geai French · revision 15755

+ {{infobox|confidence=probable|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1170, Floire et Blancheflor, gai|origins=la Gaius}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ʒɛ/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''geai''' ''m'' (plural geais)^(Wiktionary)

+ Old French ''gai'' (about 1170), ''jai'' (1175–1176); written ''geay'' by the Académie in 1694 and 1718, ''geai'' after the Latin.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|jai]], [[inh|la-lat|gaius|t=jay]] (5th century),^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Wiktionary)^(FEW|4, 21b) probably taken from the personal name [[la|Gaius]], very common at Rome as a popular nickname: the jay, kept in cages by country people and able to imitate sounds and words, is often called by human names, like [[pierrot]] for the sparrow.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(GLLF 1989) An onomatopoeic origin of the Latin word is less likely according to the TLFi;^(TLFi) the Grand Robert and the Petit Robert leave both open.^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Petit Robert 2007)

+

+ Cognate with [[pro|gai]] and [[es|gayo]].^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(Littré 1873) The same Latin source is behind Venetian “gaza” “magpie”, proposed as the source of [[gazette]].^(TLFi)^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ ''Floire et Blancheflor'' (about 1170) has ''gai'', and Chrétien de Troyes's ''Cligès'' (1176) ''jai'', for the bird.^(DHLF 1992)^(TLFi)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The jay, with its brown plumage barred with blue, white and black on the wings, is known for imitating sounds and the human voice.^(TLFi)^(Littré 1873) La Fontaine's fable gave ''le geai paré des plumes du paon'', someone who boasts of merits taken from others.^(GLLF 1989)^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Littré 1873) The word is often confused with its homophone [[jais]] in phrases about blackness.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 5th century – Late Latin ''gaius''.^(GLLF 1989)

+ * c. 1170 – ''Gai'' (''Floire et Blancheflor'').^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * 1176 – ''Jai'' (Chrétien de Troyes, ''Cligès'').^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 17th century – The spelling ''geai''.^(DHLF 1992)^(Grand Robert 2005)

+ * 1694 – ''Geay'' in the Académie.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[m|en|jay]], a bird of the crow family with bright blue, black and white wing feathers: ''geai des chênes''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''Le geai paré des plumes du paon'': someone who takes credit for others' merits.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(GLLF 1989)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[pie]]

+ * [[en|jay]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}