Bays
/beɪz/noun
The plural of bay, meaning a body of water partly enclosed by land, or a horse’s reddish-brown coat.
Did you know?The sea-bay word comes from Old French and Latin, while the horse-color bay comes from a separate Latin root meaning ‘reddish-brown,’ making this a classic case of two unrelated words meeting in modern English.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bʰeh₂-
“to shine, flash, or appear”
Latin
Latin
badius
“reddish-brown, chestnut-colored”
Old French
Old French
baie
“an inlet or gulf”
Middle English
English
bay
“an inlet of the sea; also a reddish-brown horse”
Modern English
English
bays
“plural of bay: sea inlets or reddish-brown horses”