Past tense of 'bay'; made the deep barking cry characteristic of hounds, especially when hunting or cornering something.
From Middle English baien, from Old French bayer, possibly imitative in origin—the word imitates the sound dogs make. The -ed suffix marks past tense, showing the action has already occurred.
The word 'bay' is onomatopoetic—it imitates the actual sound hounds make—and this connection to the real sound is why the word has stayed essentially unchanged for over 800 years! It's one of the few words that sounds like what it describes.
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