By in Scrabble and Meaning

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You can make 1 words from by according to the Scrabble US and Canada dictionary.

Definitions and meaning of by

by

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) 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.

   The electricity was cut off, so we had to read by candlelight.
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. (horse breeding) Designates a horse's male parent (sire); cf. out of.

    She's a lovely little filly, by Big Lad, out of Damsel in Distress.

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Mandarin: by (bāi), BY (bāi)

Translations

Adverb

by (not comparable)

1. Along a path which runs past the speaker.

   I watched as it passed by.

2. In the vicinity, near.

   There was a shepherd close by.
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. (uncommon) aside, away

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

Derived terms

Translations

Adjective

by (not comparable)

1. Out of the way, off to one side.

   a by path, a by room

2. Subsidiary, incidental.

   by catch, a by issue

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. (Taiwan, informal) according to

   by某現任立委本人所說 [MSC, trad.]
   by某现任立委本人所说 [MSC, simp.]

   bāi mǒu xiànrèn lìwěi běnrén suǒ shuō [Pinyin]

   (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Czech

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈbɪ]

Particle

by

1. third-person singular conditional subjunctive of být; would

2. (clipping, informal); would

Usage notes

• In formal language, it is used for the third person of the infinitive být, both singular and plural and with the second person of the verb být.

  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 shorthand for bych, bys, bychom and byste.

Related terms

Further reading

• by in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• by in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 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

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.
   • 2002, [3]

   • 2007, 『さよなら絶望先生』 第5話^[4]

   • 2009, 『けいおん！』 第4話^[5]

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, bie, be, 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 Polish

Pronunciation

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

Etymology 1

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

Conjunction

by

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

Particle

by

1. expresses optative meaning; if only, had better, let

Descendants

• Masurian: bi
• 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, editor (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

• IPA^(key): /bɨ/
• (Middle Polish) IPA^(key): /ˈbɨ/
• Rhymes: -ɨ
• 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.

Conjunction

by

1. creates a subordinate clause expressing desire or wish; to, so that, for that, in order to [+past tense]

   Synonyms: aby, ażeby, żeby

2. creates an optative clause; if only, had better, let [+past tense]

   Near-synonyms: bodaj, bodajby, byle, byleby, niech, niechaj, niechajże, niechby, niechże, oby

3. creates a subordinate clause expressing aim or purpose, one's goal; to, so that, for that, in order to [+infinitive]

   Synonyms: aby, ażeby, żeby

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 [+infinitive]

   Synonyms: aby, ażeby, żeby

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 [+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^[14]
• Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861) “by”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861‎^[15]
• J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1900), “by”, in Słownik języka polskiego‎^[16] (in Polish), volume 1, Warsaw, page 242

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): /ˈbɨ/
• Rhymes: -ɨ
• 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

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

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 ordböcker
• by in Svenska Akademiens ordböcker
• 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

Source: wiktionary.org