Brewer's: Yea, Yes

Yea and nay are in answer to questions framed in the affirmative; as, “Art thou a prophet?” Yea or nay. Yes and no to questions framed in the negative; as, “Art thou not a prophet?” Yes or no. (George P. Marsh: Lectures on the English Language.) (See his note on the celebrated passage of Sir Thomas More, who rebukes Tyndale for using no instead of nay, p. 422.)

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
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