at bay vs out-

at bay

prep
  • Of an animal, especially a docile animal in contrast to a predatory animal which would be blazoned statant: standing, in profile toward dexter, with all four feet on the ground. (If gazing at the viewer, the animal is at gaze.) 

  • Unable to come closer; at a distance. 

  • Cornered; unable to flee. 

out-

prefix
  • Toward the outside of, away from 

  • External to, on the outside of 

  • Forms verbs with the sense of surpassing or exceeding the prefixed word. This construction is productive. 

  • Greater than 

  • Completely 

  • Beyond 

How often have the words at bay and out- occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )