1.
You use ~ in front of a stronger word or phrase which you feel is more correct than the one you have just used and helps to emphasize the point you are making. (FORMAL)
Long essays, ~, whole books have been written on this.
= indeed
ADV: ADV with cl/group emphasis
2.
Nay is sometimes used to mean ‘no’ when talking about people voting against something or refusing to give consent for something.
The House of Commons can merely say yea or ~ to the executive judgment.
CONVENTION
3.
Nay is an old-fashioned, literary, or dialect word for ‘no’.
CONVENTION formulae