| 释义 |
▪ I. † by, n.1 Obs.
Forms: 1– by, 4 bi, bii, bij, bie, 9 bye.
[north. OE. bý, prob. a. ON. bœ-r, bý-r (Sw. and Da. by) habitation, village, town, f. búa to dwell; cf. big v. Retained in place-names, as Whitby, Grimsby, Derby.]
a. A place of habitation; a village or town. Also, an instance of a place-name in -by.
c950Lindisf. Gosp. Mark v. 3 Se ðe hus vel lytelo by hæfde in byrᵹennum. a1300Cursor M. 19511 To preche he come intil a bi þat men cleped samari. c1314Guy Warw. (1840) 267 Balder bern was non in bi. [1803R. Anderson Cumbrld. Ballads xxxiii. 71 There's Oughterby and Souterby, And bys beath far and weyde.] 1884Pall Mall Gaz. 20 Feb. 5/1 Dr. Taylor..had already taught us to recognize the general tokens of Scandinavian settlement in the..bys where they [sc. the pirates] made their solitary..homesteads. 1908W. G. Collingwood Scandinavian Brit. 113 ‘Thorpes’ indicating villages as opposed to ‘byes’ or isolated farmsteads..are found.
b. Comb., as by-mill ‘town-mill’, by-well.
1456in Ripon Ch. Acts Add 383 Juxta Byemyllne. Note. The village well at North Kelsey, in Lincolnshire, is still called the Bye well.
▪ II. by, n.2
Forms: (6 buy), 6– by, bye.
[Ellipt. use of the adj. (or adv.), when by is contrasted with main, some such word as object, road, course, part, etc., or stake, throw, being understood; the earliest quots. suggest that the subst. use had its origin in dicing phraseology. Rarely used except with prep. preceding. Often also written bye n., q.v.]
†1. A secondary or subsidiary object, course, or undertaking; a side issue; something of minor importance: chiefly contrasted with main; whence phr. to bar by and main: to prevent entirely, stop altogether. Obs.
1567Turberv. Ovid's Epist. 13 b, Refuseth me and all the wealth, and barres me by and maine. 1580Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 430 Alwayes haue an eye to the mayne, what so ever thou art chaunced at the buy. 1598R. Barckley Felic. Man (1631) Pref., Dice players, that gaine more by the bye than by the maine. 1603St. Trials (R.) You are fools, you are on the bye, Raleigh and I are on the main; we mean to take away the king and his cubs. 1610W. Folkingham Art of Survey ii. v. 55 Extend from some fewe Maine Angles Base lines for Boundaries..and from conuenient distances in the same, distantiate euery By. 1639Sir R. Baker in Spurgeon Treas. Dav. Ps. cxliii. 3 These are but the bye; the main of his aim is at the soul. a1734North Lives II. 188 Neither was the main let fall, nor time lost, upon the by. 1791–1824D'Israeli Cur. Lit. (1866) 433/1 This critic was right in the main, but not by the by; in the general, not in the particular.
2. Phrases with a preposition:
†a. at the by (see quot.). of the by: of secondary or subsidiary importance. Obs.
1611Florio, Massare, to play or cast at the by, at hazard or gresco. a1619Daniel Coll. Hist. Eng. (1626) Pref. 3 These things being but of the By. a1639W. Whately Prototypes ii. xxxiv. (1640) 159 Religion is made of the by, it serveth some other Mistresse.
b. by the by (earlier by a by, on or upon the by): by a side way, on a side issue; as a matter of secondary or subsidiary importance, incidentally, casually, in passing. Obs. or arch. Also in predicative or complemental use (quasi-adj.): Off the main track, away from the point at issue, of secondary importance, incidental.
