baya

See also: báya

Languages (25)

English

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Abenlen Ayta • Alangan • Balinese • Bolinao • Central Bikol • Cornish • French • Gamilaraay • Hausa • Iban • Indonesian • Jamamadí • Javanese • Mag-Anchi Ayta • Mauritian Creole • Old Javanese • Sambali • Seychellois Creole • Spanish • Swahili • Tagalog • Tatar • Ternate • Turkish

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Page categories

English

Noun

baya (plural bayas)

1. Ploceus philippinus, a weaverbird of southern Asia.

Anagrams

• aaby, abay, ya ba

Abenlen Ayta

Etymology 1

From Proto-Austronesian *baʀaq (“lung”).

Noun

baya

1. (anatomy) lungs

Etymology 2

From Proto-Austronesian *baʀəq (“abscess, boil, swelling on the body”).

Verb

baya

1. to swell; to become swollen

Alangan

Noun

baya

1. fire

Balinese

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Javanese bhaya (“fear, danger, peril; calamity”), from Sanskrit भय (bhaya).

Noun

baya (Balinese script ᬪᬬ)

1. danger, peril

Derived terms

• bebayan
• mabaya
• mayanin

Further reading

• “baya”, in Balinese–Indonesian Dictionary [Kamus Bahasa Bali–Indonesia] (in Balinese), Denpasar, Indonesia: The Linguistic Center of Bali Province [Balai Bahasa Provinsi Bali].

Bolinao

Etymology

From Proto-Austronesian *baʀah (“ember, glowing coal”).

Noun

baya

1. ember

Central Bikol

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /baˈjaʔ/ [baˈjaʔ]
• Hyphenation: ba‧ya

Adverb

bayâ (Basahan spelling ᜊᜌ)

1. really; truly; ever

   Synonyms: talaga, nanggad

2. please

   Synonym: tabi

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbajaʔ/ [ˈba.jaʔ]
• Hyphenation: ba‧ya

Noun

bayà (Basahan spelling ᜊᜌ)

1. deferral; disregard; concession
2. desertion

   Synonym: layas

3. abandonment

   Synonym: abandonar

Derived terms

• bayaan
• magbaya
• pabaya

Cornish

Etymology 1

Borrowed from English bay.

Noun

baya m (plural bayys)

1. bay

   Synonym: pleg mor

Etymology 2

bay +‎ -a

Verb

baya

1. to kiss

Mutation

Mutation of baya

radical	soft	aspirate	hard	mixed
baya	vaya	unchanged	paya	faya, vaya*

* after 'th
Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Cornish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

French

Pronunciation

• Audio (France (Lyon)):

  (file)

Verb

baya

1. third-person singular past historic of bayer

Gamilaraay

Noun

baya

1. clothes
2. cloth

Hausa

Pronunciation 1

• IPA^(key): /báː.jáː/
  • (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA^(key): [báː.jáː]

Noun

bāyā m (possessed form bāyan)

1. back
2. outside surface

Pronunciation 2

• IPA^(key): /báː.já/
  • (Standard Kano Hausa) IPA^(key): [báː.jɛ́]

Adverb

bāya

1. behind, backwards

Iban

Etymology

From Proto-Malayic *buhaya, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *buqaya.

Noun

baya

1. crocodile

Indonesian

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈbaja/ [ˈba.ja]
• Rhymes: -aja
• Syllabification: ba‧ya

Etymology 1

From Malay baya (“age”), from Pali vaya, from Sanskrit वयस् (vayas).

Noun

baya (plural baya-baya)

1. (dialectal or archaic) age

   Synonyms: usia, umur

Adjective

baya

1. old

Derived terms

Affixations

• sebaya

Compounds

• paruh baya

Etymology 2

Noun

baya (plural baya-baya)

1. (rare) nonstandard form of bahaya (“danger”)

Further reading

• “baya”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Jamamadí

Noun

baya

1. (Banawá) palm fronds

References

• 2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.

Javanese

Romanization

baya

1. romanization of ꦧꦪ

Mag-Anchi Ayta

Etymology 1

From Proto-Austronesian *baʀaq (“lung”).

Noun

baya

1. (anatomy) lungs

Etymology 2

From Proto-Austronesian *baʀah (“ember, glowing coal”).

Noun

baya

1. ember

Etymology 3

From Proto-Austronesian *baʀəq (“abscess, boil, swelling on the body”).

Verb

baya

1. to swell; to become swollen

Mauritian Creole

Noun

baya

1. alternative form of bayo

References

• Baker, Philip; Hookoomsing, Vinesh Y. (1987), Diksiyoner kreol morisyeṅ [Mauritian Creole Dictionary] (in French and English), Paris: L'Harmattan, →ISBN

Old Javanese

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ba.ja/
• Rhymes: -ja
• Homophone: bhaya
• Hyphenation: ha‧ya

Adverb

baya

1. possibly, likely
2. anyhow

Further reading

• "baya" in P.J. Zoetmulder with the collaboration of S.O. Robson, Old Javanese-English Dictionary. 's-Gravenhage: M. Nijhoff, 1982.

