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Glite Dictionary
bay tree

bay tree

4.0
A small evergreen tree with shiny leaves used to add flavor to food
  • noun
  • /beɪ tri/
translation icon : laurel
  • In ancient Greece, winners of athletic competitions were crowned with laurel leaves from the bay tree.

Examples

  • He ran past Felix and Pedro, past the ox barn, and past the auction block to a hedge of sweet bay trees that bordered the soccer field.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • I'm gonna cherish my hen 'neath a green bay tree

    Gummo (1997)

  • Gonna cherish that chicken 'neath a green bay tree

    Gummo (1997)

  • Ah, here's a bay tree; they're always good.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • I'm gonna cherish that dog 'neath a green bay tree

    Gummo (1997)

  • I'm gonna cherish that hog 'neath a green bay tree

    Gummo (1997)

  • And I love my little duckling, my duckling loves me I'll cherish my duck 'neath a green bay tree

    Gummo (1997)

  • The chef added fresh leaves from the bay tree to enhance the flavor of the stew.

  • The fragrant aroma from the bay tree filled the kitchen as she prepared dinner.

Synonyms

bay
vsbay tree
13 5.3

A small evergreen tree with glossy leaves used to add flavour to food

is the more descriptive compound form rather than the brief common name
Laurus nobilis
vsbay tree
  • Specialized
7.0

A small evergreen tree from the Mediterranean whose shiny leaves are used as bay leaves in cooking

is the common name rather than the technical species name
true laurel
vsbay tree
6.8

A small evergreen tree from the Mediterranean with glossy fragrant leaves used to flavor food and for wreaths

is the everyday common label rather than formal traditional name
bay laurel
vsbay tree
5.5

A small evergreen tree with shiny scented leaves used in cooking and for making wreaths

is the simpler single-word label rather than this two-word traditional name

Surface Forms

bay tree singular
bay trees plural

Morphology

bay + tree

The compound is directly compositional: 'bay' (the aromatic Laurus nobilis plant) combined with 'tree' names the tree of that species. This straightforward noun+noun formation is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

Bay tree is a small evergreen with shiny, strongly smelling leaves that cooks use to add flavor. Long ago Greeks also wove those leaves into wreaths to crown winners, so the name now suggests both the cooking leaf and the idea of 'victory'.