1615W. Hull Mirr. Maiestie 98 Not intentionally, but accidentally (as we say) vpon the bye. c1620Z. Boyd Zion's Flowers (1855) 85 Who ever he be that in adultery, Begets a child, he stealeth by a by. 1627Hakewill Apol. Pref. 10 It led them some other way, thwarting and upon the by, not directly. 1642Fuller Holy & Prof. St. v. v. 377 They had something..in the favour of Friers, though brought in only by the by. a1661B. Holyday Juvenal (1673) 149 If he be ask'd, though but by chance, and on the by. 1678Butler Hud. iii. i. 605 All he does upon the By, She is not bound to Justifie. 1740J. Clarke Educ. Youth (ed. 3) 66 Let it be done sparingly, and by the bye. 1794G. Adams Nat. & Exp. Philos. IV. xlvi. 259 [Chemists] hunt, perhaps, after chimeras..and find something really valuable by the bye.
1621Bp. R. Montagu Diatribe 9 You are much upon the by, to bring in your Philologicall observations. 1649Cromwell Lett. 13 Aug., As for the pleasures of this life, and outward business, let that be upon the bye. 1661J. Stephens Procurations 67 Little else than a τὸ παρεργον a work by the by. 1705Stanhope Paraphr. II. 222 They would not make Religion a thing by the by. 1831Sir W. Hamilton Discuss. (1853) 416 Tuition..lightly viewed and undertaken, as a matter of convenience, a business by the by. 1872Geo. Eliot Middlem. II. iv. 240 All these matters were by the by.
c. by the by is used parenthetically, with the omission of some phrase, such as ‘it may be remarked’. So by the way: see way.
1708Swift Bickerstaff Detect. Wks. 1755 II. i. 164 My wife's voice, (which by the by, is pretty distinguishable). 1762T. Jefferson Corr. Wks. 1859 I. 183 As brother Job says, (who, by-the-bye..began to whine a little under his afflictions,) ‘Are not my days few?’ 1847Barham Ingol. Leg. (1877) 269 A line that's not mine but Tom Moore's, by-the-by. 1866Kingsley Herew. i, By-the-by, Martin—any message from my lady mother?
3. ? A by-current, side current.
1877Blackmore Erema III. liv. 229 By running the byes of the wind, and craftily hugging the corners.
See also bye n.
▪ III. by, prep., adv.|baɪ|
[OE. bí (biᵹ) accented; bĭ, be unaccented, = OFris., OS., MDu., bî, be, (Du. bij, be-), OHG. bî, bi, bĭ- (MHG. bî, be-, Ger. bei, be-), Goth. bi, bi- ‘about, by’:—OTeut. *bi, prob. cognate with L. am-bi- prefix, Gr. ἀµϕί, prep. and prefix ‘about’. (For the disappearance of am- in Teut., cf. OTeut. bo-, with L. am-bo-, Gr. ἀµ-ϕο- both.) Originally an adverbial particle of place; when prefixed to a verb it generally coalesced with the latter, and was treated as a prefix; when construed with substantives (in the dative or accusative, according as the relation was that of being near, or moving near to), it became, like other adverbs, a preposition. Cf. the series: ‘þæt folc bí stód (bi-stód)’, ‘þæt folc him bí stod (him bi-stód)’, ‘þæt folc stód him bí,’ ‘the folk stood by him’, and the mod.English, ‘to stand by, stand by him, be a bystander’.
The single form bi of OTeut. was subsequently, under the influence of the stress, differentiated into the strong or accented bî, bī (by, bij, bei), and the weak or stressless bĭ, later bĕ. The strong form was used for the adverb, the accented prefix of nouns, and a stressed preposition; the weak form for the stressless prefix of verbs, and a stressless preposition. The influence of levelling, however, tended at length to make bî (by, etc.) the separate form in all cases, and to leave be- as the weak prefix; thus, while in OE. the prep. was both be and bi, in ME. it was usually written bi, by, and modern Eng. makes the preposition, like the adverb, by, in all positions and senses, and has be- only as a stressless prefix. The same is true of mod.Ger. bei, be-, and Du. bij, be-. But in pronunciation there was a weak and a strong form in ME. (cf. forms like be-sides, be-times, bum troth, bum Lady, byrlady), as is still usual in the dialects. In modern Sc. bĕ is the ordinary form of the preposition unaccented, or in a weakened sense, as in ‘sit be the fire’, ‘written be a clerk’, ‘ane be ane’, by the form of the adverb and strong preposition, as in ‘stand by’, ‘to pass by a place be the railway’. This use of be as preposition has been uniform in the northern dialect since the earliest preserved ME. specimens.]
