Plural of bay; curved indentations of coastlines where water extends into land, or compartmentalized spaces in buildings.
From Old French 'baie' and Latin 'baia', possibly from Greek 'baios' meaning small. The architectural sense developed from the idea of a recessed or enclosed space, similar to a coastal bay.
The word 'bay' beautifully connects geography and architecture through the metaphor of curved, enclosed spaces. Loading bays, window bays, and parking bays all borrow from the gentle, protective curve that coastal bays provide to ships.
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