\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. [Southern U.
S.]
      A dark slender thread of a bayou moves loiteringly
      northeastward into a swamp of huge cypresses. --G. W.
                                               Cable.