jay
See also: Jay
English edit
Pronunciation edit
Etymology 1 edit
From Middle English jay, from Old French jai ("jay"; Modern French geai), either from Late Latin gaius (“jay”),[1] or from Old French gai (“gay, merry”), so named due to its plumage, from Old Frankish *gāhi (“quick, impetuous”), from Proto-Germanic *ganhuz, *ganhwaz (“sudden”), cognate with Dutch gaai (“jay”). More on the latter etymology at gay.
Noun edit
jay (plural jays)
- Any of the numerous species of birds belonging to several genera within the family Corvidae, including Garrulus, Cyanocitta, Aphelocoma, Perisoreus, Cyanocorax, Gymnorhinus, Cyanolyca, Ptilostomus, and Calocitta, allied to the crows, but smaller, more graceful in form, often handsomely coloured, usually having a crest, and often noisy.
- Any of various other birds of similar appearance and behaviour.
- The Indian roller, Coracias benghalensis.
- 1878, Philip Stewart Robinson, In My Indian Garden:
- They are the commonality of birddom, who furnish forth the mobs which bewilder the drunken-flighted jay when he jerks, shrieking in a series of blue hyphen-flashes through the air […]
- The Indian roller, Coracias benghalensis.
- Any of various large papilionid butterflies of the genus Graphium.
- (archaic) A dull or ignorant person. It survives today in the term jaywalking.
- 1900, Harry B. Norris (lyrics and music), “Burlington Bertie”:
- Burlington Bertie's the latest young jay
He rents a swell flat somewhere Kensington way
He spends the good oof that his pater has made
Along with the Brandy and Soda Brigade.
- (obsolete) Promiscuous woman; prostitute.
- a. 1611, William Shakespeare, Cymbeline, act 3, scene 4, lines 50–51:
- Some jay of Italy, / Whose mother was her painting, hath betray'd him:
Synonyms edit
- (bird): Jenny jay, jay pie, k, kae (UK); bluejay, whisky jack (US)
- (ignorant person): See Thesaurus:ignoramus
- (promiscuous woman): See Thesaurus:promiscuous woman or Thesaurus:prostitute
Hyponyms edit
- (bird): Old World jay, gray jay, American jay
Derived terms edit
terms derived from jay (bird)
- azure jay
- blue-fronted jay
- blue jay, bluejay
- California jay (Aphelocoma californica)
- Canada jay (Perisoreus canadensis)
- Eurasian jay
- Florida jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens)
- Florida scrub jay
- green jay (Cyanocorax luxuosus)
- grey jay
- jay thrush (Leiothrichidae spp.)
- jaywalker
- naked as a jay bird
- naked as a jay-bird
- piñon jay
- pinyon jay
- San Blas jay
- scrub jay
- Siberian jay
- Sichuan jay
- sing-jay
- Steller's jay
Other terms with "jay"
Translations edit
bird
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See also edit
- Jay on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Corvidae on Wikispecies.Wikispecies
Etymology 2 edit
Respelling of the letter jy (which see), by analogy with the following letter kay.
Noun edit
jay (plural jays)
- The name of the Latin-script letter J.
- (slang) A marijuana cigarette; a joint.
- 2009 March 23, Caitlin Moran, The Times:
- Although sympathetic, my main reaction was to think: “Some people can handle it, and some people can’t,” and then smugly light up a big fat jay.
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
name of the letter J, j
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See also edit
- (Latin-script letter names) letter; a, bee, cee, dee, e, ef, gee, aitch, i, jay, kay, el, em, en, o, pee, cue, ar, ess, tee, u, vee, double-u, ex, wye, zee / zed
References edit
- “jay”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
Kaqchikel edit
Noun edit
jay
Middle English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Old French jai, from Frankish *gāhi or Late Latin gaius. Doublet of gay.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
jay (plural jayes)
- jay (bird)
Descendants edit
References edit
- “jai, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-06-18.