"bored by continual indulgence," 1630s; past-participle adjective from jade (v.). Related: Jadedly; jadedness.
ornamental stone, 1721, earlier iada (1590s), from French le jade, misdivision of earlier l'ejade, from Spanish piedra de (la) ijada or yjada (1560s), "(stone of) colic or pain in the side" (jade was thought to cure this), from Vulgar Latin *iliata, from Latin ileus "severe colic" (see ileus). As an adjective from 1865.
"period of unrestrained activity," 1887, American English, perhaps via intermediate sense of "as much drink as a man can hold" (1670s), from earlier meaning "load of hay or wood" (1590s), of unknown origin. Used in U.S. colloquial speech from 1834 to mean "a quantity, a lot."
"slash or rend in a garment," c. 1400, of unknown origin.
mid-15c., "having notches," from verb jaggen (c. 1400) "to pierce, slash, cut; to notch or nick; cut or tear unevenly," a Scottish and northern English word of unknown origin, related to jag (n.2). Originally of garments with regular "toothed" edges; meaning "with the edge irregularly cut" is from 1570s. Related: Jaggedly; jaggedness.
also jaeger, "German sharpshooter," 1776, from German Jäger, literally "huntsman," from jagen "to hunt," from Old High German jagon, related to Old Frisian jagia, Dutch jagen "to hunt," Old Norse jaga "to drive, to move to and fro" (see yacht (n.)). Applied to riflemen and sharpshooters in the German and Austrian armies. Englished as yager, yaeger from 1804.
big spotted cat of the Americas (Felis onca), c. 1600, from Portuguese jaguar, from Tupi jaguara, said in old sources to denote any large beast of prey ["tygers and dogs," in Cullen's translation of Abbe Clavigero's "History of Mexico"]. Compare Tupi jacare "alligator." As a type of stylish British-made car from 1935; in this sense the abbreviation Jag is attested by 1951.
1530s, a form of Hebrew Yah, short for Yahweh "Jehovah" (see Yahweh; also see J). Used in some English bibles. Cognate with the second element in hallelujah and in Elijah.
"fourth-rate, worthless" (as in a jay town), 1888, American English, earlier as a noun, "hick, rube, dupe" (1884); apparently from some disparaging sense of jay (n.). Perhaps via a decaying or ironical use of jay in the old slang sense "flashy dresser." Century Dictionary (1890s) notes it as actors' slang for "an amateur or poor actor" and as an adjective a general term of contempt for audiences.
"A jay hasn't got any more principle than a Congressman. A jay will lie, a jay will steal, a jay will deceive, a jay will betray; and, four times out of five, a jay will go back on his solemnest promise. The sacredness of an obligation is a thing which you can't cram into no blue-jay's head." ["Mark Twain," "A Tramp Abroad"]
They were said to be disliked by hunters because their cries aroused deer. Barrère and Leland's "Dictionary of Slang, Jargon & Cant" [1889] describes the noun as an American term of contempt for a person, "a sham 'swell;' a simpleton," and suspect it might be from jayhawker.
the common European jay (Garrulus glandarinus), early 14c. (late 12c. as a surname), from Old North French gai, Old French jai "magpie, jay" (12c., Modern French geai), from Late Latin gaius "a jay," probably echoic of the bird's harsh warning cry and supposedly influenced by Latin Gaius, a common Roman proper name.
For other bird names from proper names, compare martin and parrot. Applied to the North American blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata) from 1709; it is unrelated but has similar vivid markings, is noisy and restless, and also has a harsh call. Applied to humans in sense of "impertinent chatterer, loud, flashy dresser" from 1520s. Jolly as a jay was a Middle English expression for "very happy, joyful."
