bay window

noun

A window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room.

Similar
potpotbellycorporationtummybow window
OriginMiddle English baywyndow →
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Meanings

nounbay window (plural bay windows)

plural bay windows

  1. architectureA window space projecting outward from the main walls of a building and forming a bay in a room.
  2. figurativelyslangA protruding belly.

    Bert came hustling up, bumping his way through the kids with his bay window.

    1982, Guy Vanderhaeghe, Man Descending, McClelland & Stewart, published 2004, →ISBN, page 126
    1 more example

    Marriages that are based only on sex appeal generally fizzle out as soon as he gets a bay window and her figure becomes a bit lumpish.

    1948, Godfrey Poage, What You Ought to Know Before Marriage, St. Louis: The Queen’s Work, page 12
  3. figurativelyslangThe stomach of a pregnant woman.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounslang for a paunch

Similar
potpotbellycorporationtummy
Broader
bellypaunch

nouna window that sticks out from the outside wall of a house

Similar
bow window
Broader
window
Also see
bow windowcorporationpaunchpotpotbellytummy

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Middle Englishbaywyndow
  2. Englishbay window

From Middle English baywyndow, baywyndowe, bay-windowe, equivalent to bay + window where bay refers to an opening between columns.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian еркерен прозорец
  • еркерен прозорец (erkeren prozorec)type of window
Catalan finestral
  • finestraltype of window
Chinese Mandarin 飄窗 /飘窗, 啤酒肚
  • 飄窗 /飘窗 (piāochuāng)type of window
  • 啤酒肚 (píjiǔdù)protruding belly
Danish karnap, karnapvindue
  • karnaptype of window
  • karnapvinduetype of window
Dutch erker
  • erkertype of window
Finnish erkkeri-ikkuna, erkkeri
  • erkkeri-ikkunatype of window
  • erkkeritype of window
  • pömppömahaprotruding belly
French baie vitrée
  • baie vitréetype of window
German Erker, Erkerfenster
  • Erkertype of window
  • Erkerfenstertype of window
Polish wykusz, bęben
  • wykusztype of window
  • bębenprotruding belly
Russian э́ркер
  • э́ркер (érker)type of window
Scottish Gaelic uinneag cearcaill
  • uinneag cearcailltype of window
Spanish ventana de bahía, ventana saliente
  • ventana de bahíatype of window
  • ventana salientetype of window
Swedish burspråk
  • burspråktype of window
Turkish cumba
  • cumbatype of window
Cite this entry
APA

bay window. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bay%20window

MLA

“bay window.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bay%20window. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bay window,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bay%20window.

Source: bay window on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.