A. prep. Forms: 1–2 be, 1–5 bi, 1 bí (biᵹ), 3– by, (4 bie, 5 bye, north. 3– be). (Formerly often placed after the governed word, which may still be done in verse).
General scheme of signification. I. Of position in space: (1) Position or action near, including notions of comparison by juxtaposition; (2) Direction and vague localization. II. Of motion in space: (1) Motion alongside, along, or over a course; (2) Motion up to; (3) Motion alongside and beyond, including notions of distance to reach, and of excess, short-coming, or inferiority. III. Of time. IV. Of mental or ideal proximity. V. Of medium, means, instrumentality, agency. VI. Of circumstance, condition, manner, cause. VII. In phrases. I. Of position in space.
* Of position or action near or adjacent to.
1. a. At the side or edge of; in the vicinity of; near, close to, beside.
898O.E. Chron. an. 894 §2 On Defna scire be þære norþ sæ. 971Blickl. Hom. 15 Þa sæt þær sum blind þearfa be ðon weᵹe. c1000Whale (poem) 18 Ceolas stondað bi staðe fæste. 1160Hatton G. Matt. xiii. 40 Hyo..sæten be þam strande. c1200Ormin 3340 Þat engel..stod hemm bi. c1330Assump. Virg. 368 To kepe þee & by þee by [?be thee by, or by thee be]. 1375Barbour Bruce vi. 667 The Kyng lukyt hym by. c1400Destr. Troy 11569 To be..laid by hir legis, þat the lond aght. c1485Digby Myst. (1882) iv. 658 Com sit me bye. 1513Douglas æneis ix. ix. 138 Hys scheild syne by hym lais. 1682Wheler Journ. Greece i. 4 Hard by this Island..is Ruigna. 1764Reid Inquiry ii. § 10. 174 The clock may strike by us without being heard. 1832W. Irving Alhambra ii. 125 A sword by his side. 1860Dickens Uncomm. Trav. xx, Down by the Docks they ‘board seamen’ at the eating houses. 1881Saintsbury Dryden 179 In Poets' Corner, where he has been buried by Chaucer and Cowley.
b. In names of places, introducing the name of a place better known, or of a natural feature, which serves as a distinction, as in Bromley-by-Bow, Stoke-by-Nayland, St. Stephen's-by-Saltash, Stanton-by-Bridge, St. Leonard's-by-Sea. Also in postal addresses of subordinate offices, where by introduces the name of the chief office, as Coniston by Ambleside, and the like.
c. after such verbs as abide, stick, stand, q.v.
1508Fisher Wks. i. 221 His commaundement must nedes be..abyden by. 1736Cibber School-Boy ii. i, You'll stand by me upon Occasion. 1742H. Walpole Corr. (1857) I. 193 They have given Mrs. Pulteney an admirable name and one that will stick by her. 1818Moore Fudge Fam. Paris vi. 4 We Fudges stand by one another. 1865Carlyle Fredk. Gt. (1873) V. 271 Let us stick by our excerpting. 1885Sir W. Brett in Law Rep. 15 Queen's B. Div. 189 He was willing to abide by the event of such a trial.
†d. by the sight of, by view of: under the supervision of. Obs.
a1500tr. Magna Charta in Arnolde Chron. (1811) 217 Be the sight of holy chirch, his goodis shalbe destribute. 1601F. Tate Househ. Ord. Edw. II, §15. 13 Serve the house⁓hold bi view of the same clark.
