bayou

[ bahy-oo, bahy-oh ]

noun

, Chiefly Lower Mississippi Valley and Gulf States.

, plural bay·ous.

1. a marshy arm, inlet, or outlet of a lake, river, etc., usually sluggish or stagnant.
2. any of various other often boggy and slow-moving or still bodies of water.

bayou

/ ˈbaɪjuː /

noun

1. (in the southern US) a sluggish marshy tributary of a lake or river

bayou

/ bī′o̅o̅ /

1. A sluggish, marshy stream connected with a river, lake, or gulf. Bayous are common in the southern United States.

bayou

1. Term used mainly in Louisiana and Mississippi to describe a swampy, slowly moving or stationary body of water that was once part of a lake, river, or gulf.

Word History and Origins

Origin of bayou¹

An Americanism first recorded in 1710–20; from Louisiana French bayou, bayouc, bayouque, likely from obsolete Choctaw bayuk “creek, river” (modern Choctaw bok ); compare Chickasaw bok

Word History and Origins

Origin of bayou¹

C18: from Louisiana French, from Choctaw bayuk

Example Sentences

Johnson says that on any given day, he’ll see photographers, anglers or university students on the platform, taking in a view of the bayou.

From Washington Post

CSED also works to bring trees from a local Christmas tree drop program to the bayou.

From Washington Post

That means vast, important marsh, inshore pools, and bayous have disappeared as flooding, high winds, and towering tidal surges have left their marks.

From Popular-Science

Just across the bayou, however, is a house almost guaranteed to please.

From The Daily Beast

But Hillstomp is the real deal, as legit as anything you will find nowadays down on the bayou.

From The Daily Beast

At a rally for longshot Senate candidate on the bayou, Sarah Palin got choked up on Thursday.

From The Daily Beast

All the moves, that is, except managing his state properly—at least according to Bayou voters.

From The Daily Beast

Houston has plans for a series of bayou-oriented green ways.

From The Daily Beast

Issa Bayou smiles and shakes his head as he recalls how he escaped from a Tripoli prison during the uprising in Libya.

From The Daily Beast

They were located on a lake, which communicates with the branch of Red-river passing Bayou Pierre.

From Project Gutenberg

Next instant the placid water of the bayou was beaten into showers of spray, which gleamed silver in the brilliant moonlight.

From Project Gutenberg

He remembered my reasoning in the boat coming down the bayou.

From Project Gutenberg

Hiding the boat in another bayou, we took our way home on foot.

From Project Gutenberg

Professor Newland, Beth and I went up the bayou with them that morning they left.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• backwater