bay1
/beɪ
/noun
1A broad inlet of the sea where the land curves inwards: a boat trip round the bay [in place names]: Sandy Bay the Bay of Biscay...
- Every evening, young lovers meet on the Malecón, a long promenade that curves round the bay.
- It was an amazing panorama over Hobart, the Derwent Valley and all the inlets, bays and coves that meet the Southern Ocean.
- Standing a moment longer on the shore he watches the dinghy, until it tacks out of sight on the far side of the broad bay, heading for harbour.
Synonyms
cove, inlet, estuary, indentation, natural harbour, gulf, basin, fjord, ria, sound, arm, bight, firth, anchorage;
Scottish (sea) loch;
Irish lough
1.1An indentation or recess in a range of hills or mountains.It was imperative to get into the sheltered bays near to the mountains as soon as possible where we might find some respite from the impending storm, so we pressed on relentlessly for another hour or so....
- As Trevor said this, they passed over the mountains, showing a bay with a large city surrounding it.
- The Paceville district (pronounced ‘Patchyville’), where she will stay, lies on a hill between two bays.
Origin
Late Middle English: from Old French baie, from Old Spanish bahia, of unknown origin.
Hounds have bayed since the Middle Ages. Like bark, the word probably imitates the sound. People can now also bay for blood, when they call loudly for someone to be punished. The related phrase at bay comes from hunting and means ‘cornered, forced to face one's attackers’. It is often used now in to hold someone at bay, ‘to prevent someone from approaching or having an effect’. The geographical bay (Late Middle English) can be traced back to Old French baie, from Old Spanish bahia, but no further. The bay tree (Late Middle English) came via Old French from Latin bāca ‘berry’, and the type of bay found in a bay window, also late Middle English, comes from Old French baie, from the verb baer ‘to gape’. This is also, via baif ‘open-mouthed’ the source of bevel (late 16th century). See also baize
Rhymes
bay2
/beɪ/(also bay tree, bay laurel, or sweet bay)
noun
An evergreen Mediterranean shrub with deep green leaves and purple berries. Its aromatic leaves are used in cooking and were formerly used to make triumphal crowns for victors.
- Laurus nobilis, family Lauraceae.
- Leaves on the sweet bay and bigleaf (M. macrophylla) have silvery undersides that shimmer in the wind.
- Among the others are tanoaks, California black oaks, Shreve's oaks, madrones, rhododendrons, manzanita, big leaf maples and bay laurels.
Origin
Late Middle English (denoting the laurel berry): from Old French baie, from Latin baca 'berry'.
bay3
/beɪ/noun
1A space created by a window line projecting outwards from a wall.Each window projects as a bay, with a base low enough to sit on and wide enough to serve as a generous shelf for flowers and cards....
- On three floors, a curving stone staircase leads from the hall to the first floor where the principal bedroom has an elegant bay of arched sash windows.
- No, window walls are not bays or picture windows.
Synonyms
alcove, recess, niche, nook, cubbyhole, opening, hollow, cavity, corner, indentation, booth;
apse;
inglenook
1.1A section of wall between two buttresses or columns, especially in the nave of a church.Rebuilding after a fire began in the 1220s at the east end; the main transepts and the first bay of the nave were up by 1260....
- Work proceeded in 90-ft-square bays using a temporary vertical column rising from each of the tree column pedestals.
- The new tower, north transept extension, chapel and cloister bays are all built of cut stone laid with lime over solid brickwork.
2 [with modifier] A compartment with a specified function in a vehicle, aircraft, or ship: a bomb bay...
- Don't expect the first Ezee engines off the assembly line to go directly into the engine bays of future vehicles, however.
- After popping the hood your eyes quickly glance over a very functional engine bay.
- The front wings now incorporate an air duct, which helps keep the engine bay cool during operation, and a new door mirror design.
2.1An area specially allocated or marked off: a loading bay...
- ‘I have found to my disgust able bodied drivers who seem to think it alright to park in these special bays,’ he said.
- There is also a short-term parking bay outside Blockbusters (marked yellow on the plan).
- Ideally I would like to see the existing wall moved back to allow room to provide a safe parking bay along this area.
2.2 (also bay platform) British A short terminal platform at a railway station also having through lines.There is a disused bay platform at Hellifield if the most that could be afforded was connections there, and if traffic justified, through trains could be run....
- Included in the infrastructure design would be a bay platform at Rathcormac.
Origin
Late Middle English: from Old French baie, from baer 'to gape', from medieval Latin batare, of unknown origin.
bay4
/beɪ/adjective
(Of a horse) brown with black points.This is not equine racism, just the obvious conclusion that the brown, black and bay horses are in the vast majority, and can always gang up on a grey, especially when I have bet on it....
- She even went for one little black mare with a bay foal at her side, but was finally outbid at $6,000.
- When it is said that this bay colt, recently bought by the businessman Michael Tabor, is the apple of his trainer's eye, the words are much more than the usual conjecture.
noun
A bay horse.It was a bay, with a liver chestnut body and gleaming black legs....
- Like any event where you get a mixture of breeds, there were paints, sorrels, bays and palominos… almost anything you could want!
- The famous bay now heads for a life of retirement at the age of 17.
Origin
Middle English: from Old French bai, from Latin badius.
bay5
/beɪ/verb [no object]
1(Of a dog, especially a large one) bark or howl loudly: the dogs bayed a jackal baying at the moon...
- The police dogs are baying to be released as the newly arrived officers are gathered in for the briefing.
- Knowing that she was still in danger if she remained here, I lifted her tenderly and took flight, dogs baying at our heels as I loped along darkened paths.
- They hadn't gone more than another half click before they heard dogs baying in the distance.
Synonyms
howl, bark, yelp, yap, cry, growl, bellow, roar, clamour, snarl
rare ululate
1.1(Of a group of people) shout loudly, typically to demand something: the crowd bayed for an encore...
- She walked from her offices at MTV into Times Square and people shrieked her name and bayed for her autograph.
- The home crowd bayed for more goals and their pleas were answered in the dying minutes of the game.
- The fans bayed for the final whistle as the scoreboard clock showed extra time and were further incensed when Kaplan awarded Australia the penalty, which Eales converted for the winner.
Synonyms
clamour, shout, call, press, yell, scream, shriek, roar;
demand, insist on, urge, claim, make a claim for
1.2 [with object] archaic Bay at: a pack of wolves baying the moon...
- Women, we might as well be dogs baying the moon as petitioners without the right to vote!
- I think they were baying the moon, as do their cultured relatives the dogs.
noun [in singular]
The sound of baying: the bloodhounds' heavy bay...
- Some parts of Lovecraft's work as in the first few lines of, "He," are as prosaic as a fog horn, and as lyrical as a wolf's bay.
Synonyms
baying, howl, howling, bark, barking, cry, crying, growl, growling, bellow, bellowing, roar, roaring, clamour, clamouring
rare ululation
Phrases
at bay
bay for blood
bring someone/thing to bay
hold (or keep) someone/thing at bay
stand at bay
Origin
Middle English (as a noun): from Old French (a)bai (noun), (a)baiier (verb) 'to bark', of imitative origin.