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Prey vs Bait - What's the difference?

prey | bait |

As nouns the difference between prey and bait

is that prey is anything, as goods, etc., taken or got by violence; anything taken by force from an enemy in war; spoil; booty; plunder while bait is any substance, especially food, used in catching fish, or other animals, by alluring them to a hook, snare, trap, or net.

As a verb bait is

to attract with bait; to entice.

prey

English

Noun

  • (archaic) Anything, as goods, etc., taken or got by violence; anything taken by force from an enemy in war; spoil; booty; plunder.
  • * Bible, Numbers xxxi. 12
    • And they brought the captives, and the prey , and the spoil, unto Moses, and Eleazar the priest.
  • That which is or may be seized by animals or birds to be devoured; hence, a person given up as a victim.
  • * Dryden
    • Already sees herself the monster's prey .
  • * Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness
    • [The helmsman] steered with no end of a swagger while you were by; but if he lost sight of you, he became instantly the prey of an abject funk
  • A living thing that is eaten by another living thing.
  • * Bible, Job iv. ii
    • The old lion perisheth for lack of prey .
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author= William E. Conner
    • , title= An Acoustic Arms Race , volume=101, issue=3, page=206-7, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Nonetheless, some insect prey take advantage of clutter by hiding in it. Earless ghost swift moths become “invisible” to echolocating bats by forming mating clusters close (less than half a meter) above vegetation and effectively blending into the clutter of echoes that the bat receives from the leaves and stems around them.}}
  • The act of devouring other creatures; ravage.
  • * Shakespeare
    • Hog in sloth, fox in stealth, lion in prey .
  • The victim of a disease.

    • Related terms

    * prey on

    References

    *

    Anagrams

    *

    bait

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) bait, beite, from (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Any substance, especially food, used in catching fish, or other animals, by alluring them to a hook, snare, trap, or net.
  • Food containing poison or a harmful additive to kill animals that are pests.
  • Anything which allures; a lure; enticement; temptation.
    • (Fairfax)
  • A portion of food or drink, as a refreshment taken on a journey; also, a stop for rest and refreshment.
  • A light or hasty luncheon.
    • Usage notes
    Used in Geordie dialect of English to denote your lunch at work as opposed to other meals. Also used in East Anglian dialect of English to denote a small meal taken mid-morning while farming, and in the North of England to denote a snack taken by miners to eat while working.
    Derived terms
    * baiting * flamebait * jailbait * shark bait
    References
    * * * * *

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To attract with bait; to entice.
  • To affix bait to a trap or a fishing hook or fishing line.
  • * Washington Irving
    • a crooked pin bailed with a vile earthworm
    Usage notes
    * This verb is sometimes confused in writing with the rare verb (bate), which is pronounced identically; in particular, the expression (with bated breath) is frequently misspelled *(term) by writers unfamiliar with the verb (bate).

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) baiten, beiten, from (etyl) .

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To set dogs on (an animal etc.) to bite or worry; to attack with dogs, especially for sport.
  • :to bait''' a bear with dogs;  to '''bait a bull
  • To intentionally annoy, torment, or threaten by constant rebukes or threats; to harass.
  • To feed and water (a horse or other animal), especially during a journey.
  • *, Bk.V, Ch.ix:
  • *:And than they com into a lowe medow that was full of swete floures, and there thes noble knyghtes bayted her horses.
  • Of a horse or other animal: to take food, especially during a journey.
  • *, II.22:
  • *:King Cyrus , that he might more speedily receave news from al parts of his Empire (which was of exceeding great length), would needs have it tried how far a horse could in a day goe outright without baiting , at which distance he caused stations to be set up, and men to have fresh horses ready for al such as came to him.
  • To stop to take a portion of food and drink for refreshment during a journey.
  • *Milton
  • *:Evil news rides post, while good news baits .
  • *Evelyn
  • *:My lord's coach conveyed me to Bury, and thence baiting at Newmarket.
    • See also
    *

    Etymology 3

    (etyl) battre de l'aile'' or ''des ailes , to flap or flutter.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (obsolete) To flap the wings; to flutter as if to fly; or to hover, as a hawk when she stoops to her prey.
  • * Shakespeare
    • Kites that bait and beat.

    Anagrams

    * ----