Unspayed

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Contemplating a female pet that has not yet had the surgical procedure to eliminate reproductive organs, which preserves its ability to conceive
2. Denoting an intact female creature that has not undergone spaying, thus retaining the potential for breeding
3. Referring to a female animal that has not received a surgical operation to remove its reproductive organs, allowing it to bear offspring

Etymology: "Unspayed" is simply the negative of "spayed," the adjective for a female animal whose ovaries have been surgically removed. The prefix "un-" is one of the oldest elements in English, inherited from Old English and ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root for negation, and it has been attached to participles and adjectives throughout the language's history. Adding it to "spayed" yields a plain sense: the animal has not had that operation. Because "un-" reverses meaning so transparently, "unspayed" needs no special history of its own. Its interest lies in the word it negates, which is the more specialised term.

Synonyms: intact, unsterilized, unneutered, whole, natural

Antonyms: spayed, neutered, sterilized, castrated, altered