bai

American  

[bahy] / baɪ /

noun

1. a yellow mist occurring in eastern China and Japan during the spring and fall, caused by dust from the interior of China.

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Etymology

Origin of bai

< Japanese < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese mái dust storm

Explanation

The word bai has two distinct meanings: It can refer to a "yellow mist" of mineral dust that sweeps across East Asia. Or it can refer to a lush, swampy clearing in the heart of the Central African rainforest. In East Asia, a bai is like a yellow haze caused by desert soil being lifted by wind from Central China and carried toward Japan, coating cities in a fine dust. But the more common use of bai is relevant to a completely different continent: It's a mineral-rich, marshy rainforest clearing in the Congo Basin of Central Africa. Such clearings are gathering places for African species like forest elephants, gorillas, and antelopes, who obtain essential nutrients from the soil. The word comes from the Ba'Aka language, where it literally means "clearing."

Example Sentences

The first paper she published after leaving the bai was for the February 2017, issue of the Journal of Applied Ecology.

From The New Yorker • Nov. 14, 2018

At Mondayoff, a Vietnamese restaurant in Brooklyn, co-owner Benjaporn Chua uses pandan in the marinade for gai yang bai toey, a traditional grilled chicken dish.

From Washington Post • Dec. 19, 2017

They arrived less than ten days after the attack on Dzanga bai.

From The New Yorker • May 4, 2015

One of their comrades, the order said, had gone missing, and they had been granted permission to travel to the elephant bai to look for him.

From The New Yorker • May 4, 2015

We were sitting at our table, a corner one for two, which allowed her a view of the entire place, from the customers’ entrance, through the bai; to the kitchen.

From "Krik? Krak!" by Edwidge Danticat