“To keep at bay” means to keep a safe distance, originating from hunting with dogs. The term comes from the French word “abaier” meaning “to bark.” Hounds would corner prey and bark loudly, allowing hunters to catch up. Other related expressions include “lead it off,” “turn away,” and “hold off.” The expression can refer to any type of pursuer or danger. “Holding someone or something at arm’s length” suggests caution, while “holding off an opponent” suggests being surrounded and in danger.
“To keep at bay” is an English idiomatic expression which means to keep a safe distance. It usually has the sensation of trapped prey but manages to fend off its pursuers despite being cornered. It is one of several related expressions arising from the practice of hunting with dogs.
“Keep at bay” comes from the medieval French word “abaier”, “to bark”. The word entered Middle English in the 13th century and is the root of the verb “to bay”, which describes the noise a hound makes. Hounds were used extensively in hunting in the medieval period, used to hunt prey such as deer and wild boar. Their job was to track and chase the animal, while the hunters followed it. When the hounds finally cornered their prey, they barked or “barked” loudly, allowing the hunters to catch up with them. They were therefore said to be “at bay”.
A number of expressions refer to this concept, each with a related but slightly different meaning. Hounds that corner an animal are said to “lead it off.” Likewise, when it realizes it has nowhere to flee, the animal is “at bay”. The final act of the chase may be for the prey to “turn away,” threatening its pursuers to keep them at a safe distance. This act is the root of the expression “hold off”. A deer or a boar can be a dangerous opponent; hounds pursuing it usually do not engage it, choosing instead to wait for the hunters to arrive.
“At bay,” therefore, has a number of slightly different but related meanings. It can describe the position of the pursuer and the position of the prey. “Keep at bay” derives from the last of these, the image of a cornered animal holding off its pursuers. In modern English, the expression can denote any type of pursuer; one can speak of “keeping the debt collectors at bay”, for example. It doesn’t even need to refer to an actual tracker; one could say that a person “holds disaster at bay”.
“Keep at bay” has a similar meaning to “keep at bay,” but the two terms have slightly different usages. Holding someone or something at arm’s length suggests caution and suspicion, while holding off an opponent suggests an individual who is surrounded and in danger of being overwhelmed. Other related expressions include “reject,” which comes from nautical slang, or “reject.”
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