ray

  1. a male given name from English

Uzbek

Other scripts
Arabic (Afghan Uzbek) —
Cyrillic Рай
Latin —

Etymology

Inherited from Chagatai ری (ry), from Classical Persian ری (ray).

Proper noun

Ray

  1. Ray (a city in Iran)
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