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Bay vs Harbor - What's the difference?

bay | harbor |

In intransitive terms the difference between bay and harbor

is that bay is to howl while harbor is to take refuge or shelter in a protected expanse of water.

In transitive terms the difference between bay and harbor

is that bay is to pursue noisily, like a pack of hounds while harbor is to hold or persistently entertain in one's thoughts or mind.

As an adjective bay

is of a reddish-brown colour (especially of horses).

As a proper noun Bay

is a region of Somalia.

bay

English

(wikipedia bay)

Etymology 1

From (etyl) baye, baie, from (etyl) .

Noun

(en noun)
  • (obsolete) A berry.
  • , a shrub of the family Lauraceae , having dark green leaves and berries.
  • The leaves of this shrub, woven into a garland used to reward a champion or victor; hence, fame, victory.
  • * 1596 , Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene , IV.i:
    • both you here with many a cursed oth, / Sweare she is yours, and stirre vp bloudie frayes, / To win a willow bough, whilest other weares the bayes .
  • The leaf of this or certain other species of shrub, used as a herb.
  • * Trumbull
    • The patriot's honours and the poet's bays .
  • (US, dialect) A tract covered with bay trees.
  • A kind of mahogany obtained from (Campeche) in Mexico.
    • Synonyms
    * bay laurel, Grecian laurel, laurel, sweet bay, true laurel
    Derived terms
    * bayberry * bay laurel * bay leaf * bay rum * bay rum tree * bay tree * red bay * sweet bay

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) baie, from baia.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (geography) A body of water (especially the sea) more or less three-quarters surrounded by land.
  • *
    • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients, chapter=1 , passage='Twas early June, the new grass was flourishing everywheres, the posies in the yard—peonies and such—in full bloom, the sun was shining, and the water of the bay was blue, with light green streaks where the shoal showed.}}
  • A bank or dam to keep back water.
    • Synonyms
    * (body of water) gulf
    Derived terms
    * California bay

    Etymology 3

    From (etyl) baie, from (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An opening in a wall, especially between two columns.
  • An internal recess; a compartment or area surrounded on three sides.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-01, volume=407, issue=8838
    • , page=13 (Technology Quarterly), magazine=(The Economist) , title= Ideas coming down the track , passage=A “moving platform” scheme
  • The distance between two supports in a vault or building with a pitched roof.
  • (nautical) Each of the spaces, port and starboard, between decks, forward of the bitts, in sailing warships.
  • (rail transport) A bay platform.
  • Shortened form of bay window.
    • Derived terms
    * bay platform * bay window * bomb bay * buggy bay * loading bay

    Etymology 4

    From (etyl) bay, combined with aphesized form of abay; verbal form (etyl) baier, abaier.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • The excited howling of dogs when hunting or being attacked.
  • (by extension) The climactic confrontation between hunting-dogs and their prey.
  • (figuratively) A state of being obliged to face an antagonist or a difficulty, when escape has become impossible.
  • * (rfdate) (Dryden)
    • Embolden'd by despair, he stood at bay .
  • * (rfdate) I. Taylor
    • The most terrible evils are just kept at bay by incessant efforts.
    Derived terms
    * at bay

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To howl.
  • * (rfdate) (Dryden)
    • The hounds at nearer distance hoarsely bayed .
  • To bark at; hence, to follow with barking; to bring or drive to bay.
    • to bay the bear
    (Shakespeare)
  • To pursue noisily, like a pack of hounds.
    • Derived terms
    * bay at the moon

    Etymology 5

    From (etyl) baie, from (etyl) .

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Of a reddish-brown colour (especially of horses).
    • Derived terms
    * bay cat * bay lynx

    Noun

    (-)
  • A brown colour/color of the coat of some horses.
  • A horse of this color.
    • Quotations
    * (English Citations of "bay")

    See also

    * abeyance * badinage * baize * daphne * voe * * *

    Anagrams

    * ----

    harbor

    English

    Alternative forms

    * harbour (Commonwealth) * herberwe (obsolete) * herborough (obsolete)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A sheltered expanse of water, adjacent to land, in which ships may dock or anchor, especially for loading and unloading.
    • A harbor''', even if it is a little '''harbor , is a good thing, since adventurers come into it as well as go out, and the life in it grows strong, because it takes something from the world, and has something to give in return -
  • Any place of shelter.
    • The neighborhood is a well-known harbor for petty thieves.

    Derived terms

    * harborage * harbormaster * harbor seal * safe harbor

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To provide a harbor or safe place for.
  • *{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author= Katie L. Burke
    • , title= In the News , volume=101, issue=3, page=193, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Bats host many high-profile viruses that can infect humans, including severe acute respiratory syndrome and Ebola. A recent study explored the ecological variables that may contribute to bats’ propensity to harbor such zoonotic diseases by comparing them with another order of common reservoir hosts: rodents.}}
  • To take refuge or shelter in a protected expanse of water.
  • To hold or persistently entertain in one's thoughts or mind.

    • See also

    * haven * dock

    References

    * * * * * Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary , 1987-1996.