English - Alternative Forms

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

English - Etymology

Old English bī (“being near”), from Proto-Germanic *bi (“near, by, around, about”), from Proto-Germanic *umbi (“around”), from Proto-Indo-European *ambʰi (“around”).

English - Pronunciation

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

English - Preposition

by

1. Near or next to.

   The mailbox is by the bus stop.

2. At some time before (the given time), or before the end of a given time interval.

   Be back by ten o'clock!  We will send it by the first week of July.

3. Indicates the actor in a clause with its verb in the passive voice: Through the action or presence of.

   The matter was decided by the chairman.  The boat was swamped by the water.  He was protected by his body armour.

4. Indicates the creator of a work: Existing through the authorship etc. of.

   There are many well-known plays by William Shakespeare

5. Indicates the cause of a condition or event: Through the action of, caused by, responsibility for; by dint of.
   • 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 a means: Involving/using the means of.

   I avoided the guards by moving only when they weren't looking.

   • 1909, Archibald Marshall, The Squire's Daughter, chapterII:

     "I don't want to spoil any comparison you are going to make," said Jim, "but I was at Winchester and New College." ¶ "That will do," said Mackenzie. "I was dragged up at the workhouse school till I was twelve. Then I ran away and sold papers in the streets, and anything else that I could pick up a few coppers by—except steal. […]"

7. Indicates a source of light: Medium emanating from hot sources.
   • 1945, Neva L. Boyd, Handbook of Recreational Games, 1975 Dover edition, ISBN 0486232042, p.16:

     Players: Can we get there by candlelight? ¶ Gatekeepers: Yes and back again.

   • 1960, Dr. Seuss, One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish

     By the light of the moon, / by the light of a star / they walked all night

8. ​Indicates an authority, rule, or permission followed.

   I sorted the items by category.  By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife.

9. Indicates the amount of some progression: With a change of.

   Our stock is up by ten percent.

10. 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.  We crawled forward by inches.

11. Indicates a referenced source: According to.

    He cheated by his own admission.

12. Indicates an oath: With the authority of.

    By Jove! I think she's got it!  By all that is holy, I'll put an end to this.

13. Used to separate dimensions when describing the size of something.

    It is easy to invert a 2-by-2 matrix.  The room was about 4 foot by 6 foot.  The bricks used to build the wall measured 10 by 20 by 30 cm.

Derived terms

Translations

English - Adverb

by (not comparable)

1. Along a path which runs by the speaker.

   I watched as it passed by.

2. In the vicinity, near.

   There was a shepherd close by.

   The shop is hard by the High Street.

   • Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness

     [The helmsman] steered with no end of a swagger while you were by; but if he lost sight of you, he became instantly the prey of an abject funk […]

3. To or at a place, as a residence or place of business.

   I'll stop by on my way home from work.

   We're right near the lifeguard station. Come by before you leave.

4. Aside, away.

   The women spent much time after harvest putting jams by for winter and spring.

Derived terms

Translations

English - Adjective

by (not comparable)

1. Out of the way, subsidiary.

Antonyms

• main, principal

Derived terms

• bypass
• byroad
• bystander
• byway

English - Noun

by (plural bys)

1. (card games) A pass

English - Interjection

by

1. Alternative spelling of bye

Afrikaans - Etymology

From Dutch bij.

Afrikaans - Preposition

by

1. at
2. to
3. by

Afrikaans - Noun

by (plural bye)

1. bee

Danish - Etymology

From Old Norse býr (“settlement”). Related to the element -by in English place names, such as Whitby.

Danish - Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /byː/, [b̥yːˀ]

Danish - Noun

by c (singular definite byen, plural indefinite byer)

1. town, city

Related terms

Inflection

Lojban - Alternative Forms

• by.

Lojban - Letter

by (selma'o by)

1. Name of the letter b.

Usage notes

• All letter names can be used as pronouns, usually referring to something denoted by a word beginning with that letter.

  la alis cu lebna le bifpra e lei gluta gi'e co'a pilno by
  Alice took up the fan and gloves and was using it (i.e., the fan, bifpra)

• When used to spell a word, precede the string of letters with me'o.
• If a letter is followed by another letter or a number (including an imprecise or non-integral one such as za'u or pai), and they do not make a single string of letters, separate them with boi.

Lojban - See Also

• boi
• tei
• foi
• bu

Lower Sorbian - Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [bɨ]

Lower Sorbian - Verb

by (defective, invariable)

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

   Njecynimy to, dokulaž by jim škóźeło.

   We don’t do that because it would hurt them.

Derived terms

• aby (“that...would”)
• gaby (“if...would”)
• gdyby (“if...would”)
• njeby (“would not”)

Usage notes

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

Middle English - Verb

by

1. be

Norwegian Bokmål - Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /byː/, [byː]

Norwegian Bokmål - 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. a town or city

Derived terms

• byfornyelse, byfornying
• drabantby
• landsby
• storby

Norwegian Bokmål - Etymology 2

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

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

Norwegian Bokmål - References

• “by” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk - Etymology

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

Norwegian Nynorsk - Noun

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

1. a town or city

Derived terms

• byfornying
• drabantby
• landsby
• storby

Norwegian Nynorsk - References

• “by” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Polish - Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [bɨ]

Polish - Particle

by

1. (always before a verb) a particle used to make conditional mood; would, should

   On by tam nie poszedł. = On nie poszedłby tam. — He would not go there.

Synonyms

• -by (suffix)

Polish - Conjunction

by

1. in order to, so that

Synonyms

• aby, żeby

Polish - External Links

• “by” in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Swedish - Etymology

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

Swedish - Noun

by c

1. village
2. (obsolete) farm
3. gust, rush of wind

Declension

Related terms

(village):

(breeze):

• byig
• bymoln
• kastby
• regnby
• stormby

Swedish - References

• by in Svenska Akademiens Ordlista över svenska språket (13th ed., online)

West Frisian - Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bɛɪ/

West Frisian - Preposition

by

1. near to
2. in relation to

   By âlds

   In the olden days

قافية