to-bay

noun

a deep, prolonged howl, as of a hound on the scent.

the position or stand of an animal or fugitive that is forced to turn and resist pursuers because it is no longer possible to flee (usually preceded by at or to ): a stag at bay; to bring an escaped convict to bay.

the situation of a person or thing that is forced actively to oppose or to succumb to some adverse condition (usually preceded by at or to ).

the situation of being actively opposed by an animal, person, etc., so as to be powerless to act fully (often preceded by at ).

verb (used without object)

to howl, especially with a deep, prolonged sound, as a hound on the scent.

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To-bay is always a great word to know.

So is slumgullion. Does it mean:

a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.

a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

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verb (used with object)

to assail with deep, prolonged howling: a troubled hound baying the moon.

to bring to or to hold at bay: A dog bays its quarry.

Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English, aphetic variant of abay < Anglo-French, dialectal Old French abai barking, noun derivative of abaier to bark, from an imitative base *bay-

Synonyms
5. roar, bellow, bark, bell, clamor.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To to-bay

Collins

World English Dictionary

bay¹ (beɪ)

—n
1.	a wide semicircular indentation of a shoreline, esp between two headlands or peninsulas
2.	an extension of lowland into hills that partly surround it
3.	(US) an extension of prairie into woodland

[C14: from Old French baie, perhaps from Old French baer to gape, from Medieval Latin batāre to yawn]

bay² (beɪ)

—n
1.	an alcove or recess in a wall
2.	any partly enclosed compartment, as one in which hay is stored in a barn
3.	See bay window
4.	an area off a road in which vehicles may park or unload, esp one adjacent to a shop, factory, etc
5.	a compartment in an aircraft, esp one used for a specified purpose: the bomb bay
6.	nautical a compartment in the forward part of a ship between decks, often used as the ship's hospital
7.	(Brit) a tracked recess in the platform of a railway station, esp one forming the terminus of a branch line

[C14: from Old French baee gap or recess in a wall, from baer to gape; see bay¹]

bay³ (beɪ)

—n
1.	a deep howl or growl, esp of a hound on the scent
2.	at bay
	a. (of a person or animal) forced to turn and face attackers: the dogs held the deer at bay
	b. at a distance: to keep a disease at bay
3.	bring to bay to force into a position from which retreat is impossible

—vb
4.	(intr) to howl (at) in deep prolonged tones
5.	(tr) to utter in a loud prolonged tone
6.	(tr) to drive to or hold at bay

[C13: from Old French abaiier to bark, of imitative origin]

bay⁴ (beɪ)

—n
1.	See laurel Also called: bay laurel, sweet bay a small evergreen Mediterranean laurel, Laurus nobilis, with glossy aromatic leaves, used for flavouring in cooking, and small blackish berries
2.	any of various other trees with strongly aromatic leaves used in cooking, esp a member of the genera Myrica or Pimenta
3.	See sweet bay any of several magnolias
4.	any of certain other trees or shrubs, esp bayberry
5.	(plural) See laurel a wreath of bay leaves

[C14: from Old French baie laurel berry, from Latin bāca berry]

bay⁵ (beɪ)

—n
1.	a. a moderate reddish-brown colour
	b. (as adjective): a bay horse
2.	an animal of this colour, esp a horse

[C14: from Old French bai, from Latin badius]

bayberry or bay (ˈbeɪbərɪ)

—n , pl -ries
1.	See also wax myrtle any of several North American aromatic shrubs or small trees of the genus Myrica, that bear grey waxy berries: family Myricaceae
2.	Also called: bay rum tree a tropical American myrtaceous tree, Pimenta racemosa, that yields an oil used in making bay rum
3.	the fruit of any of these plants

bay or bay

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

bay

"inlet of the sea," late 14c., from O.Fr. baie, L.L. baia (c.640), from Iberian bahia.

bay

"opening in a wall," early 14c. (especially bay window, c.1400), from O.Fr. baee "opening, hole, gulf," noun use of fem. pp. of bayer "to gape, yawn," from M.L. batare "gape," perhaps of imitative origin. Sick-bay "forepart of a ship's main deck used as a hospital" is from 1580s, from the notion of a

recessed space.

bay

"howl of a hound" (especially when hunting), c.1300, from O.Fr. bayer, from PIE base *bai- echoic of howling (cf. Gk. bauzein, L. baubari "to bark," Eng. bow-wow; cf. also bawl). Noun meaning "cornering of a hunted animal" is also 14c. At bay (1640s) is from special sense of "chorus raised by hounds

in conflict with quarry," and reflects the former more widespread use of at.

bay

"reddish-brown," mid-14c., from Anglo-Fr. bai, from O.Fr. bai, from L. badius "chestnut-brown" (used only of horses), from PIE *badyo- "yellow, brown" (cf. O.Ir. buide "yellow"). Also elliptical for a horse of this color.

bay

"shrub" (Laurus nobilis, source of the bay leaf), late 14c., originally only of the berry, from O.Fr. baie (12c.) "berry, seed," from L. baca "berry." Extension to the shrub itself is from 1520s. The leaves or sprigs were woven as wreaths for conquerors or poets. Bayberry first recorded 1570s.

American Heritage

Science Dictionary

bay

(bā) Pronunciation Key

A body of water partially enclosed by land but having a wide outlet to the sea. A bay is usually smaller than a gulf.
A space in the cabinet of a personal computer where a storage device, such as a disk drive or CD-ROM drive, can be installed.

Easton

Bible Dictionary

Bay definition

denotes the estuary of the Dead Sea at the mouth of the Jordan (Josh. 15:5; 18:19), also the southern extremity of the same sea (15:2). The same Hebrew word is rendered "tongue" in Isa. 11:15, where it is used with reference to the forked mouths of the Nile. Bay in Zech. 6:3, 7 denotes the colour of horses, but the original Hebrew means strong, and is here used rather to describe the horses as fleet or spirited.

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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Matching Quote

"We can show you where he lies,
Fleet of foot and tall of size;
We can show the marks he made
When 'gainst the oak his antlers fray'd;
You shall see him brought to bay;
Waken, lords and ladies gay."

-Sir Walter Scott

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