bay 1  (b ā)
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n.1. A body of water partially enclosed by land but with a wide mouth, affording access to the sea: the Bay of Biscay. 2. An area of land, such as an arm of prairie partially enclosed by woodland, that resembles in shape or formation a partially enclosed body of water.
[Middle English, from Old French baie, perhaps from baer, to open out, gape; see BAY2.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
bay 2  (b ā)
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n.1. Architecture A part of a building marked off by vertical elements, such as columns or pilasters: an arcade divided into ten bays. 2. Architecture a. A bay window. b. An opening or recess in a wall. 3. A section or compartment, as in a service station, barn, or aircraft, that is set off for a specific purpose: a cargo bay; an engine bay. 4. A sickbay. 5. Computers A drive bay.
[Middle English, from Old French baie, from baer, to open up, gape, from Vulgar Latin *batāre, to yawn, gape, from Late Latin bat, onomatopoeic word imitative of a yawn.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
bay 3  (b ā)
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adj. Reddish-brown: a bay colt. n.1. A reddish brown. 2. A reddish-brown animal, especially a horse having a black mane and tail.
[Middle English bai, from Old French, from Latin badius, perhaps of Celtic origin; akin to Old Irish buide, yellow.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
bay 4  (b ā)
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n.1. A deep, prolonged bark, such as the sound made by hounds. 2. The position of one cornered by pursuers and forced to turn and fight at close quarters: The hunters brought their quarry to bay. 3. The position of having been checked or held at a distance: "He has seen the nuclear threat held at bay for 40 years" (Earl W. Foell). v. bayed, bay·ing, bays v.intr. To utter a deep, prolonged bark. v.tr.1. To pursue or challenge with barking: "I had rather be a dog, and bay the moon" (Shakespeare). 2. To express by barking or howling: a mob baying its fury. 3. To bring to bay: "too big for the dogs which tried to bay it" (William Faulkner).
[Middle English, from abai, the cornering of a hunted animal by barking dogs, from Old French, from abaier, to bark; akin to Italian abbaiare and Occitan abaiar, all ultimately of imitative origin. Verb, from Middle English baien, to bark, from abaien, from Old French abaier.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
bay 5  (b ā)
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n.2. Any of certain other trees or shrubs with aromatic foliage, such as the California laurel. 3. A crown or wreath made especially of the leaves and branches of the laurel and given as a sign of honor or victory. 4. often bays Honor; renown.
[Middle English, from Old French baie, berry, from Latin bāca.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2020 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices
Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:
Indo-European Roots
Semitic Roots
The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.
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