In the 16th century, Turkish women could divorce their husbands if the man failed to keep his family’s pot filled with coffee.
BAY
bay
(adjective) (used of animals especially a horse) of a moderate reddish-brown color
bay
(noun) a horse of a moderate reddish-brown color
alcove, bay
(noun) a small recess opening off a larger room
bay
(noun) a compartment in an aircraft used for some specific purpose; “he opened the bomb bay”
bay
(noun) a compartment on a ship between decks; often used as a hospital; “they put him in the sick bay”
bay
(noun) the sound of a hound on the scent
bay, embayment
(noun) an indentation of a shoreline larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf
bay, quest
(verb) bark with prolonged noises, of dogs
bay
(verb) utter in deep prolonged tones
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology 1
Proper noun
Bay
A region of Somalia.
Etymology 2
Proper noun
the Bay
(informal) The San Francisco Bay Area (metropolitan area in California)
(informal) San Francisco Bay.
Anagrams
• YBA, aby
Etymology 1
Noun
bay (plural bays)
(obsolete) A berry.
Laurus nobilis, a tree or shrub of the 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.
(in the plural, now rare) The leaves of this shrub, woven into a garland used to reward a champion or victor; hence, fame, victory.
(US, dialect) A tract covered with bay trees.
A kind of mahogany obtained from Campeche in Mexico.
Synonyms
• (Laurus nobilis): bay laurel, Grecian laurel, laurel, sweet bay, true laurel, bay tree
• (Garland symbolic of fame, victor): laurels
Etymology 2
Noun
bay (plural bays)
(geography) A body of water (especially the sea) more or less three-quarters surrounded by land.
A bank or dam to keep back water.
Synonyms
• (body of water): gulf
Etymology 3
Noun
bay (plural bays)
An opening in a wall, especially between two columns.
An internal recess; a compartment or area surrounded on three sides.
The distance between two supports in a vault or building with a pitched roof.
(nautical) Each of the spaces, port and starboard, between decks, forward of the bitts, in sailing warships.
(rail transport) A bay platform.
A bay window.
Etymology 4
Noun
bay (plural bays)
The excited howling of dogs when hunting or being attacked.
(by extension) The climactic confrontation between hunting-dogs and their prey.
(figuratively) A state of being obliged to face an antagonist or a difficulty, when escape has become impossible.
Verb
bay (third-person singular simple present bays, present participle baying, simple past and past participle bayed)
(intransitive) To howl.
(transitive) To bark at; hence, to follow with barking; to bring or drive to bay.
(transitive) To pursue noisily, like a pack of hounds.
Etymology 5
Adjective
bay (comparative more bay, superlative most bay)
Of a reddish-brown colour (especially of horses).
Noun
bay (countable and uncountable, plural bays)
A brown colour/color of the coat of some horses.
A horse of this color.
Anagrams
• YBA, aby
Source: Wiktionary
Bay, a. Etym: [F. bai, fr. L. badius brown, chestnutcolored; -- used only of horses.]
Definition: 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).
Bay, n. Etym: [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. (Geol.)
Definition: An inlet of the sea, usually smaller than a gulf, but of the same general character.
Note: 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 foe 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, n. Etym: [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, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Bayed (p. pr. & vb. n. Baying.] Etym: [ OE. bayen, abayen, OF. abaier, F. aboyer, to bark; of uncertain origin.]
Definition: To bark, as a dog with a deep voice does, at his game. The hounds at nearer distance hoarsely bayed. Dryden.
Bay, v. t.
Definition: To bark at; hence, to follow with barking; to bring or drive to bay; as, to bay the bear. Shak.
Bay, n. Etym: [See Bay, v. i.]
1. Deep-toned, prolonged barking. "The bay of curs." Cowper.
2. Etym: [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.]
Definition: 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. Etym: [Cf. OE. bæwen to bathe, and G. bähen to foment.]
Definition: To bathe. [Obs.] Spenser.
Bay, n.
Definition: A bank or dam to keep back water.
Bay, v. t.
Definition: To dam, as water; -- with up or back.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Word of the Day
13 November 2024
OSTENSIBLE
(adjective) appearing as such but not necessarily so; “for all his apparent wealth he had no money to pay the rent”; “the committee investigated some apparent discrepancies”; “the ostensible truth of their theories”; “his seeming honesty”
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