In his heyday

Posted by ESC April 11, 2003In reply to In his heyday posted by ESC on April 10, 2003

does anyone know where the expression
'in his hayday' comes from

Here's what I found. From Merriam-Webster online. See the last line:

Main Entry: 1hey·day
Pronunciation: 'hA-"dA
Function: interjection
Etymology: irregular from hey
Date: 1672
archaic -- used to express elation or wonder

Main Entry: 2heyday
Function: noun
Date: 1590
1 archaic : high spirits
2 : the period of one's greatest strength, vigor, or prosperity

HEYDAY - "goes back to an Anglo-Saxon use of 'hey' as an expression of great enthusiasm and happiness. So a person's 'heyday' is the period of his (or her) greatest vigor and success." From the Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins by William and Mary Morris (HarperCollins, New York, 1977, 1988).