by the way
English · Thesaurus
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by the way
Where it comes from
First appeared in the 10th century with literal meaning "by the side of the road", from Old English weġ (which became "way") meaning "road". Soon afterward (circa 1000) it came to mean "during one's journey". The figurative meaning developed in the mid-16th century, with the first instance of the modern meaning being from 1614.
phrase BTW · btw
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Incidentally; used in referencing a parenthetical statement not timely, central, or crucial to the topic at hand; foregone, passed by, something that has already happened.
His mother will be coming for dinner tomorrow, and, by the way, she recently sold her collection of ceramic eggs.
Similar: apropos, BTW, by the by, incidentally
Translations
Every language
prep_phrase incidentally
| Español | por cierto, de paso, dicho sea de paso, a propósito, a todo esto, hablando de todo un poco |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 그런데 geureonde, 참 cham |
| 日本語 | ところで tokoro de, ちなみに chinami ni |
| 中文 | 對了 /对了 duìle, 話說 /话说 huàshuō |
| हिन्दी | वैसे vaise |
| Português | a propósito, aliás, por sinal, diga-se de passagem, já agora |
| Français | soit dit en passant, tout bien considéré, au passage, à propos, au fait, d'ailleurs |
| Deutsch | apropos, nebenbei, übrigens |
| Italiano | a proposito, incidentalmente, per caso |
| Ελληνικά | επί τη ευκαιρία epí ti efkairía, επ’ ευκαιρία ep’ efkairía |
| Română | apropo |
| Русский | кста́ти kstáti, ме́жду про́чим méždu próčim |
| Tiếng Việt | nhân đây, à này, tiện thể |
| العربية | بِالْمُنَاسَبَةِ bi-l-munāsabati, عَلَى فِكْرَةٍ ʕalā fikratin |
| עברית | אַגַּב agáv, דרך אגב dérekh agáv |
Talk about this word "by the way." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/by%20the%20way. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. by the way. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/by%20the%20way "by the way." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/by%20the%20way.Cite this
@misc{by_the_way_2026,
title = {by the way},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/by%20the%20way},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
