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spay

 [spey]   Origin

spay

1   [spey]
verb (used with object) Veterinary Medicine.
to remove the ovaries of (an animal).
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Origin:
1375–1425; late Middle English spayen < Anglo-French espeïer to cut with a sword (Old French espeer), derivative of espee sword; see épée

Related forms
un·spayed, adjective

Can be confused: spade, spayed.

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to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.
to bark; yelp.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged

spay

2   [spey]
noun
a three-year-old male red deer.
Also called spay·ad  [spey-uhd] , spay·ard  [spey-erd] .

Origin:
1375–1425; late Middle English < ?
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
spay (speɪ)
 
—vb
(tr) to remove the ovaries, and usually the uterus, from (a female animal)
 
[C15: from Old French espeer to cut with the sword, from espee sword, from Latin spatha]

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

spay
c.1410, "stab with a sword, kill," also "remove the ovaries of," from Anglo-Fr. espeier "cut with a sword," from M.Fr. espeer, from O.Fr. espee "sword" (Fr. épée), from L. spatha "broad, flat weapon or tool," from Gk. spathe "broad blade" (see spade (1)).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

spay (spā)
v. spayed, spay·ing, spays
To surgically remove the ovaries of an animal.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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