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jay

noun
/ˈd͡ʒeɪ//d͡ʒeɪ/

Etymology

From Middle English jay, from Old French jai ("jay"; Modern French geai), either from Late Latin gaius (“jay”), 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 at gay.

  1. derived from *ganhuz✻
  2. derived from *gahi✻
  3. derived from gai
  4. derived from gaius
  5. derived from jai
  6. inherited from jay

Definitions

  1. Any of the numerous species of birds belonging to several genera within the family…

    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.

  2. Any of various other birds of similar appearance and behaviour.

  3. Any of various large papilionid butterflies of the genus Graphium.

  4. ›+ 11 more definitions

    1. A dull or ignorant person. It survives today in the term jaywalking.

      • 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.

    2. Promiscuous woman

      Promiscuous woman; prostitute.

      • Some jay of Italy, / Whose mother was her painting, hath betray'd him:

    3. The name of the Latin script letter J/j.

    4. A marijuana cigarette

      A marijuana cigarette; a joint.

      • 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.

    5. An English surname transferred from the nickname from Old French jai (“jay (bird)”), a…

      An English surname transferred from the nickname from Old French jai (“jay (bird)”), a nickname for a chatty or showy person.

    6. A male given name transferred from the surname

    7. A placename

    8. A diminutive of the male given names James, Jacob, Jack, John, or Jason, or for any other…

      A diminutive of the male given names James, Jacob, Jack, John, or Jason, or for any other name beginning with ⟨J⟩; also used as a formal given name.

      • “I started to think about it. He’s coming in on a two-seater experimental plane to pitch me to go on a five-seater experimental sub that he has built down to the ocean floor to see the Titanic,” Jay said.

    9. A female given name.

      • To Lt. and Mrs. John Ellingston (Beth Vollstedt), a daughter, Jay Karen, on September 17, 1945.
      • In 1993, my daughter Jay returned home aged 21 after a disastrous marriage.
      • Within a few weeks, having endured a number of lengthy interviews, Jay found herself working in the Beijing office of the bureau of information.

    10. A male given name from Hindi.

    11. Alternative letter-case form of jay.

The neighborhood

Derived

beejay, deejay, Jay Ar, Jaycee, jaygee, jayvee, pee bee and jay, peejays, veejay, Jay County, Jayton

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for jay. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA