Etymology

bayou

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Today it means: A slow-moving, often stagnant creek or river. Full definition →

Louisiana French bayou ← Choctaw bayuk
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The story

  1. Choctaw · derived frombayuk“a creek”
  2. Louisiana French · borrowed frombayou
  3. English todaybayou

From Louisiana French bayou, from Choctaw bayuk (“a creek”). Doublet of bogue.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.