BAYOU

Bay″ou (�), n.; pl. Bayous (�). [[North Am. Indian bayuk, in F. spelling bayouc, bayouque.]] An inlet from the Gulf of Mexico, from a lake, or from a large river, sometimes sluggish, sometimes without perceptible movement except from tide and wind. A dark slender thread of a bayou moves loiteringly northeastward into a swamp of huge cypresses. G. W. Cable.