by

by

synonyms, antonyms, definitions, examples & translations of by in English

English Online Dictionary. What means by‎? What does by mean?

English

Alternative forms

  • bye (archaic for preposition and adverb, not used for abbreviation, preferred for noun and interjection)

Etymology

From Middle English by, bi, from Old English bī (“by; near; around”), from Proto-West Germanic *bī, from Proto-Germanic *bi (“near; by; around; about”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi.

Cognate with West Frisian by (“by; near”), Afrikaans by (“at; by; near”), Saterland Frisian bie (“near; by”), Dutch bij (“near; by”), German Low German bi (“by; near; at”), German bei (“by; near; at”).

Pronunciation

  • (UK, US, Canada) enPR: bī, IPA(key): /baɪ/
  • Rhymes: -aɪ
  • Homophones: bi, bye, buy

Preposition

by

  1. Near or next to.
  2. From one side of something to the other, passing close by; past.
  3. Not later than (the given time); not later than the end of (the given time interval).
  5. Indicates the person or thing that does or causes something: Through the action or presence of.
    1. Following a passive verb.
    2. Following a noun.
      There was a call by the unions for a 30% pay rise.
    3. (not in common modern use) Following an adjective.
      I was aghast by what I saw.
      • 1874, Thomas Hardy, Far from the Madding Crowd, 2005 Barnes & Noble Classics publication of 1912 Wessex edition, p.109:
        In other directions the fields and sky were so much of one colour by the snow that it was difficult in a hasty glance to tell whereabouts the horizon occurred […].
  6. Indicates the creator of a work: Existing through the authorship etc. of.
  7. Indicates a means of achieving something: Involving/using the means of.
  9. Indicates an authority according to which something is done.
    1. Invokes an authority in an oath.
  10. Indicates a means of classification or organisation.
  11. Indicates the amount of change, difference or discrepancy
  12. In the formulae X by X and by Xs, indicates a steady progression, one X after another.
  13. (with the) Acted on in units of the specified size or measure. (Sometimes hyperbolically)
    sold by the yard; cheaper if bought by the gross
  14. Per; with or in proportion to each.
  15. Indicates a referenced source: According to.
  16. Used to separate dimensions when describing the size of something.
  17. (mathematics) multiplied by or (chiefly South Asia) divided by
  18. (horse breeding) Designates a horse's male parent (sire); cf. out of.
  19. (chiefly Yeshivish) At, with, among
    Are you eating by Rabbi Fischer? (at the house of)
    By Chabad, it's different. (with, among)

Derived terms

Descendants

  • → Mandarin: by (bāi), BY (bāi)

Translations

Adverb

by (not comparable)

  1. Along a path which runs past someone or something.
  2. In the vicinity, near.
  3. To or at a place, as a residence or place of business.
  4. (uncommon outside the phrase 'put by') Aside, away.

Derived terms

Translations

Adjective

by (not comparable)

  1. Out of the way, off to one side.
  2. Subsidiary, incidental.

Usage notes

More usually in compounds, either hyphenated (e.g. by-product) or closed (e.g. byproduct); see also by-.

Antonyms

  • main, principal

Derived terms

  • See English terms prefixed with by-

Noun

by (plural bys)

  1. Alternative form of bye.

Interjection

by

  1. Dated form of bye (“goodbye”).

Anagrams

  • YB, Yb, yb

Afrikaans

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /bəi/, [bə̟i̯]

Etymology 1

From Dutch bij, from Middle Dutch bi, from Old Dutch bī.

Preposition

by

  1. at
  2. to
  3. by
Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Dutch bij, from Middle Dutch bie, from Old Dutch *bīa.

Noun

by (plural bye)

  1. bee
Derived terms
  • heuningby
  • hommelby

Chinese

Alternative forms

  • BY

Etymology

Semantic shift from English by.

Pronunciation

Preposition

by

  1. (informal) according to
    by某市長本人所説 [MSC, trad.]
    by某市长本人所说 [MSC, simp.]
    bāi mǒu shìzhǎng běnrén suǒ shuō [Pinyin]
    according to what I, the mayor, myself, said

Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Old Czech by, from Proto-Slavic *by.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈbɪ]

Particle

by

  1. third-person singular/plural conditional of být; would
  2. (clipping, informal); would

Usage notes

  • In formal language, it is used for the third person singular and plural, and in the second person singular together with reflexive pronoun forms ses or sis (which effectively take the final -s from bys):
    Zahrál by sis jednu hru? ― Would you [like to] play one game?
  • In colloquial Czech, by is commonly used in place of other conditional forms of být in both singular and plural if the subject is deducible from context (from the conjugated form of the verb). That is, by is a shared clipped form of bych, bys, bychom and byste.

