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    bay

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    bay
    I
    bay1 /beɪ/ noun [countable]
     Sense 1
     Date: 1300-1400
     Language: Old French
     Origin: baie, from Old Spanish bahia
     Sense 2
     Date: 1500-1600
     Origin: bay 'condition of a hunted animal that is trapped and has to turn around' (14-17 centuries), from Old French abai, from abaiier; ⇨ bay2
     Sense 3-4
     Date: 1300-1400
     Language: Old French
     Origin: baee 'opening', from baer 'to have the mouth wide open'
     Sense 5
     Date: 1300-1400
     Language: Old French
     Origin: baie 'berry', from Latin baca
     Sense 6
     Date: 1500-1600
     Origin: ⇨ bay3
    1.  SEA a part of the sea that is partly enclosed by a curve in the land:
        a house with a view across the bay
        Montego Bay
    2. keep/hold something at bay to prevent something dangerous or unpleasant from happening or from coming too close:
        A thick wall keeps the noise at bay.
    3.  AREA an area within a large room or just outside a building that is used for a particular purpose:
        a storage bay
        loading bay
    4.  FOR CARGO the part of a ship or plane where things are stored:
        the cargo bay
    5.  TREE (also bay tree) a tree that has leaves that smell sweet and are often used in cooking
    6.  HORSE a horse that is a reddish brown colour
         
    THESAURUS
       ▪ the sea especially British English the large area of salty water that covers much of the Earth’s surface: She lives by the sea. | The sea was very rough.
       ▪ the ocean especially American English the large area of salty water that covers much of the Earth’s surface: a house by the ocean | The restaurant had a sweeping view of the ocean.
       ▪ waters a large area of water – used about an area of water that belongs to a particular country, or when describing what the water is like: boats fishing in Canadian waters | British territorial waters | the calm waters of the harbour | dangerous waters | choppy waters (=with a lot of waves)
       ▪ bay an area of sea that is partly enclosed by a curve in the land: I swam across the bay. | the Bay of Biscay
       ▪ gulf a very large area of sea partly enclosed by land: the Gulf of Mexico | oil from the Gulf (=the area of water near Iran, Saudi Arabia etc)
       ▪ tide the regular rising and falling of the level of the sea: Is the tide going out or coming in ? | High tide (=when the sea is at its highest level)is at 4 o'clock in the afternoon. | low tide (=when the sea is at its lowest level) | The rocks are visible at low tide.
       ▪ wave a line of raised water that moves across the surface of the sea: The waves were crashing against the rocks.

    II
    bay2 verb [intransitive]
     Date: 1200-1300
     Language: Old French
     Origin: abaiier, from the sound
    1. if a dog bays, it makes a long high noise, especially when it is chasing something
       SYN  howl:
        dogs baying at the moon
    2. to make strong demands to get answers to questions or force someone to give you something
        bay for
        Reporters began baying for the president’s blood (=demanding that he be punished).

    III
    bay3 adjective
     Date: 1300-1400
     Language: Old French
     Origin: bai, from Latin badius
    a bay horse is reddish brown in colour