bay | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

17 entries found.

Greek god of wine and revelry, a later name of Dionysus, late 15c., from Latin Bacchus, from Greek Bakkhos, perhaps related to Latin bacca "berry, fruit of a tree or shrub" (see bay (n.4)), or from an Asian language. Perhaps originally a Thracian fertility god.

Bayard (n.)

generic or mock-heroic name for a horse, mid-14c., from Old French Baiard, name of the bay-colored magic steed given by Charlemagne to Renaud in the legends, from Old French baiart "bay-colored" (see bay (adj.)). Also by early 14c. proverbial as a blind person or thing, for now-unknown reasons.

The name later was used attributively of gentlemen of exceptional courage and integrity, in this sense from Pierre du Terrail, seigneur de Bayard (1473-1524), French knight celebrated as Chevalier sans peur et sans reproche. The surname is perhaps in reference to hair color.

Macau

from Portuguese corruption of southern Chinese ama (name of a patron goddess of sailors) + ngao "bay, port."

Puerto Rico

island in the Greater Antilles group of the West Indies, Spanish, literally "rich harbor;" see port (n.1) + rich (adj.). The name was given in 1493 by Christopher Columbus to the large bay on the north side of the island; he called the island itself San Juan. Over time the name of the bay became the name of the island and the name of the island was taken by the town that grew up at the bay. Often spelled Porto Rico in 19c.; the current spelling was made official in 1932.

Corregidor

island at the entrance to Manila Bay in the Philippines, fortified 18c. by the Spanish, it was the place where the maritime registrar recorded the particulars of ships entering the bay, hence the name, from Spanish corregidor "chief magistrate of a town," etymologically "correcter," from Latin corrigere "to put straight; to reform" (see correct (v.)).

Hudson

both the bay in Canada and the river in New York named for English navigator Henry Hudson (died c. 1611), who hired on variously to the English and Dutch authorities.

Biscay

historically Basque region of northern Spain (Spanish Vizcaya), along the bay named for it between Spain and France, said to be from Basque biskar "mountain country." Related: Biscayan.

Massachusetts

U.S. state; the word is plural, originally (1614) a name for the Algonquian native people who lived around the bay, from Algonquian Massachusett "at the large hill," in reference to Great Blue Hill, southwest of Boston. Related: Massachusettensian.

Rio de Janeiro

literally "January River," named by explorer Amerigo Vespucci because he discovered it on Jan. 1, 1502, and so called because he incorrectly thought the bay was the estuary of a large river. See January.

Monterey

city in California, U.S., formerly the Spanish Pacific capital, named for the bay, which was named 1603 for Spanish colonist and viceroy of New Spain Conde de Monterrey. The Monterrey in Mexico also is named for him.

Trending words