Yes

• POS: Noun, Adverb

CIDE DICTIONARY

Yes, adv. [OE. yis, \'f4is, \'f4es, \'f4ise, AS. gese, gise; probably fr. geá yea + swā so. Yea, and So.].

 Ay; yea; -- a word which expresses affirmation or consent; -- opposed to no.  [1913 Webster]
" Yes is used, like yea, to enforce, by repetition or addition, something which precedes; as, you have done all this -- yes, you have done more. “Yes, you despise the man books confined.” Pope. "  Pope.  [1913 Webster]
" “The fine distinction between ‘yea' and ‘yes,' ‘nay' and ‘no,' that once existed in English, has quite disappeared. ‘Yea' and ‘nay' in Wyclif's time, and a good deal later, were the answers to questions framed in the affirmative. ‘Will he come?' To this it would have been replied, ‘Yea' or ‘Nay', as the case might be. But, ‘Will he not come?' To this the answer would have been ‘Yes' or ‘No.' Sir Thomas More finds fault with Tyndale, that in his translation of the Bible he had not observed this distinction, which was evidently therefore going out even then, that is, in the reign of Henry VIII.; and shortly after it was quite forgotten.”"  Trench.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Yes, adv. & n.
--adv.
1 equivalent to an affirmative sentence: the answer to your question is affirmative, it is as you say or as I have said, the statement etc. made is correct, the request or command will be complied with, the negative statement etc. made is not correct.
2 (in answer to a summons or address) an acknowledgement of one's presence.
--n. an utterance of the word yes.

Idiom

say yes grant a request or confirm a statement. yes?
1 indeed? is that so? 2 what do you want? yes and a form for introducing a stronger phrase (he came home drunk -- yes, and was sick). yes and no that is partly true and partly untrue. yes-man (pl. -men) colloq. a weakly acquiescent person.

Etymology

OE gese, gise, prob. f. gia sie may it be (gia is unrecorded)

THESAURUS

Yes

Australian ballot, Hare system, OK, Roger, abide by, absolutely, accede, accept, acclaim, accordantly, acquiesce, acquiesce in, acquiescently, affirmative, affirmative attitude, affirmatively, affirmativeness, agree, agree to, agree with, agreeably, agreed, all right, alright, alrighty, amen, applaud, approvingly, as you say, assent, assentingly, assuredly, aye, ballot, beyond a doubt, buy, by all means, canvass, canvassing, casting vote, certainly, cheer, compliantly, comply, consent, consentingly, counting heads, cumulative voting, da, deciding vote, division, enfranchisement, exactly, fagot vote, favorably, fine, franchise, give the nod, gladly, good, good enough, graveyard vote, hail, hand vote, hear, hold with, in toto, indeed, indeedy, ja, just so, list system, mais oui, most assuredly, naturally, naturellement, nay, no, nod, nod assent, nod of assent, nontransferable vote, of course, okay, oui, plebiscite, plebiscitum, plumper, plural vote, poll, polling, positively, precisely, preferential voting, proportional representation, proxy, quite, rather, really, receive, record vote, referendum, representation, right, right to vote, righto, rising vote, say, secret ballot, show of hands, single vote, snap vote, straw vote, subscribe, subscribe to, suffrage, sure, sure thing, surely, take kindly to, thumbs-up, to be sure, transferable vote, truly, undoubtedly, unquestionably, very well, viva voce, voice, voice vote, vote, vote for, voting, voting right, welcome, well and good, why yes, willingly, write-in, write-in vote, yea, yea-saying, yeah, yeas and nays, yep, yes indeed, yes indeedy, yes sir, yes sirree, yield assent

ROGET THESAURUS

Yes

Willingness

N willingness, voluntariness, willing mind, heart, disposition, inclination, leaning, animus, frame of mind, humor, mood, vein, bent, penchant, aptitude, docility, docibleness, persuasibleness, persuasibility, pliability, geniality, cordiality, goodwill, alacrity, readiness, earnestness, forwardness, eagerness, asset, compliance, pleasure, gratuitous service, labor of love, volunteer, volunteering, willing, minded, fain, disposed, inclined, favorable, favorably- minded, favorably inclined, favorably disposed, nothing loth, in the vein, in the mood, in the humor, in the mind, ready, forward, earnest, eager, bent upon, predisposed, propense, docile, persuadable, persuasible, suasible, easily persuaded, facile, easy-going, tractable, genial, gracious, cordial, cheering, hearty, content, voluntary, gratuitous, spontaneous, unasked &c (ask), unforced, willingly, fain, freely, as lief, heart and soul, with pleasure, with all one's heart, with open arms, with good will, with right will, de bonne volonte, ex animo, con amore, heart in hand, nothing loth, without reluctance, of one's own accord, graciously, with a good grace, a la bonne heure, by all means, by all manner of means, to one's heart's content, yes.

