bay

pronunciation

How to pronounce bay in British English: UK [beɪ] word uk audio image

How to pronounce bay in American English: US [beɪ] word us audio image

Noun:

an indentation of a shoreline larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf
the sound of a hound on the scent
small Mediterranean evergreen tree with small blackish berries and glossy aromatic leaves used for flavoring in cooking; also used by ancient Greeks to crown victors
a compartment on a ship between decks; often used as a hospital
a compartment in an aircraft used for some specific purpose
a small recess opening off a larger room
a horse of a moderate reddish-brown color
Verb:

utter in deep prolonged tones
bark with prolonged noises, of dogs
Adjective:

(used of animals especially a horse) of a moderate reddish-brown color

Word Origin

bay: bay: There are no fewer than six distinct words bay in English. The ‘sea inlet’ [14] comes via Old French baie from Old Spanish bahia. Bay as in bay leaf [14] comes from a different Old French word baie, whose source was Latin bāca ‘berry’. The ‘reddish-brown colour of a horse’ [14] comes via Old French bai from Latin badius, which is related to Old Irish buide ‘yellow’.The ‘recessed area or compartment’ [14] comes from yet another Old French baie, a derivative of the verb bayer ‘gape, yawn’, from medieval Latin batāre (English acquired abash and abeyance from the same source, and it may also be represented in the first syllable of beagle). Bay ‘bark’ [14] comes from Old French abaiier, in which the element -bai- probably originated as an imitation of a dog howling.And it is the source of bay as in at bay [13] (from Old French abai), the underlying idea of which is that of a hunted animal finally turning and facing its barking pursuers.=> abash, abeyance, beagle

bay (n.1): "inlet of the sea," c. 1400, from Old French baie, Late Latin baia (c.640), perhaps ultimately from Iberian bahia.

bay (n.2): "opening in a wall," late 14c. (especially bay window, early 15c.), from Old French baee "opening, hole, gulf," noun use of fem. past participle of bayer "to gape, yawn," from Medieval Latin batare "gape," perhaps of imitative origin. It is the bay in sick-bay.

bay (n.3): "howl of a dog," early 14c., earlier "howling chorus raised (by hounds) when in contact with the hunted animal," c. 1300, from Old French bayer, from PIE root *bai- echoic of howling (compare Greek bauzein, Latin baubari "to bark," English bow-wow; also see bawl). From the hunting usage comes the transferred sense of "final encounter," and thence, on the notion of putting up an effective defense, at bay.

bay (adj.): "reddish-brown," usually of horses, mid-14c., from Anglo-French bai (13c.), Old French bai, from Latin badius "chestnut-brown" (used only of horses), from PIE *badyo- "yellow, brown" (cognates: Old Irish buide "yellow"). Also elliptical for a horse of this color.

bay (n.4): laurel shrub (Laurus nobilis, source of the bay leaf), late 14c., originally only of the berry, from Old French baie (12c.) "berry, seed," from Latin baca "berry." Extension to the shrub itself is from 1520s. The leaves or sprigs were woven as wreaths for conquerors or poets. Bayberry first recorded 1570s, after the original sense had shifted.

bay (v.): "to bark or howl (at)," late 14c., from bay (n.3). Related: Bayed; baying.