spay

spay

 (spā)

tr.v. spayed, spay·ing, spays

To remove surgically the ovaries of (an animal).

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[Middle English spaien, from Anglo-Norman espeier, to cut with a sword, from espee, sword, from Latin spatha; see spathe.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

spay

(speɪ)

vb

(Veterinary Science) (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 and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

spay

(speɪ)

v.t.

to remove the ovaries of (an animal).

[1375–1425; late Middle English < Anglo-French espeïer to cut with a sword (Old French espeer), derivative of espee sword; see épée]

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

spay

- A shortening of a French word espeer, meaning "cut with a sword."

See also related terms for sword.

Farlex Trivia Dictionary. © 2012 Farlex, Inc. All rights reserved.

spay

Past participle: spayed
Gerund: spaying

Imperative

spay

spay

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

Thesaurus

Verb

1.

spay - remove the ovaries of; "Is your cat spayed?" neuter, castrate, alter defeminise, defeminize - remove the ovaries of (female mammals such as cats) desex, desexualise, desexualize, sterilise, sterilize, unsex, fix - make infertile; "in some countries, people with genetically transmissible disabilites are sterilized"

Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

spay

verb

To render incapable of reproducing sexually:

alter, castrate, fix, geld, neuter, sterilize, unsex.

The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Translations

esterilizar

steriloida

castrare

steriliseren

spay

[speɪ] VT [+ animal] → sacar los ovarios a

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

spay

[ˈspeɪ] vt → stériliser

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

spay

vt cat, dog → sterilisieren

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

spay

[speɪ] vt → sterilizzare

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995