Permission

N permission, leave, allowance, sufferance, tolerance, toleration, liberty, law, license, concession, grace, indulgence, favor, dispensation, exemption, release, connivance, vouchsafement, authorization, warranty, accordance, admission, permit, warrant, brevet, precept, sanction, authority, firman, hukm, pass, passport, furlough, license, carte blanche, ticket of leave, grant, charter, patent, letters patent, permitting, permissive, indulgent, permitted, patent, chartered, permissible, allowable, lawful, legitimate, legal, legalized, licit, unforbid, unforbidden, unconditional, by leave, with leave, on leave, speciali gratia, under favor of, pace, ad libitum, by all means, yes, avec permissin, brevet d'invention.

Consent

N consent, assent, acquiescence, approval, compliance, agreement, concession, yieldance, yieldingness, accession, acknowledgment, acceptance, agnition, settlement, ratification, confirmation, adjustment, permit, promise, consenting, squeezable, agreed, unconditional, OK, yes, by all means, no problem, if you please, as you please, be it so, so be it, well and good, of course, please do, don't hesitate, chi tace accousente.

Assent

N assent, assentment, acquiescence, admission, nod, accord, concord, concordance, agreement, affirmance, affirmation, recognition, acknowledgment, avowal, confession of faith, unanimity, common consent, consensus, acclamation, chorus, vox populi, popular belief, current belief, current opinion, public opinion, concurrence, cooperation, ratification, confirmation, corroboration, approval, acceptance, visa, indorsement, consent, pressure to conform, herd instinct, peer pressure, assenting, of one accord, of one mind, of the same mind, at one with, agreed, acquiescent, content, willing, uncontradicted, unchallenged, unquestioned, uncontroverted, carried, agreed, nem, con, nemine contradicente unanimous, agreed on all hands, carried by acclamation, affirmative, yes, yea, ay, aye, true, good, well, very well, very true, well and good, granted, even so, just so, to be sure, 'thou hast said', you said it, you said a mouthful, truly, exactly, precisely, that's just it, indeed, certainly, you bet, certes, ex concesso, of course, unquestionably, assuredly, no doubt, doubtless, naturally, natch, be it so, so be it, so let it be, amen, willingly, affirmatively, in the affirmative, OK, all right, might as well, why not? with one consent, with one voice, with one accord, unanimously, una voce, by common consent, in chorus, to a man, nem, con, nemine contradicente, nemine dissentiente, without a dissentient voice, as one man, one and all, on all hands, avec plaisir, chi tace accousente, the public mind is the creation of the Master-Writ, you bet your sweet ass it is, what are we waiting for? whenever you're ready, anytime you're ready.

Affirmation

N affirmance, affirmation, statement, allegation, assertion, predication, declaration, word, averment, confirmation, asseveration, adjuration, swearing, oath, affidavit, deposition, avouchment, assurance, protest, protestation, profession, acknowledgment, legal pledge, pronouncement, solemn averment, solemn avowal, solemn declaration, remark, observation, position, saying, dictum, sentence, ipse dixit, emphasis, weight, dogmatism, dogmatics, asserting, declaratory, predicatory, pronunciative, affirmative, soi-disant, positive, certain, express, explicit, absolute, emphatic, flat, broad, round, pointed, marked, distinct, decided, confident, trenchant, dogmatic, definitive, formal, solemn, categorical, peremptory, unretracted, predicable, affirmatively, in the affirmative, with emphasis, ex-cathedra, without fear of contradiction, as God is my witness, I must say, indeed, i' faith, let me tell you, why, give me leave to say, marry, you may be sure, I'd have you to know, upon my word, upon my honor, by my troth, egad, I assure you, by jingo, by Jove, by George, troth, seriously, sadly, in sadness, in sober sadness, in truth, in earnest, of a truth, truly, perdy, in all conscience, upon oath, be assured, yes, I'll warrant, I'll warrant you, I'll engage, I'll answer for it, I'll be bound, I'll venture to say, I'll take my oath, in fact, forsooth, joking apart, so help me God, not to mince the matter, quoth he, dixi.