jay

Noun (1)

jay (plural jays)

1. 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.
   1. The Indian roller, Coracias benghalensis.
      • 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 […]1878, Philip Stewart Robinson, In My Indian Garden
3. Any of various large papilionid butterflies of the genus Graphium.
4. (archaic) 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.1900, Harry B. Norris, “Burlington Bertie”

   Synonyms:

   ignoramus

5. (obsolete) Promiscuous woman; prostitute.
   • Some jay of Italy, / Whose mother was her painting, hath betray'd him:a. 1611, William Shakespeare, Cymbeline, act 3, scene 4, lines 50–51

   Synonyms:

   promiscuous woman

Noun (2)

jay (plural jays)

1. The name of the Latin script letter J/j.
2. (slang) 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.2009 March 23, Caitlin Moran, The Times

Proper noun (1) capitalized: Jay

IPA/d͡ʒeɪ/

Jay (countable and uncountable, plural Jays)

1. (countable) An English surname transferred from the nickname from Old French jai (“jay (bird)”), a nickname for a chatty or showy person.
2. A male given name transferred from the surname.
3. A hamlet in Leintwardine parish, Herefordshire, England; named in the c. 13th century for the Jay family, prominent in that area (OS grid ref SO3974).
4. A town in Santa Rosa County, Florida; named for postmaster J. T. Nowling.
5. A town in Franklin County, Maine; named for American statesman and Founding Father John Jay.
6. A town in Essex County, New York; named for John Jay.
7. A city, the county seat of Delaware County, Oklahoma; named for Jay Washburn, nephew of Cherokee leader Stand Watie.
8. A town on the Canadian border in Orleans County, Vermont; named for John Jay.
9. A township in Martin County, Minnesota.
10. A township in Elk County, Pennsylvania.
11. A former settlement in California.

Proper noun (2) capitalized: Jay

IPA/d͡ʒeɪ/

Jay (plural Jays)

1. A diminutive of the male given names James, Jacob, Jack, John, and 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.2023 June 24, Chris Lau and Sara Smart, “‘That could’ve been us,’ say father and son who pulled out of doomed Titan trip out of safety concerns”, in CNN
   • When Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft jumped into the state’s gubernatorial race last year, the Republican vowed to tackle a slew of culture war issues, promising to fight the “woke politics” of “left-wing” banks and touting how he used his position to enact a regulation targeting those...2024 March 17, Daniel Medina and Bob Ortega, “Emails show how a right-wing group steers GOP leaders on major policy issues”, in CNN
2. A female given name.
   • To Lt. and Mrs. John Ellingston (Beth Vollstedt), a daughter, Jay Karen, on September 17, 1945.1947, Alpha Delta Pi, The Adelphean, volume 40, number 2, page 102
   • In 1993, my daughter Jay returned home aged 21 after a disastrous marriage.2007, Gráinne Smith, Families, Carers and Professionals: Building Constructive Conversations

Proper noun (3) capitalized: Jay

IPA/d͡ʒeɪ/

Jay (plural Jays)

1. (India) A male given name from Hindi.

Noun (3) capitalized: Jay

IPA/d͡ʒeɪ/

Jay (plural Jays)

1. Alternative letter-case form of jay.