Related terms

Further reading

  • “by”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
  • “by”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse býr, bœr (settlement).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈb̥yˀ]

Noun

by c (singular definite byen, plural indefinite byer)

  1. town, city

Declension

Related terms

Further reading

  • by on the Danish Wikipedia.Wikipedia da

Dutch

Preposition

by

  1. Obsolete spelling of bij.

Adverb

by

  1. Obsolete spelling of bij.

Adjective

by (used only predicatively, not comparable)

  1. Obsolete spelling of bij.

Noun

by f (plural byen, diminutive bytje n)

  1. Obsolete spelling of bij.

Japanese

Etymology

Borrowed from English by.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ba̠i]

Particle

by(バイ) • (bai) 

  1. (informal) Used to sign off a message/attribute a text.

Lower Sorbian

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *by (third-person singular aorist of *byti).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [bɨ]

Verb

by (defective, invariable)

  1. would (used with the past active participle to form a conditional)

Usage notes

This verb may be omitted before the past active participles of móc (“be able to”), kśěś (“want to”), and dejaś (“ought to”).

Derived terms

Further reading

  • Muka, Arnošt (1921, 1928) “by”, in Słownik dolnoserbskeje rěcy a jeje narěcow (in German), St. Petersburg, Prague: ОРЯС РАН, ČAVU; Reprinted Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag, 2008
  • Starosta, Manfred (1999) “by”, in Dolnoserbsko-nimski słownik / Niedersorbisch-deutsches Wörterbuch (in German), Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag

Manx

Alternative forms

  • b'
  • b-

Particle

by (triggers lenition)

  1. past/conditional of s'
  2. (dated) Past and conditional form of s' (used to introduce the comparative and superlative form of adjectives)
    yn dooinney by hroshey ― the man who was the strongest

Middle English

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old English bī, from Proto-West Germanic *bī, from Proto-Germanic *bi, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi.

Alternative forms

  • be, bi

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /biː/, (unstressed) /bi/

Preposition

by

  1. by
Related terms
  • bi-
  • by-
Descendants
  • English: by
    • → Mandarin: by (bāi), BY (bāi)
  • Scots: by, bye, bi', be, b'
  • Yola: bee, be, bie, by
References
  • “bī, prep.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

Verb

by

  1. Alternative form of been (“to be”)

Norwegian Bokmål

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /byː/, [byː]

Etymology 1

From Old Norse býr (“place (to camp or settle), land, property, lot; and later settlement”).

Noun

by m (definite singular byen, indefinite plural byer, definite plural byene)

  1. town, city (regardless of population size or land area)
Derived terms

Etymology 2

From byde, from Old Norse bjóða, from Proto-Germanic *beudaną (“to offer”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewdʰ- (“to wake, rise up”).

Alternative forms

  • byde

Verb

by (imperative by, present tense byr, simple past bød or bøy or bydde, past participle budt or bydd)

  1. to bid; offer
  2. to ask; invite
  3. to command; order

References

  • “by” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /byː/

Etymology 1

From Old Norse býr m, from Proto-Germanic *būwiz. Doublet of bø.

Noun

by m (definite singular byen, indefinite plural byar, definite plural byane)

  1. town, city (regardless of population size or land area)
Derived terms
Related terms
  • bu

Etymology 2

From Old Norse bjóða, from Proto-Germanic *beudaną (“to offer”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewdʰ- (“to wake, rise up”). Akin to English bid.

Alternative forms

  • bjoda, bjode, byda, byde

Verb

by (present tense byr, past tense baud or bydde, supine bode or bydd or bydt, past participle boden or bydd, present participle bydande, imperative by)

  1. to command, order
  2. to bid, offer
  3. to offer
Derived terms
Related terms
  • bod n

References

  • “by” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
  • “by” in The Ordnett Dictionary

Old Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *by.

