bay

v. t. To bark at; hence, to follow with barking; to bring or drive to bay; as, to bay the bear. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A recess or indentation shaped like a bay. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. A compartment in a barn, for depositing hay, or grain in the stalks. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. A kind of mahogany obtained from Campeachy Bay. [ 1913 Webster ]

Sick bay, in vessels of war, that part of a deck appropriated to the use of the sick. Totten. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Bayed 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. [ 1913 Webster ]

The hounds at nearer distance hoarsely bayed. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

The patriot's honors and the poet's bays. Trumbull. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A tract covered with bay trees. [ Local, U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Bay leaf, the leaf of the bay tree (Laurus nobilis). It has a fragrant odor and an aromatic taste, and is used for flavoring in food. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bay cat (Zool.), a wild cat of Africa and the East Indies (Felis aurata). --
Bay lynx (Zool.), the common American lynx (Lynx lynx, formerly Felis rufa or Lynx rufa). [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Bay, v. i. ] 1. Deep-toned, prolonged barking. “The bay of curs.” Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

Embolden'd by despair, he stood at bay. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

The most terrible evils are just kept at bay by incessant efforts. I. Taylor [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To dam, as water; -- with up or back. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A bank or dam to keep back water. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ Cf. OE. bæwen to bathe, and G. bähen to foment. ] To bathe. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]