bayou
[ bahy-oo, bahy-oh ]
/ ˈbaɪ u, ˈbaɪ oʊ /
noun, plural bay·ous. Chiefly Lower Mississippi Valley and Gulf States.
a marshy arm, inlet, or outlet of a lake, river, etc., usually sluggish or stagnant.
any of various other often boggy and slow-moving or still bodies of water.
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Origin of bayou
1710–20, Americanism; < Louisiana French, said to be < Choctaw bayuk river forming part of a delta
Words nearby bayou
bayo, bayonet, bayonet hair, bayonet socket, bayonne, bayou, bayreuth, baysmelt, baytown, baywood, bayyan
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Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for bayou
British Dictionary definitions for bayou
bayou
/ (ˈbaɪjuː) /
noun
(in the southern US) a sluggish marshy tributary of a lake or river
Word Origin for bayou
C18: from Louisiana French, from Choctaw bayuk
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Scientific definitions for bayou
bayou
[ bī′ōō ]
A sluggish, marshy stream connected with a river, lake, or gulf. Bayous are common in the southern United States.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for bayou
bayou
[ (beye-ooh, beye-oh) ]
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.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.