spay

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English spayen, spaien, from the Anglo-Norman espeier, equivalent to the Old French espeer (“to cut with a sword”), from espee (“sword”), whence the Modern French épée.

Alternative forms

  • spaie [16th C.]
  • spaye [16th–17th CC.]

Pronunciation

Verb

spay (third-person singular simple present spays, present participle spaying, simple past spayed, past participle spayed or (obsolete) spade)

  1. (transitive) To remove or destroy the ovaries of (an animal) so that it cannot become pregnant.
Synonyms
  • castrate, emasculate (for a male)
  • geld (used almost always of animals, especially male horses)
  • neuter (used only of animals, especially pets)
  • sterilize (used for all species and for both genders)
Translations

References

Etymology 2

See spayard.

Noun

spay (plural spays)

  1. Rare spelling of spayard.

References

  • “spay” listed as a variant spelling of “spaya(ɹ)d, spayd”, listed in the Oxford English Dictionary [2nd Ed.; 1989]

Etymology 3

Verb

spay (third-person singular simple present spays, present participle spaying, simple past and past participle spayed)

  1. Alternative form of spae (to foretell or divine)

Anagrams

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch speye; compare Middle Dutch spoye.

Alternative forms

  • spey, speye

Noun

spay (plural spayes)

  1. sluice

References

  • “†spay, n.” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary [2nd Ed.; 1989]

Etymology 2

See spayen.

Verb

spay (third-person singular simple present spayeth, present participle spayinge, simple past and past participle spaied)

  1. Alternative infinitive of spayen.

References

  • “spay, v.” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary [2nd Ed.; 1989]

Scots

Etymology

From Northern Middle English spā, from Old Norse spá (“to foretell, prophesy”), from Proto-Germanic *spahōną, *spēhōną (“to observe”), from Proto-Indo-European *speḱ- (“to look”). Cognate with Old High German spehōn (“to peer, spy”) (whence German spähen), Middle Dutch spien, spieden (“to spy”) (whence Dutch spieden). More at spy.

Noun

spay (plural spays)

  1. A prophecy; omen

Verb

spay (third-person singular present spays, present participle spayin, past spayed, past participle spayed)

  1. Alternative form of spae
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