# gulf / bay



## Gavril

English makes a semantic distinction between _gulf _and _bay. _Dictionary.com defines _gulf _as



> a portion of an ocean or sea partly enclosed by land.​




The same source defines _bay _as


> a body of water forming an indentation of the shoreline, larger than a cove but smaller than a gulf.​



I tend to think of a _bay _as being the body of water that surrounds a coastal city, but I don't know if that association exists for all English speakers.


Does your language also separate the meanings "gulf" and "bay", or does it use a single word for both meanings?


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## Orlin

In the Slavic languages that I know it's the same word for both: Bulgarian, Russian _залив_, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian _zaliv/zaljev_.


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## jazyk

Portuguese has both _golfo_ and _baía_, but I am not entirely sure what they mean and whether there is any difference between them.


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## itreius

Orlin said:


> In the Slavic languages that I know it's the same word for both: Bulgarian, Russian _залив_, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian _zaliv/zaljev_.


BCS also has _uvala_, defined as a _small gulf_.


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## Orlin

For extra information: uvala according to HJP.


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## apmoy70

In Greek:

*Gulf*: «Κόλπος» ('kolpos, _m._); Classical masculine noun «κόλπος» ('kŏlpŏs)--> _every cavity_, incl. _bosom, lap, vagina, gulf_. PIE base *kʷelp-, _to arch, to vault_ (cognate to Eng. _gulf_, Ger. _wölben_).
*Bay*: «Κολπίσκος» (kol'piskos, _m_); Modern Greek dim. of «κόλπος». In the ancient language the bay was «κολπάριον» (kŏl'părīŏn, _n._) ancient dim. of  «κόλπος» ('kŏlpŏs).
The *cove* is «όρμος» ('ormos, _m._), ancient Greek «ὅρμος» ('hŏrmŏs, _m._) with obscure etymology.


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## TitTornade

Hi,

French :

We make the difference between "Baie" and "Golfe".
According to CNTRL dictionary : a "baie" is in general a small "Golfe"...

But: the French "Golfe de Gascogne" is the Spanish "Golfo de Vizcaya" and the English "Bay of Biscay"...
The French "Golfe du Bengale" is the English "Bay of Bengal"...


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## ThomasK

Dutch: _golf _and _baai_. I suppose it is what you mean!


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## AutumnOwl

*Swedish:*
_Bukt_ = a wide and softly curved gulf, for example Gulf of Biscay or Rigabukten (Gulf of Riga)
_Vik_ = a more narrow indentation, gulf/bay, for example Bottenviken (Gulf of Bothnia) or Californiaviken (Gulf of California)
_Fjord _= a very narrow and deep bay, for example Oslofjorden and Hakefjorden on the west coast of Sweden


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## bibax

> In the Slavic languages that I know it's the same word for both: Bulgarian, Russian залив, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian zaliv/zaljev.


In Czech we have two words: *záliv* (from the verb _za-líti_ = to pour) and *zátoka* (from the verb _za-téci_ = to flow behind). _Zátoka_ is a smaller bay, often separated by an island from the open sea. The difference was arbitrarily introduced by purists.

Examples:

zátoka Guantanamo, zátoka Sviní (the Bay of Pigs);

Biskajský záliv, Bengálský záliv, Mexický záliv;


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## bibax

I have found that Polish uses one word like Russian (but different than Russian _залив/zaliv_):

*zatoka* (e.g. Zatoka Biskajska, Zatoka Świń).

It seems that the Czech purists took the word *záliv* from Russian and *zátoka* from Polish (Czech was on decline in the beginning of the 19th century and Bohemia-Moravia is landlocked) and arbitrarily assigned them different meaning.


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## Gavril

AutumnOwl said:


> *Swedish:*
> _Bukt_ = a wide and softly curved gulf, for example Gulf of Biscay or Rigabukten (Gulf of Riga)
> _Vik_ = a more narrow indentation, gulf/bay, for example Bottenviken (Gulf of Bothnia) or Californiaviken (Gulf of California)
> _Fjord _= a very narrow and deep bay, for example Oslofjorden and Hakefjorden on the west coast of Sweden



Would both _bukt_ and _vik _be translated with _lahti _in Finnish, or are there words that distinguish the two meanings?

I know that the Finnish for _fjord _is _vuono_.


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## ger4

Estonian:
- Biskaialaht - sv Biscayabukten - en Bay of Biscay
- Liivi laht - sv Rigabukten - en Gulf of Riga
- Soome laht - sv Finska viken - en Gulf of Finland
- Oslo fjord - sv Oslofjorden - en Oslo Fjord


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## 810senior

*Japanese*: Both gulf and bay are translated to 入り江(irie) or 湾(wan) in a same way.