Sambali

Etymology 1

From Proto-Austronesian *baʀaq (“lung”).

Noun

bayâ

1. (anatomy) lung

Etymology 2

From Proto-Austronesian *baʀah (“ember, glowing coal”).

Noun

baya

1. ember

Seychellois Creole

Noun

baya

1. alternative form of bayo

References

• D'Offay, Danielle; Lionnet, Guy (1982), Diksyonner kreol-franse [Creole-French Dictionary] (in French), Hamburg: Buske, →ISBN

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from French baie. Cognate with English bay (“bay leaf, bay laurel”).

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /ˈbaʝa/ [ˈba.ʝa]

• IPA^(key): /ˈbaʝa/ [ˈba.ʝa] (everywhere but Argentina and Uruguay)
• IPA^(key): /ˈbaʃa/ [ˈba.ʃa] (Buenos Aires and environs)
• IPA^(key): /ˈbaʒa/ [ˈba.ʒa] (elsewhere in Argentina and Uruguay)

• Audio (Venezuela):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aʝa
• Syllabification: ba‧ya
• Homophones: vaya, (ll-y neutralization) valla

Noun

baya f (plural bayas)

1. berry (a small fruit)

Derived terms

• baya de enebro
• baya de junípero
• baya del saúco
• picabayas

Adjective

baya f

1. feminine singular of bayo

Further reading

• “baya”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Swahili

Etymology

Of Bantu origin. Cognate to Zulu bi.

Pronunciation

• Audio (Kenya):

  (file)

Adjective

-baya (declinable)

1. bad, evil, wicked

   Antonym: -zuri

2. (condition) poor

Declension

Inflected forms of -baya

Noun class	singular	plural
m-wa class(I/II)	mbaya	wabaya
m-mi class(III/IV)	mbaya	mibaya
ji-ma class(V/VI)	baya	mabaya
ki-vi class(VII/VIII)	kibaya	vibaya
n class(IX/X)	mbaya	mbaya
u class(XI)	mbaya	see n(X) or ma(VI) class
pa class(XVI)	pabaya
ku class(XVII)	kubaya
mu class(XVIII)	mbaya

Derived terms

• ubaya

Tagalog

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Spanish baya, from French baie, from Latin baca.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈbaja/ [ˈbaː.jɐ]
• Rhymes: -aja
• Syllabification: ba‧ya

Noun

baya (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜌ)

1. bay-colored female horse
2. berry

Adjective

baya (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜌ)

1. bay-colored (of a female horse)

Related terms

• bayo

Etymology 2

Possibly from the following:

• From Proto-Philippine *bayáq (“to leave things or people alone; to abandon”). Compare Ilocano bay-a, Hanunoo bay-a, Central Bikol baya, Cebuano baya, and Aklanon baya.
• Related to ubaya. Compare Malay bahaya, and Sanskrit भय (bhaya). See also ubaya.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /ˈbajaʔ/ [ˈbaː.jɐʔ]
• Rhymes: -ajaʔ
• Syllabification: ba‧ya

Noun

bayà (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜌ) (obsolete)

1. toleration; allowing

Usage notes

• No longer used on its own except in derived terms.

Derived terms

• bayaan
• kapabayaan
• magpabaya
• mapabayaan
• mapagpabaya
• napabayaan
• pabaya
• pabayaan
• pagkapabaya
• pinabayaan
• yamo

See also

• haya

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

• (Standard Tagalog) IPA^(key): /baˈjaʔ/ [bɐˈjaʔ]
• Rhymes: -aʔ
• Syllabification: ba‧ya

Particle

bayâ (Baybayin spelling ᜊᜌ) (dialectal, Marinduque)

1. expresses assurance or sureness of an event

   Oo baya.

   Yes, sure.

   Adidalwa baya ang natira.

   Believe me, only two were left.

Further reading

• “baya”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, 2018
• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*bayáq”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI

Anagrams

• abay

Tatar

Adverb

baya

1. recently

Ternate

Etymology

From Malay bayam (“amaranth”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈba.ja]

Noun

baya

1. the plant Amaranthus hybridus

References

• Rika Hayami-Allen (2001), A descriptive study of the language of Ternate, the northern Moluccas, Indonesia, University of Pittsburgh

Turkish

Etymology

bayağı has arguably split into two words, itself and baya, evidenced by the fact that the adjectival form meaning "vulgar, low, common, rude" is rarely if ever spelled baya. Speakers may also not perceive them to be the same word. Furthermore, the reduplicative intensive form basbaya is almost never spelled basbayağı apart from in prescriptive dictionaries.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈba.jaː/
• Hyphenation: ba‧ya

Adverb

baya

1. pronunciation spelling of bayağı (“really, quite, actually”)

Noun

baya

1. dative singular of bay

Further reading

• Çağbayır, Yaşar (2007), “baya”, in Ötüken Türkçe Sözlük (in Turkish), volume 5, Istanbul: Ötüken Neşriyat, page 508