Conjunction

by

  1. second/third-person singular aorist of býti
    Synonym: bě
  2. Introduces a clause two which the speaker has reservations or uncertainty.
  3. Especially with a negated verb; expresses concern.
  4. Introduces a clause of intention; in order to; would that
  5. Especially after a negated verb; expresses that the viewer sees something as unrealistic.
  6. Forms a conditional; would
  7. Admissive; albeit, although

Descendants

  • Czech: by

References

  • Jan Gebauer (1903–1916) “by”, in Slovník staročeský (in Czech), Prague: Česká grafická společnost "unie", Česká akademie císaře Františka Josefa pro vědy, slovesnost a umění

Old English

Etymology

From Old Norse býr.

Noun

bȳ n

  1. dwelling, habituation

References

  • Joseph Bosworth, T. Northcote Toller (1898) “bý”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, second edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Old Polish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): (10th–15th CE) /bi/
  • IPA(key): (15th CE) /bi/

Etymology 1

    Inherited from Proto-Slavic *by. First attested in the 14th century.

    Conjunction

    by

    1. (attested in Lesser Poland, Greater Poland) introduces a clause of aim; to, so that, in order to
    2. (attested in Lesser Poland) introduces a command; to
    3. (attested in Greater Poland) introduces a clarifying clause; to
    4. introduces clauses of emotions; to
    5. introduces a subjective clause; in order to
    6. (attested in Greater Poland) introduces an attributive clause; in order to
    7. introduces a clausal clause; in order to
    8. (attested in Lesser Poland) introduces an unreal conditional clause; if
    9. (attested in Masovia) admissive; albeit, although

    Particle

    by

    1. (attested in Lesser Poland) expresses optative meaning; if only, had better, let
    Descendants
    • Polish: by
    • Silesian: by

    Etymology 2

    See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

    Verb

    by

    1. third-person singular aorist of być
    2. second-person singular aorist of być

    References

    • Boryś, Wiesław (2005) “by”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego (in Polish), Kraków: Wydawnictwo Literackie, →ISBN
    • Sławski, Franciszek (1958-1965) “by”, in Jan Safarewicz, Andrzej Siudut, editors, Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego [Etymological dictionary of the Polish language] (in Polish), Kraków: Towarzystwo Miłośników Języka Polskiego
    • Bańkowski, Andrzej (2000) “by”, in Etymologiczny słownik języka polskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish)
    • B. Sieradzka-Baziur, Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “by”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN

    Polish

    Etymology

      Inherited from Old Polish by.

      Pronunciation

      • Rhymes: -ɘ
      • Syllabification: by

      Particle

      by

      1. forms the conditional mood; would, would've
        On by tam nie poszedł./On nie poszedłby tam. ― He would not go there.
      2. (Żywiec) Synonym of przynajmniej

      Conjunction

      by

      1. creates a clause in the subjunctive mood:
        1. creates a subordinate clause expressing desire or wish; to, so that, for that, in order to [with past-tense clause]
          Synonyms: aby, ażeby, żeby
          Chciałbym, by poszła do domu. ― I'd like her to go home.
        2. creates an optative clause; if only, had better, let [with past-tense clause]
          Near-synonyms: bodaj, bodajby, byle, byleby, niech, niechaj, niechajże, niechby, niechże, oby
          Bym zdał ten egzamin. ― I'd better have passed this exam.
        3. creates a subordinate clause expressing aim or purpose, one's goal; to, so that, for that, in order to [with infinitive]
          Synonyms: aby, ażeby, żeby
          Poprzekładam trochę rzeczy, by zrobić miejsce na więcej. ― I'll move some stuff around to make space for more.
        4. creates a subordinate clause in which one states the possibility of something depends on something else; to, so that, for that, in order to [with infinitive]
          Synonyms: aby, ażeby, żeby
          Musisz to dokończyć, by zacząć następne. ― You have to finish it to start the next one.
        5. introduces a subordinate clause relating a following event with a previous one that is not caused by the first event; just to, only to [with infinitive]
          Synonyms: aby, ażeby
        6. introduces a subordinate clause expression doubt; if
          Synonyms: ażeby, żeby

      Declension

      Trivia

      According to Słownik frekwencyjny polszczyzny współczesnej (1990), by is one of the most used words in Polish, appearing 20 times in scientific texts, 5 times in news, 64 times in essays, 88 times in fiction, and 172 times in plays, each out of a corpus of 100,000 words, totaling 349 times, making it the 144th most common word in a corpus of 500,000 words.