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## arielipi

Hebrew:
gulf - מפרץ mifrats, of the root פ-ר-צ p/f-r-ts.
bay - לשון ים leshon yam, tongue of sea.


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## Encolpius

*Hungarian *-- one word -- öböl (gulf, bay)


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## ilocas2

Spanish:

gulf - *golfo*
bay - *bahía*


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## Sardokan1.0

Italian :* Golfo, Bàia*

Sardinian :_ *Gulfu, Bàia, Cala*_


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## Dymn

Catalan: 

gulf - _golf_
bay - _badia_



Sardokan1.0 said:


> Sardinian :_ *Gulfu, Bàia, Cala*_


In Catalan there's also _cala_, a small and narrow bay surrounded by rocks, typical of the Mediterranean (example).


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## ilocas2

Czech: *zátočina* - small bay


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## Sardokan1.0

Yes, there are dozens in Sardinia named Cala ......

related with the verb "Calare" (to descend)


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## ilocas2

In Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian/Montenegrin there is also *boka

Boka Kotorska* - Bay of Kotor, located in Montenegro, in Czech *Boka Kotorská*

*Vzpoura v Boce Kotorské* - Mutiny in the Bay of Kotor


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## Armas

Finnish:

_lahti_ = bay
_kaartama_ = very wide bay
_lahdeke, lahdelma_ = small _lahti
poukama, putama_: small but wide _lahti
vuono_ = fjord

I'm not sure if other Finns agree.


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## bibax

BSCM *boka* is from Italian la *bocca* = mouth. Boka Kotorska looks like a fjord, in fact it is an estuary of a vanished river (a ria).

The Bay of Kotor in languages not using 'bay' for the Montenegrin Boka K~:
Le Bocche di Cattaro, Las bocas de Kotor, Les bouches de Kotor, Die Bucht von Kotor, Kotorbukta, Kotorbukten, Kotorbugten, Boka K/k~ (BCSM, Slovenian, Czech, Slovak), ...


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## Gavril

Icelandic:

_flói_ (masc. noun) - "gulf" or "bay"
_vík_ (fem. noun) - "small bay or bight"
_vogur_ (masc.) - "cove"

_fjörður _(masc.) can mean "fjord" in the specific English sense (a long, narrow coastal inlet, bordered by cliffs on the sides), but it can also refer to any inlet (of a sea, lake or river) that has a shore on three sides, forming a "U"-like shape.


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## ilocas2

bibax said:


> BSCM *boka* is from Italian la *bocca* = mouth. Boka Kotorska looks like a fjord, in fact it is an estuary of a vanished river (a ria).
> 
> The Bay of Kotor in languages not using 'bay' for the Montenegrin Boka K~:
> Le Bocche di Cattaro, Las bocas de Kotor, Les bouches de Kotor, Die Bucht von Kotor, Kotorbukta, Kotorbukten, Kotorbugten, Boka K/k~ (BCSM, Slovenian, Czech, Slovak), ...



Yes, you can use Wikipedia, we see.


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## mataripis

Bay in Tagalog is Lo-Ok while lake is Lawa'. Small pond found naturally existing is called libtong. Manila bay- look ng Maynila, Laguna lake- Lawa ng Laguna.Gulf I think is called dagat- sea. Same as ocean when attached to name it appeared as karagatan. Bay of Bengal- karagatang Bengal.


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## Delvo

I didn't expect this to be more than one word in so many languages! I actually thought _most_ languages would have just one, maybe even all other than English. (Even in English the separation isn't clean; for example, the usual description of gulfs would include Hudson Bay.)



bibax said:


> _Zátoka_ is a smaller bay, often separated by an island from the open sea.


That sounds like a "lagoon" in English.



apmoy70 said:


> The *cove* is «όρμος» ('ormos, _m._), ancient Greek «ὅρμος» ('hŏrmŏs, _m._) with obscure etymology.


What are the candidates other than Persian "Hormuz"?



bibax said:


> The difference was arbitrarily introduced by purists.





bibax said:


> It seems that the Czech purists took the word *záliv* from Russian and *zátoka* from Polish... and arbitrarily assigned them different meaning.


That is a strange definition of "purist".


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## Gavril

Armas said:


> Finnish:
> 
> _lahti_ = bay



And "gulf", according to my dictionaries. (Cf. _Persianlahti_ "the Persian Gulf", _Pohjanlahti_ "the Gulf of Bothnia", etc.)


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## Armas

Yes you're right, Gavril.


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