BAIRN BAIT, noun 1. Any substance for food, proper to be used or actually used, to catch fish, or other animals, by alluring them to swallow a hook, or to be caught in snares, or in an inclosure or net. 2. A portion of food and drink, or a refreshment taken on a journey. 3. An allurement; enticement; temptation. BAIT, verb transitive To put meat on a hook or line, or in an inclosure, or among snares, to allure fish, fowls and other animals into human power. 2. To give a portion of food and drink to man or beast upon the road; as, to bait horses. BAIT, verb intransitive To take a portion of food and drink for refreshment on a journey; as, we stopped to bait. BAIT, verb transitive 1. To provoke and harass by dogs; to harass by the help of others; as, to bait a bull or a boar. 2. To attack with violence; to harass in the manner of small animals. BAIT, verb intransitive To clap the wings; to flutter as if to fly; or to hover as a hawk, when she stoops to her prey. BAIT, noun White Bait, a small fish of the Thames.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI