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Webster 1913 Edition

Bayou

Bay′ou

,
Noun.
;
pl.
Bayous
.
[North Am. Indian
bayuk
, in F. spelling
bayouc
,
bayouque
.]
An inlet from the Gulf of Mexico, from a lake, or from a large river, sometimes sluggish, sometimes without perceptible movement except from tide and wind.
[Southern U. S.]
A dark slender thread of a
bayou
moves loiteringly northeastward into a swamp of huge cypresses.
G. W. Cable.

Definition 2024

bayou

bayou

English

Alternative forms

Noun

bayou ‎(plural bayous)

  1. A slow-moving, often stagnant creek or river.
  2. A swamp, a marshy (stagnant) body of water.

Usage notes

  • Used almost exclusively to refer to bodies of water in Louisiana and the adjoining areas, including southern Mississippi, eastern Texas, Arkansas and Florida.

Translations

Anagrams

French

Etymology

Borrowing from Choctaw bayuk ‎(“creek”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ba.ju/
  • Rhymes: -ju

Noun

bayou m ‎(plural bayous)

  1. a stagnant body of water left behind by the meandering of the Mississippi River in Louisiana or elsewhere; a bayou

Etymology

Cajun French bayou, from Choctaw bayuk ‎(“creek”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbaɪ.uː/, /ˈbaɪ.oʊ/

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