bay.
A body of water (especially the sea) contained by a concave shoreline.
Meaning & usage
A body of water (especially the sea) contained by a concave shoreline.
This hotel has a great view across the bay.
A bank or dam to keep back water.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Iberiander. Late Latin baiader.? French baieder. English bay From French baie, from Late Latin baia, probably ultimately from Iberian or Basque badia. Partly displaced native Old English byht, whence bight.
A tree or shrub of species Laurus nobilis (family Lauraceae), having dark green leaves and berries.
Bay leaf, the leaf of this or certain other species of tree or shrub, used as a herb.
Mahogany of species Swietenia macrophylla obtained from Campeche in Mexico.
The leaves of this shrub, woven into a garland used to reward a champion or victor; hence, fame, victory.
A tract covered with bay trees.
A berry.
Where this word comes from
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *bazją Proto-West Germanic *baʀi Old English berġe? Old English beġerclip.? Old English *beġ Latin bācader. Old French baieder. Middle English baye English bay From Middle English baye, baie, from Old English beġ (“berry”), as in beġbēam (“berry-tree”), conflated with Old French baie, from Latin bāca (“berry”).
An opening in a wall, especially between two columns.
An internal recess; a compartment or area surrounded on three sides.
A display unit in a shop or store, especially a large metal one.
end bay
gondola bay
A section of ceiling delineated by supports such as rafters or vaulting ribs.
Each of the spaces, port and starboard, between decks, forward of the bitts, in sailing warships.
A bay platform.
A bay window.
A room for editing video footage or physical film.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English, from Old French baee, beee, from the verb beer (“gape open”), from Early Medieval Latin batāre. Compare Modern French baie. More at bevel, badinage.
The excited howling of dogs when hunting or being attacked.
The climactic confrontation between hunting-dogs and their prey.
A state of being obliged to face an antagonist or a difficulty, when escape has become impossible.
Where this word comes from
From the root *bai, combined with aphetized form of abay; verbal form of baier, abaier.
To howl.
To bark at; hence, to follow with barking; to bring or drive to bay.
To pursue noisily, like a pack of hounds.
Where this word comes from
From the root *bai, combined with aphetized form of abay; verbal form of baier, abaier.
Of a reddish-brown colour with a black mane and tail.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English bay, bai, from Old French bai, from Latin badius (“reddish brown, chestnut”).
A brown colour/color of the coat of some horses.
A horse of this color.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English bay, bai, from Old French bai, from Latin badius (“reddish brown, chestnut”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.