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jay¹

(jā)

The letter j.

jay²

(jā)

1. Any of various birds of several genera in the family Corvidae, usually brightly colored and often having a loud, harsh call. Also called jaybird.

2. An overly talkative person; a chatterbox.

[Middle English jai, from Old French, from Late Latin gāius, gāia, perhaps from Latin Gāius, personal name.]

Jay

(jā), John 1745-1829.

American diplomat and jurist who served in both Continental Congresses and helped negotiate peace with Great Britain (1782-1783). He was the first chief justice of the US Supreme Court (1789-1795) and negotiated a second agreement with Great Britain, Jay's Treaty (1794).

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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