Bay , v. t. To dam, as water;
-- with up or back.
Bay , n. A bank or dam to keep back water.
Bay , v. t. [Cf. OE. bæwen to bathe, and
G. bähen to foment.]
To bathe. [Obs.] Spenser.
Bay (&?;), n. [See Bay, v. i.]
1.
Deep-toned, prolonged
barking. "The bay of curs." Cowper.
2. [OE.
bay, abay, OF. abai, F. aboi
barking, pl. abois, prop. the extremity to which the
stag is reduced when surrounded by the dogs, barking (aboyant); aux abois at bay.] A state of being obliged to face an antagonist or a difficulty, when escape has become impossible.
Embolden'd by
despair, he stood at bay.
Dryden.
The most terrible evils are just kept at
bay by incessant efforts.
I.
Taylor
Bay (&?;), v. t. To bark at; hence, to follow with barking; to bring or drive to bay;
as, to bay the bear. Shak.
Bay , v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bayed (bād); p. pr. & vb. n. Baying.]
[OE. bayen,
abayen, OF. abaier, F.
aboyer, to bark; of uncertain origin.] To bark, as a dog with a deep voice does, at his game.
The
hounds at nearer distance hoarsely bayed.
Dryden.
Bay , n. [F. baie a berry, the fruit of the
laurel and other trees, fr. L. baca,
bacca, a small round fruit, a berry, akin
to Lith. bapka laurel berry.]
1. A berry,
particularly of the laurel. [Obs.]
2. The laurel tree (Laurus nobilis). Hence, in the plural, an honorary garland or crown bestowed as a prize for victory or excellence, anciently made or consisting of branches of the laurel.
The patriot's
honors and the poet's bays.
Trumbull.
3. A tract covered with bay trees. [Local, U. S.]
Bay leaf, the leaf of the bay tree
(Laurus nobilis). It has a fragrant odor and an aromatic taste.
Bay , n. [F. baie, fr. LL. baia. Of
uncertain origin: cf. Ir. & Gael. badh or bagh bay, harbor, creek; Bisc.
baia, baiya, harbor, and F. bayer to gape, open
the mouth.]
1. (Geog.) An inlet of the
sea, usually smaller than a gulf, but of the same general character.
&fist; The name is not
used with much precision, and is often applied to large tracts of water, around which the land forms a
curve; as, Hudson's Bay. The
name is not
restricted to tracts of water with a
narrow entrance, but is used for
any recess or inlet between capes or headlands; as, the Bay of Biscay.
2. A small body of
water set off from the
main body; as a compartment containing water for a wheel; the portion of a
canal just outside of the gates of a lock, etc.
3. A recess or indentation shaped like a bay.
4.
A principal compartment of the walls, roof, or other part
of a building, or of the whole
building, as marked off by
the buttresses, vaulting,
mullions of a window, etc.; one of the main
divisions of any structure, as the part of a bridge between two piers.
5. A compartment in a barn, for
depositing hay, or grain in the
stalks.
6. A kind of mahogany obtained from
Campeachy Bay.
Sick bay, in vessels of war, that part of a deck appropriated to the use of the sick. Totten.
Bay (&?;), a. [F. bai, fr. L. badius brown, chestnut-colored; -- used only of horses.]
Reddish brown; of the
color of a chestnut; -- applied to the color of
horses.
Bay cat (Zoöl.), a wild cat of Africa and the East Indies (Felis
aurata). -- Bay lynx (Zoöl.), the common American lynx (Felis, or Lynx, rufa).
Hear it pronounced