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jay

[jey]

Origin

noun

any of several noisy, vivacious birds of the crow family, subfamily Garrulinae, as the crested Garrulus glandarius, of the Old World, having brownish plumage with blue, black, and white barring on the wings. Compare blue jay, gray jay.

Informal. a simpleminded or gullible person.

Origin:
1275–35; Middle English jai < Middle French < Late Latin gāius, gāia, perhaps after Latin Gāius man's name

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Jay is always a great word to know.

So is flibbertigibbet. Does it mean:

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.

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Dictionary.com Unabridged

noun Slang.

a marijuana cigarette.

Origin:
1970–75; probably spelling of initial consonant of joint, perhaps suggested by Pig Latin version ointjay

noun

John, 1745–1829, U.S. statesman and jurist: first Chief justice of the U.S. 1789–95.

a male given name.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To jay

Collins

World English Dictionary

jay (dʒeɪ)

—n
1.	See also blue jay any of various passerine birds of the family Corvidae (crows), esp the Eurasian Garrulus glandarius, with a pinkish-brown body, blue-and-black wings, and a black-and-white crest
2.	a foolish or gullible person

[C13: from Old French jai, from Late Latin gāius, perhaps from proper name Gāius]

Jay (dʒeɪ)

—n
	John 1745--1829, American statesman, jurist, and diplomat; first chief justice of the Supreme Court (1789--95). He negotiated the treaty with Great Britain (Jay's treaty, 1794), that settled outstanding disputes

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

jay

c.1300, common European bird (Garrulus glandarinus), from O.Fr. gai, from L.L. gaius "a jay," probably echoic and supposedly influenced by L. Gaius, a common proper name. For other bird names from proper names, cf. martin and parrot. Applied to

EXPAND

the N.Amer. blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata) from 1709. Applied to humans in sense of "impertinent chatterer, flashy dresser" from 1620s. Jayhawker is Amer.Eng., 1858, originally "freebooter, guerrilla, Kansas irregular" (esp. one who came from the North). Jay was slang for "fourth-rate, worthless" (1888) cf. a jay town.

COLLAPSE

Slang Dictionary

J definition

and jay

n.
a marijuana cigarette; marijuana. (Drugs. From the initial letter of joint.) : A jay will cost you two clams.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Dynamo Rating For Jay

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Slang

Peter Jay

unk-jay

Matching Quote

"The wilderness is near as well as dear to every man. Even the oldest villages are indebted to the border of wild wood which surrounds them, more than to the gardens of men. There is something indescribably inspiriting and beautiful in the aspect of the forest skirting and occasionally jutting into the midst of new towns, which, like the sand-heaps of fresh fox-burrows, have sprung up in their midst. The very uprightness of the pines and maples asserts the ancient rectitude and vigor of nature. Our lives need the relief of such a background, where the pine flourishes and the jay still screams."

-Henry David Thoreau

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