/ˈbaɪ.(j)uː/, /ˈbaɪ.oʊ/
OriginFrom Louisiana French bayou, from Choctaw bayuk (“a creek”). Doublet of bogue.
- A slow-moving, often stagnant creek or river.
“You natural persons old and young! / You on the Mississippi and on all the branches and bayous of the Mississippi! / You friendly boatmen and mechanics! you roughs!”
- A swamp; a marshy (stagnant) body of water.
“At that time I had no staff officer who could be trusted with that duty. In the woods, at a short distance below the clearing, I found a depression, dry at the time, but which at high water became a s”
Formsbayous(plural) · buyou(alternative, dated) · byo(alternative, obsolete)
Source: Wiktionary