baymen
|bay-men|
/ˈbeɪmənz/
(bayman)
man of the bay
Etymology
'bayman' originates from English compounds 'bay' + 'man'. 'bay' meant 'a broad inlet of the sea' and 'man' meant 'person, male'.
'bayman' formed in Middle English as a compound meaning 'man of the bay'; the plural form became 'baymen' in standard English pluralization.
Initially, it simply meant 'a person from or working at a bay'; over time it came to denote specific occupations (fishermen, watermen) and, in a historical sense, the particular settlers known as the Baymen of British Honduras.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
plural of 'bayman' — men who work in or live by a bay, especially fishermen or watermen.
The baymen repaired their nets before going out at dawn.
Synonyms
Noun 2
plural proper noun: the early European (mainly English) settlers and logwood cutters of the Bay of Honduras (historical inhabitants of what became British Honduras, now Belize), often referred to as the 'Baymen'.
The Baymen established settlements and worked the logwood trade along the coast of present-day Belize.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2026/01/02 02:02