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
spay
spay
Present
I spay
you spay
he/she/it spays
we spay
you spay
they spay
Preterite
I spayed
you spayed
he/she/it spayed
we spayed
you spayed
they spayed
Present Continuous
I am spaying
you are spaying
he/she/it is spaying
we are spaying
you are spaying
they are spaying
Present Perfect
I have spayed
you have spayed
he/she/it has spayed
we have spayed
you have spayed
they have spayed
Past Continuous
I was spaying
you were spaying
he/she/it was spaying
we were spaying
you were spaying
they were spaying
Past Perfect
I had spayed
you had spayed
he/she/it had spayed
we had spayed
you had spayed
they had spayed
Future
I will spay
you will spay
he/she/it will spay
we will spay
you will spay
they will spay
Future Perfect
I will have spayed
you will have spayed
he/she/it will have spayed
we will have spayed
you will have spayed
they will have spayed
Future Continuous
I will be spaying
you will be spaying
he/she/it will be spaying
we will be spaying
you will be spaying
they will be spaying
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been spaying
you have been spaying
he/she/it has been spaying
we have been spaying
you have been spaying
they have been spaying
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been spaying
you will have been spaying
he/she/it will have been spaying
we will have been spaying
you will have been spaying
they will have been spaying
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been spaying
you had been spaying
he/she/it had been spaying
we had been spaying
you had been spaying
they had been spaying
Conditional
I would spay
you would spay
he/she/it would spay
we would spay
you would spay
they would spay
Past Conditional
I would have spayed
you would have spayed
he/she/it would have spayed
we would have spayed
you would have spayed
they would have spayed
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Verb1.spay - remove the ovaries ofspay - 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

verb
To render incapable of reproducing sexually:
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
steriloida

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] vtstériliser
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

spay

vt cat, dogsterilisieren
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] vtsterilizzare
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
References in periodicals archive ?
Against the commonly accepted assumption that cat spaying is effective if limited to female cats, West said that she spays and neuters both male and female cats.
Anesthetic control is the main reason I like to wait until 4 months of age for routine spays and neuters.
Consider this example: When some savvy veterinarians took a fresh look at performing spays, a surgery we've been doing the exact same way for decades, they came up with a revised technique that accomplishes all of the objectives of the spay surgery with fewer complications.
Second Chance Animal Shelter in East Brookfield is a no-kill shelter that neuters male cats for $50 and spays female cats for $65, including a rabies shot.
According to Catsnip, the organisation spays and neuters colonies of Limassol's stray and feral cats from the streets, public gardens and beach front of Limassol using humane traps.
The Feral Cat Coalition's clinics in Lane County do more than 1,200 spays and neuters each year, and it's not the only group trying to control stray and feral cats.
Now, the city and Willamette Animal Guild are partnering on what they say will be at least a partial solution: the creation of the low-cost Springfield Feline Spay and Neuter Program.
But in 99 percent of cases, the condition will be treated surgically in an operation that is, in essence, a spay procedure.