2. a. In forms of swearing or adjuration.
Here bi is the original prep. in Teutonic (Goth., OHG., OS.), and must have had a local sense, ‘in presence of’, or perhaps ‘in touch of’ some sacred object: in ON. where bi was entirely lost, at appears, and must have been local. But in OE. literature the prep. was ordinarily þurh, perhaps after L. per; though be occurs in one place in the Rushw. Gloss. and may represent native usage. It is thus not certain how far the ME. use of by was native, or how far it was a translation of F. par, of instrumentality. To modern apprehension there is apparently no notion of place, but one approaching that of instrumentality or medium. See swear. Cf. before 6.
c975Rushw. Gl. Matt. xxiii. 22 Seþe sweraþ be heofune swerat be sedle godes, and in ðæm seþe siteþ on him. c1205Lay. 3447 Heo swor..bi al heuenliche main. a1300Cursor M. 7934 Bi godd o-liue he suor his ath. c1435Torr. Portugal 52 Tho he sware be hevyn kyng, Ther wase told hym a wondyr thyng. 1586Warner Alb. Eng. i. ii. 5 Sworne-by Stix and wreakfull Mars at periuries repine. 1611Bible Matt. v. 36 Neither shalt thou sweare by thy head. 1751Jortin Serm. (1771) V. iii. 56 They took up a custom of swearing not by the Lord, but by other things. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 354 And I swear to you Athenians, by the dog I swear! 1884St. James's Gaz. 20 June 6/1 The farmers..swear ‘by'r Leddie’ and ‘by Jings’.
b. So in ellipt. phrases, by God, by our Lady, by my life, etc., without mention of the verb swear.
1297R. Glouc. 25 Þou ne schalt (bi hym þat made me) of scapie so lyȝte. a1300Cursor M. 13593 ‘A prophet,’ said he, ‘be mi lai.’ a1330Otuel 476 Bisengeme [= By Saint James] ihc habbe i-fouȝt Otuwel. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. iv. 285 By Cryst, at my knowynge, Mede ys worthy, me þynkeþ, þe maistrye to haue. c1440Generydes 2445, I take hir for my owen, sir, be the rode. 1519Interl. Elem. in Hazl. Dodsley I. 33 Of all meats in the world that be, By this light, I love best drink. 1653Urquhart Rabelais i. xlii, By's death, I would plume them. 1672Davenant Siege (1673) 69 By this Light, you eat nimbly. 1841–4Emerson Ess., Poet Wks. (Bohn) I. 170 By God, it is in me, and must go forth of me. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 33 By the dog of Egypt, I said, there I agree with you.
3. a. In the presence of (obs.); at the house of (obs.); beside, with, in possession of, about (a person).
a1300Fragm. Pop. Sc. (Wright) 134 Whan a man is an urthe ded, and his soule bi God. 1509Hawes Past. Pleas. xii. ii, Accordynge as by hym is audyence. 1535Coverdale Acts ix. 43 He taried..at Joppa by one Simon which was a tanner. 1541Barnes Wks. (1573) 347/2 We haue an aduocate by the father, Christ Iesus. 1661Boyle Scep. Chem. i. (1680) 73 What I have yet lying by me of that anomalous Salt. 1712Henley Spect. No. 396 ⁋1, I have kept it [a letter] by me some Months. 1800Coleridge Wallenst. i. viii. 17 This plot he has long had in writing by him From the emperor.
†b. In the writings of, in (a specified passage).
c1460Towneley Myst. 145 (Mätz.) We rede thus by I say. 1579Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 15/2 S. Paules mind is by this place, that no man take vppon him to teach otherwise then he taught.
†c. With, having about one. Obs.
a1225Ancren R. 420 Ȝif ȝe muwen beon wimpel-leas, beoð bi warme keppen.
