bay5 (ba)

[Early mod. E. also baye, be ye, pectation, lit. on the gape: OF. bay (=It. bad a ), suspense, lit. gaping, IMG:content-1771.png:[blocks in formation] 3. The state of being kept off by the bold attitude of an opponent; the state of being prevented by an enemy, or by any kind of resistance, from making further advance: with at. We have now, for ten years together, turned the whole force and expense of the war where the enemy was best able to hold us at bay. Swift. The barriers which they builded from the soil To keep the foe at bay. Bryant, The Prairies.