jay

noun

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

   “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 […]”

4. Any of various large papilionid butterflies of the genus Graphium.
5. (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.”

6. (obsolete)Promiscuous woman; prostitute.

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

7. The name of the Latin script letter J/j.
8. (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.”

9. (alt-of)Alternative letter-case form of jay.

name

1. (countable)An English surname transferred from the nickname from Old French jai (“jay (bird)”), a nickname for a chatty or showy person.
2. (countable, uncountable)A male given name transferred from the surname
3. (countable, uncountable)A placename
4. (countable, uncountable)A placename
5. (countable, uncountable)A placename
6. (countable, uncountable)A placename
7. (countable, uncountable)A placename
8. (countable, uncountable)A placename
9. (countable, uncountable)A placename
10. (countable, uncountable)A placename
11. (countable, uncountable)A placename
12. 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.”

    “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 financial firms.”

13. 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.”

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