gai

Of unknown origin. Probably from the suffix -gai, and not the other way round.^[1]

• Audio:

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• IPA^(key): /ɡai̯/ [ɡai̯]
• Rhymes: -ai̯
• Hyphenation: gai

gai inan

1. material
2. matter, stuff
3. topic, subject

• gai izan (“to be capable of”)

• “gai”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy], Euskaltzaindia
• “gai”, in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia [General Basque Dictionary], Euskaltzaindia, 1987–2005

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [ˈɡaj]

From Old Occitan gai. Compare Sicilian javiu.

gai (feminine gaia, masculine plural gais, feminine plural gaies)

1. gay, merry

   Synonyms: alegre, festiu

• gaiament
• gaia ciència
• gai saber

Borrowed from English gay.

gai m or f (masculine and feminine plural gais)

1. gay, homosexual

gai m (plural gais)

1. gay man

• “gai” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “gai”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “gai” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “gai” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Shortening.

• Hyphenation: ga‧i

gai

1. Short for tagai.

From Old French gai, from Old Occitan gai, from Gothic *𐌲𐌰𐌷𐌴𐌹𐍃 (*gaheis, “impetuous”);^[1] or from Frankish *gāhi (“fast, sudden, impetuous”), Frankish *wāhi (“pretty”),^[2] both from Proto-Germanic *ganhuz (“lively, fast, quick”); or (per Liberman, Chance, Meier) from Latin vagus (“wandering, inconstant, flighty”), with *[w] → [ɡ] as in French gaine.^[3] Doublet of vague in that case.

Cognate with English gay and Italian gaio.

• IPA^(key): /ɡɛ/, /ɡe/

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• Homophones: gaie, gaies, gais, gay, gays, guet, guets
• Rhymes: -ɛ

gai (feminine gaie, masculine plural gais, feminine plural gaies)

1. cheerful; merry
2. gay; homosexual

• sombre
• triste

• gaillard

• Louisiana Creole: gé

• “gai”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

• agi

gai m (genitive singular gai, nominative plural gaethe)

1. Obsolete spelling of gae (“spear, dart; ray”).

Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
gai	ghai	ngai
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

gai

1. masculine plural of gaio

• AGI, agi, agì, già

gai

1. Rōmaji transcription of がい

gai

1. Nonstandard spelling of gāi.
2. Nonstandard spelling of gǎi.
3. Nonstandard spelling of gài.

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

From Old Occitan gai.

gai m (oblique and nominative feminine singular gaie)

1. happy; cheerful; gay

• Middle French: gay
  • French: gai
• → Middle English: gay
  • English: gay
  • Yola: gaaye, gaay, gay, gai
• → Middle Dutch: gay
  • Dutch: gei, gaai

Probably from Latin gaudium (“joy”), as borrowed from Old Occitan gai;^[1] alternatively of Germanic origin. Cognate with English gay and Italian gaio.

gai

1. happy; joyous
   • late 13rd century - early 14th century, Fernando Esquio, A un frade dizem escarallado:

     Cuid'eu que gai é, de piss'arreitado

     I believe he gets happy when his dick's erect

• Galician: gaio
• Portuguese: gaio

Perhaps of Germanic origin and from Frankish *gahi, from Proto-Germanic *ganhuz (“quick, lively, fast”).

gai m or f (plural gais)

1. happy; joyous
   • c. 1145, Bernard de Ventadour, Lo gens tems de pascor:

     Per que tuih amador
     Son gai e chantador

     For all the lovers
     are joyous and full of song

• Occitan: gai
• → Old French: gai
  • Middle French: gay
    • French: gai
  • → Middle English: gay
    • English: gay
    • Yola: gaaye, gaay, gay, gai
  • → Middle Dutch: gay
    • Dutch: gei, gaai
• → Old Galician-Portuguese: gai
  • Galician: gaio
  • Portuguese: gaio

From Portuguese galo and Spanish gallo.

gai

1. rooster

gai

1. cow

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ɣaːj˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ɣaːj˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [ɣaːj˧˧]

• Audio (Hà Nội):

  (file)

From Proto-Vietic *t-keː. Cognate with Arem takeː ("horn"), Proto-Bahnaric *ʔəkɛː (whence Bahnar ake/hơke) and Proto-Katuic *kii, *ʔakii (whence Pacoh ki (“horn on nose, single tusk of rhino”)).

• (North Central Vietnam) cây

(classifier cái) gai • (荄, 核, 𣘃)

1. hemp-nettle
2. thorn
3. prickle
4. (Central Vietnam) pineapple

From Proto-Vietic *-keː (“ramie”).

• (North Central Vietnam) cây

(classifier cây) gai • (荄, 𦃮)

1. ramie

• gia

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡa.i/

gai

1. (stative) to be dead

Conjugation of gai (stative verb)
		singular	plural
			inclusive	exclusive
1st person		tigai	migai	agai
2nd person		nigai	figai
3rd person	inanimate	igai	digai
	animate	magai
imperative		—, gai	—, gai

• gei

• fagei (“to kill (of non-humans)”)
• magei (“dead, to die”)

• Dick Teljeur (1982) Short Wordlists from South Halmahera, Kayoa, Makian, Ternate, Tidore, and Bacan‎^[1], Pacific linguistics
• James Collins (1982) Further Notes Towards a West Makian Vocabulary‎^[2], Pacific linguistics

gai

1. Alternative form of gaaye
   • 1867, “DR. RUSSELL ON THE INHABITANTS AND DIALECT OF THE BARONY OF FORTH”, in APPENDIX:

     Gai Gaffort,

     Gay Gifford.

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 126

• (Standard Zhuang) IPA^(key): /kaːi˨˦/
• Tone numbers: gai¹
• Hyphenation: gai

From Chinese 街 (MC kea|keaj, “street”). Cognate with Bouyei gaail and Tày cai. Compare Cantonese 街 (gaai1).

gai (Sawndip form 街, 1957–1982 spelling gai)

1. street

• daihloh
• dauhloh
• dingqroen
• loh
• maxloh
• roen
• roennou

From Proto-Tai *p.qaːjᴬ (“to sell”). Cognate with Thai ขาย (kǎai), Northern Thai ᨡᩣ᩠ᨿ, Lao ຂາຍ (khāi), Lü ᦃᦻ (ẋaay), Tai Dam ꪄꪱꪥ, Shan ၶၢႆ (khǎai), Ahom 𑜁𑜩 (khay), Bouyei gaail. Compare Proto-Kam-Sui *kwe¹ (“to sell”) (whence Sui beel).

gai (Sawndip forms 𰷔 or ⿰改賣 or ⿰賣亥 or 皆 or 該 or 开 or 𬻦 or ⿱夫⿰丿丨 or ⿰出卖 or ⿰卖该 or ⿲丶开丶, 1957–1982 spelling gai)

1. to sell

   Synonym: siu

   Antonym: cawx