Where does “jay” come from?

Jay comes from Middle English jay, from Old French jai, from Frankish gāhi, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰengʰ-.

jay (English): Any one of the numerous species of birds...

Definitions

  1. Any one of the numerous species of birds...

Ancestry of “jay”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishjayjay bird
2Old Frenchjaijay
3Latingaiusjaybird
4Proto-Italic*Gāwjos
5Proto-Indo-Europeangeh₂w-to rejoice

Words derived from “jay

Every word from Proto-Indo-European geh₂w-
jay — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer