bayou Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a swampy arm or slow-moving outlet of a lake (term used mainly in Mississippi and Louisiana)

WordNet

Bay"ou noun
Etymology
[North Am. Indian bayuk, in F. spelling bayouc, bayouque.]
Wordforms
plural Bayous
Definitions
  1. An inlet from the Gulf of Mexico, from a lake, or from a large river, sometimes sluggish, sometimes without perceptible movement except from tide and wind. Southern U. S.
    A dark slender thread of a bayou moves loiteringly northeastward into a swamp of huge cypresses. G. W. Cable.

Webster 1913