bayou
[ bahy-oo, bahy-oh ]
/ ˈbaɪ u, ˈbaɪ oʊ /
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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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Which one of these commonly confused words can act as an adverb or a pronoun?
Origin of bayou
1710–20, Americanism;<Louisiana French, said to be <Choctaw bayuk river forming part of a delta
Words nearby bayou
bay oil, bayonet, bayonet hair, bayonet socket, Bayonne, bayou, bay poplar, Bay Psalm Book, Bayreuth, bay rum, bay salt
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
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
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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.