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BY

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by¹

  • /baɪ/

Sounds like bi, buy, bye · Rhymes with -aɪ

Where it comes from

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₁ep-der.

Proto-Indo-European *h₁épsder.

Proto-Indo-European *h₁épider.

Proto-Indo-European *h₁pi

Proto-Germanic *bi

Proto-West Germanic *bī

Old English bī

Middle English by

English by

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”).

preposition bye

  1. Near or next to. The mailbox is by the bus stop.
  2. From one side of something to the other, passing close by; past. The stream runs by our back door.
  3. Not later than (the given time); not later than the end of (the given time interval); before. Be back by ten o'clock!
  4. After a given amount of time has elapsed or a given event has occurred. By February, we were all sick of the cold.
  5. Following a passive verb. The matter was decided by the chairman.
  6. Following a noun. There was a call by the unions for a 30% pay rise.
  7. Following an adjective. I was aghast by what I saw.
  8. Indicates the creator of a work: Existing through the authorship etc. of. There are many well-known plays by William Shakespeare
  9. Indicates a means of achieving something: Involving/using the means of. I'd know you anywhere by your gravelly voice.
  10. Indicates an authority according to which something is done. By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife.
  11. Invokes an authority in an oath. By Jove! I think she's got it!
  12. Indicates a means of classification or organisation. I sorted the items by category.
  13. Indicates the amount of change, difference or discrepancy Our stock is up by ten percent.
  14. In the formulae X by X and by Xs, indicates a steady progression, one X after another. We went through the book page by page.
  15. [with the] Acted on in units of the specified size or measure. (Sometimes hyperbolically) sold by the yard; cheaper if bought by the gross
  16. Per; with or in proportion to each. His health was deteriorating by the day.
  17. Indicates a referenced source: According to. He cheated by his own admission.
  18. Used to separate dimensions when describing the size of something. It is easy to invert a 2-by-2 matrix.
  19. Multiplied by or (chiefly South Asia) divided by.
  20. Designates a horse's sire (“male parent”). She's a lovely little filly, by Big Lad, out of Damsel in Distress.
  21. At; with; among. Are you eating by Rabbi Fischer? (at the house of)
  22. In a windward direction, sailing near to the direction from which the wind is blowing.

adverb bye

  1. not comparable Along a path which runs past someone or something. I watched the parade as it passed by.
  2. not comparable In the vicinity, near. There was a shepherd close by.
  3. not comparable To or at a place, as a residence or place of business. I'll stop by on my way home from work.
  4. not comparable Aside, away. The women spent much time after harvest putting jams by for winter and spring.
  5. not comparable Beyond or past a certain point. I'll somehow manage to get by.

adjective bye

  1. not comparable Out of the way, off to one side. a by path; a by room
  2. not comparable Subsidiary, incidental. by catch; a by issue

noun bys · bye

  1. alternative Alternative form of bye.bye

interjection bye

  1. dated Dated form of bye (“goodbye”).bye

BY²

proper noun

  1. The station code of Byculla railway station in India.

BY³

Where it comes from

From the preposition by.

noun

  1. abbreviation, uncountable Abbreviation of attribution.attribution

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