cay

[ key, kee ]

noun

1. a small low island; key.

cay

/ kiː; keɪ /

noun

1. a small low island or bank composed of sand and coral fragments, esp in the Caribbean area Also calledkey

cay

/ kē,kā /

1. A small, low island composed largely of coral or sand.
2. Also called key

Word History and Origins

Origin of cay¹

1700–10; < Spanish cayo; key ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of cay¹

C18: from Spanish cayo, probably from Old French quai quay

Example Sentences

Staniel Cay is in the Exumas, an archipelago of hundreds of cays and islands in the outer Bahamas, beginning about thirty-five miles southeast of Nassau.

From Salon

One person from the missing vessel spent 30 hours in the water before also being washed ashore at Bedwell Island, a small sandy cay within the Clarke Reef coral atoll.

From Reuters

Nicaraguan soldiers began preparing the evacuation of inhabitants of islands and cays around the town of Sandy Bay Sirpi.

From Seattle Times

What used to be a cay is now a spit of sand encircled by a coral reef.

From Washington Post

And rising sea levels and storm surges led to the recent extinction of a rodent species called Bramble Cay melomys, which lived on a remote cay in the northern Great Barrier Reef, the report said.

From Seattle Times