bay, bey

The words bay, bey sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. Why do bay, bey sound the same even though they are completely different words?

The answer is simple: bay, bey are homophones of the English language.

bay
  1. :: noun

    A body of water partially enclosed by land but with a wide mouth, affording access to the sea: the Bay of Biscay.

  2. :: noun

    An area of land, such as an arm of prairie partially enclosed by woodland, that resembles in shape or formation a partially enclosed body of water.

  3. :: noun

    Architecture A part of a building marked off by vertical elements, such as columns or pilasters: an arcade divided into ten bays.

  4. :: noun

    Architecture A bay window.

bey
  1. :: noun

    A provincial governor in the Ottoman Empire.

  2. :: noun

    A ruler of the former kingdom of Tunis.

  3. :: noun

    Used as the title for such a ruler.

  4. :: noun

    Used formerly as a title for various Turkish and Egyptian dignitaries.

Definitions from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition and Wordnik.

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About Homophones

Homophones (literally "same sound") are usually defined as words that share the same pronunciation, regardless of how they are spelled.

If they are spelled the same then they are also homographs (and homonyms); if they are spelled differently then they are also heterographs (literally "different writing").