spay
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spay
(spā)tr.v. spayed, spay·ing, spays
To remove surgically the ovaries of (an animal).
[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 |
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spay |
spay |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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Verb | 1. | spay - remove the ovaries of; "Is your cat spayed?" 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
verbThe 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
steriloida
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
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
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995