C18: back formation from chaise, mistakenly thought to be plural
shay in American English
(ʃeɪ)
noun
Dialectal
a light carriage; chaise
Word origin
back-form. < chaise, assumed as pl.
shay in American English
(ʃei)
noun
chiefly dialect
a chaise
Word origin
[1710–20; resp. and back formation from chaise (taken as pl.)]This word is first recorded in the period 1710–20. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: bother, lacrosse, propaganda, tint, whack