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Glite Dictionary
hound's bay

hound's bay

9.9
A loud deep sound hunting dogs make when they chase or find an animal
  • noun
  • /haʊndz beɪ/
  • Archaic
translation icon : ladrido de sabueso
  • The loud hound's bay announced that the dogs had found the scent of the deer.

Examples

  • We heard the hound's bay as they chased the fox.

  • Writers often use the hound's bay to evoke scenes of traditional hunting.

  • Deep in the woods, the hound's bay echoed as the hunt approached.

  • The sudden hound's bay sent chills down the spine of the fox.

  • The hound's bay echoed through the forest.

  • As the hunters closed in, the chilling hound's bay pierced through the still morning air.

  • During the early morning hunt, we were startled by the sudden hound's bay echoing from the thicket.

Synonyms

bark
vshound's bay
69 1.0

A sharp loud sound that a dog makes

is the specific deep hunting cry, not just a general sharp sound
woof
vshound's bay
50 1.0

A short sound a dog makes to show it is alert or happy

is the formal hunting cry rather than a casual imitative sound
bay
vshound's bay
20 7.5

A deep loud bark made by a hunting dog

is the louder, distinctive call used when quarry is scented or cornered

How Loud

hound's bay
  • Archaic
9.9
to howl
48 2.6
bark
69 1.0
to yelp
19 2.0

Surface Forms

hound's bay singular
hound's bays plural

Morphology

hound's + bay

The meaning is directly compositional: 'hound's' (possessive of hound) plus 'bay' (a deep, sustained barking sound) yields 'the deep barking of a hound.' This possessor + sound-noun pattern is transparent and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Hound's bay comes from old hunting fields: when a group of hound dogs finds or surrounds a fox they make a long, deep bark called a bay. So Hound's bay now means that 'loud, deep barking sound' you hear during a hunt.