See Also:

bay(4) (iou)



bay noun2. LME.
[Old & mod. French baie from Latin baca berry.]
A berry, esp. of the laurel. LME-M19.
In full bay tree. An evergreen tree of the laurel family, Laurus nobilis, with dark green aromatic leaves. Also (US), any of various similarly aromatic trees and shrubs, esp. of the genera Magnolia and Myrica. M16.
red bay: see RED adjective. sweet bay: see SWEET adjective & adverb.
sing. & (usu.) in pl. Leaves or twigs of bay, esp. as a wreath for a conqueror or poet; fig. fame. M16.
In the coastal states of south-eastern US: a tract of low marshy wooded ground with numerous bay trees. L18.
Comb.: bay-laurel: see LAUREL noun 1; bay-leaf a dried leaf of sweet bay, used as flavouring; bay rum perfume (esp. for the hair) distilled from rum and leaves of the bayberry Pimenta acris.