spay

Etymology 1

From Middle English spayen, spaien, from the Anglo-Norman espeier, equivalent to the Old French espeer (“to cut with a sword”), from espee (“sword”), whence the Modern French épée.

verb

1. (transitive) To remove or destroy the ovaries and/or uterus (of a female animal) so that she cannot become pregnant.
   We're having our cat spayed as we don't want her having kittens.
   With their eye on non-island countries, namely America, the authors of Cat Wars argue for a combination of spay/neuter programs, enclosed sanctuaries, and euthanasia. 2016-11-13, Britt Peterson, “The Case Against Cats”, in The Atlantic

noun

1. The act of spaying an animal.
   I was queasy about my first spay of a far-gone feral and left it up to my vet. 28 July 1997, Sharon Talbert, “spay/abortion of pregnant cats”, in rec.pets.cat.rescue (Usenet)

Etymology 2

See spayard.

noun

1. Rare spelling of spayard.

Etymology 3

verb

1. Alternative form of spae (to foretell or divine)