Bax"ter (&?;), n. [OE. bakestre, bakistre, AS. bæcestre, prop. fem. of bæcere baker. See Baker.] A baker; originally, a female baker. [Old Eng. & Scotch]
Bay (&?;), a. [F. bai, fr. L. badius brown, chestnut-colored; -- used only of horses.] Reddish brown; of the color of a chestnut; -- applied to the color of horses.
Bay cat (Zoöl.), a wild cat of Africa and the East Indies (Felis aurata). -- Bay lynx (Zoöl.), the common American lynx (Felis, or Lynx, rufa).
Bay, n. [F. baie, fr. LL. baia. Of uncertain origin: cf. Ir. & Gael. badh or bagh bay, harbor, creek; Bisc. baia, baiya, harbor, and F. bayer to gape, open the mouth.] 1. (Geog.) An inlet of the sea, usually smaller than a gulf, but of the same general character.
The name is not used with much precision, and is often applied to large tracts of water, around which the land forms a curve; as, Hudson's Bay. The name is not restricted to tracts of water with a narrow entrance, but is used for any recess or inlet between capes or headlands; as, the Bay of Biscay.
2. A small body of water set off from the main body; as a compartment containing water for a wheel; the portion of a canal just outside of the gates of a lock, etc.