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# jay

noun (a jay, jays); also the letter J (jay); also a name (Jay)

«jay» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A jay is a noisy, colourful bird of the crow family; the Eurasian jay is pinkish brown with bright blue wing patches, and the blue jay of North America is blue and white. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jay/#m1)
2. «Jay» is how we say and sometimes write the letter J. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jay/#m2)
3. Jay is also a name (a name). [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jay/#m3)
4. Jay can also be an insult for a silly, foolish person. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jay/#m4)

### In the lessons

In nature lessons jays are famous for burying acorns to eat in winter; the forgotten ones grow into oak trees, so jays help plant forests. Their loud screech warns other animals of danger. In North America, the blue jay is a common garden bird. Phrases: «blue jay», «a jay's screech».

### Examples

- A jay buried acorns all over the park. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jay/#x1)
- The jay screeched loudly when the cat came near. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jay/#x2)
- Blue jays visited our bird feeder in Toronto. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jay/#x3)
- Jays are clever members of the crow family. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jay/#x4)
- Forgotten acorns hidden by jays grow into new oak trees. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jay/#x5)
- «Jay» is the name of the letter J. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jay/#x6)
- My cousin Jay plays the drums. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jay/#x7)
- “You dunderheaded little jay!” she screamed, “Why don’t you do as I tell you?” [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jay/#x8)

### Note

Plural «jays». Capital J for the name. Trap: in old American slang «jaywalk» means to cross the road carelessly away from a crossing; that word came from «jay» meaning a silly country person.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «jay» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/J/jay/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«jay» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/jay.html) on Mova free.