Where does “bay” come from?

Bay comes from French baie, from Latin badius, a color term of uncertain ultimate origin tracing to Proto-Indo-European roots.

bay (English): A berry; "Laurus nobilis", a tree or shrub of the...

Definitions

  1. A berry; "Laurus nobilis", a tree or shrub of the...

Ancestry of “bay”, step by step

bay traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English beȝen

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishbeȝen—
2Old Englishbīeġanto bend, turn, turn back, incline, depress,...
3Proto-Germanicbi-by, at
4Proto-Germanicbiby, at; near, around
5Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂m̥bʰiaround, on either side of, about; in exchange...
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂n̥tbʰi—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntsforehead; front
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ent-face; forehead; front
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂en-on, onto

via Middle English baye

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishbaye—
2Old Englishbeġberry

via Middle English baie

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishbaie—

Words derived from “bay”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂en- →