      References

      Further reading

      • by in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
      • by in Polish dictionaries at PWN
      • Maria Renata Mayenowa, Stanisław Rospond, Witold Taszycki, Stefan Hrabec, Władysław Kuraszkiewicz (2010-2023) “by”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]
      • “BY”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century], 2022 September 19
      • Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814) “by”, in Słownik języka polskiego
      • Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861) “by”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861
      • J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1900), “by”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), volume 1, Warsaw, page 242
      • Izydor Kopernicki (1875) “by”, in “Spostrzeżenia nad właściwościami językowémi w mowie Górali Bieskidowych z dodatkiem słowniczka wyrazów góralskich”, in Rozprawy i Sprawozdania z Posiedzeń Wydziału Filologicznego Akademii Umiejętności (I), volume 3, Kraków: Akademia Umiejętności, page 368

      Scots

      Alternative forms

      • bye, bi', be, b'

      Etymology

      From Middle English by, from Old English bi, from Proto-West Germanic *bī. Cognates include English by and Yola bee.

      Pronunciation

      • IPA(key): [ˈbɪ], [ˈbə]
      • (emphatic) IPA(key): [ˈbɑɪ̯]

      Preposition

      by

      1. by
      2. (in comparisons) than

      Adverb

      by

      1. by, nearby

      Conjunction

      by

      1. by (the time that)

      References

      Silesian

      Etymology

        Inherited from Old Polish by.

        Pronunciation

        • IPA(key): /ˈbɪ/
        • Rhymes: -ɪ
        • Syllabification: by

        Particle

        by

        1. forms the conditional mood; would, would've

        Conjunction

        by

        1. in order to, so that
          Synonyms: aby, ażby, coby, iżeby, żeby

        Declension

        Related terms

        Further reading

        • by in silling.org

        Slovak

        Pronunciation

        • IPA(key): [bi]

        Etymology 1

        Inherited from Proto-Slavic *by.

        Particle

        by

        1. Used to form the conditional mood: would.
          Išiel by som tam, keby som mohol. ― I would go there, if I could.
        2. Used as an independent part of some conjunctions, often expressing comparison or concession.
          čo by aj ― even if
          Vstal ako by nič. ― He woke up as if it were nothing.
          Bodaj by nešiel. ― I wish he wouldn't go.
        Related terms

        Etymology 2

        Reduction of aby, inherited from Proto-Slavic *aby.

        Conjunction

        by

        1. (subordinating, literary) Alternative form of aby (“so that; in order to”).

        Further reading

        • “by”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025

        Swedish

        Pronunciation

        Etymology 1

        From Old Swedish bȳr, bȳ (“village, farm, town”), from Old Norse býr. Cognate with Danish by (“town, city”, whence also Faroese býur with the same meaning), Norwegian Bokmål by (“town, city”) and Norwegian Nynorsk by (“town, city”).

        Noun

        by c

        1. hamlet
        2. village
        3. (obsolete) farm
        4. (obsolete) town, city
        5. (slang, in the definite "byn") Rinkeby
        Usage notes

        See stan for some usage examples that also apply to villages (though without any special idiomatic contracted form, and "på byn" sounds more dialectal or rustic).

        Declension
        Derived terms

        Etymology 2

        From Dutch bui or Low German bö, böe, böje. Cognate with Danish byge, Norwegian Bokmål byge, bøye and Norwegian Nynorsk bye, bøye.

        Noun

        by c

        1. gust, rush of wind
        Declension
        Derived terms

        References

        • by in Svensk ordbok (SO)
        • by in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
        • by in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
        • by in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)
        • by in Nationalencyklopedin (needs an authorization fee).

        Upper Sorbian

        Pronunciation

        • IPA(key): /ˈbɨ/
        • Rhymes: -ɨ
        • Syllabification: by

        Verb

        by

        1. second/third-person singular conditional of być

        West Frisian

        Pronunciation

        • (Clay) IPA(key): /bɛi̯/
        • (Wood) IPA(key): /bi/

        Preposition

        by

        1. near to
        2. in relation to

        Further reading

        • “by”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011

        Yola

        Preposition

        by

        1. Alternative form of bee (“by”)

        References

        • Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867

        Bookmark
        share
        WebDictionary.net is an Free English Dictionary containing information about the meaning, synonyms, antonyms, definitions, translations, etymology and more.

        Related Words

        thereby

        rugby

        ruby

        nearby

        lobby

        Browse the English Dictionary

        A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z

        License

        This article based on an article on Wiktionary. The list of authors can be seen in the page history there. The original work has been modified. This article is distributed under the terms of this license.