4. a. by oneself (by himself, by themselves, etc.): in one's own company, to the exclusion of any one else; hence, apart from others, without companion; alone, singly, in isolation.
c1200Ormin 821 Sone summ he cuþe ben Himm ane bi himm selfenn. 1297R. Glouc. 104 Þo heo were al bi hem selue..He slow þe kyng. a1300Cursor M. 12834 He fand his cosin Ion, In wildernes bi him allan. c1440Promp. Parv. 35 By thy selfe, seorsum. 1559Bp. Cox in Strype Ann. Ref. I. vi. 99 Weigh this matter by your self. 1611Shakes. Cymb. iii. i. 13 Britaine's a world By it selfe. 1711Addison Spect. No. 26 ⁋1, I very often walk by myself in Westminster Abbey. 1712Steele ibid. No. 302 ⁋11 My husband and I were sitting all alone by our selves. 1813Jane Austen Pride & Prej. (1846) 301 We may as well leave them by themselves. 1884G. Denman Law Reports, 29 Chanc. Div. 467 Look at each statement by itself without regard to the other statements.
b. This blends with other senses (esp. 33) in by oneself: by one's own power, without assistance, independently; of one's own motion or authority, spontaneously.
a1000Ags. Gosp. John vii. 17 Hwæðer þe ic be me sylfum spece. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xx. 140 The paume..haþ power by hym-self, Oþer-wise þan þe wrythen fust. c1400Mandeville 194 Ȝif thei abyden to dyen be hem self, as nature wolde. c1450Merlin i. 14 Tyll she be stronge to goo by her-self. 1711Lond. Gaz. No. 4794/2 The Battalions..charg'd by their own selves. 1744Berkeley Siris §233 Going like a clock or a machine by itself.
5. By the side of; hence, in addition to, beside. by and beside: over and above. Sc. or north. Cf. forbye.
1330R. Brunne Chron. 149 We þre haf..þe schippes of Kyng Richard to keep & ȝow þam bie. c1425Wyntoun Cron. ix. xxvii. 331 By his awyn war Baneris five Dysplayt. 1535Stewart Cron. Scot. III. 230 Nocht be the clething on oure bak. 1600J. Melvill Diary (1842) 146 By and besyde the inward hand of my God, I haid twa utward speciall comforts. 1722De Foe Col. Jack (1840) 95 We will have a lift, if we don't get the horse by the bargain. 1816Scott Antiq. xxi, ‘Few folks ken o' this place..there's just twa living by mysell.’
†6.
a. In comparison with, in proportion to (i.e. placed beside, for the sake of comparison or correlation); after verbs of distinguishing = from. Obs. exc. Sc.
1340Ayenb. 249 Amang þe bestes man heþ þane leste mouþ be þe bodie. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xviii. 104 Noþer þei knoweþ ne conneþ o cours by a-noþer. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon ix. 224 The four sones of Aymon were good to knowe by thother. c1515Elegy on Henry VIII's Fool in Halliw. Nugæ P. 45 Many folys by the thynke themselfe none. 1578in Scot. Poems 16th C. II. 126, I gaif thee ressoun, quhereby thou might Haue knawin the day by the dark night. 1729Let. in Wodrow Corr. (1843) III. 448 Twenty-six years ago..we were in a pleasant situation..by what we are at present. 1768Goldsm. Good-n. Man 1, Compare that part of life which is to come by that which we have passed. Mod. Sc. So dark that one could not tell a house by a hay-stack.
b. to set or let (obs.) little, nought, etc. by: to put little, nothing, etc. in comparison with; to value, esteem little, etc.; also absol. to set by (obs.): to esteem highly. See set and let.
1362Langl. P. Pl. A. xi. 29 Luytel is he loued or leten bi. 1393Ibid. C. vi. 3 Cloþed as a lollere, And lytel y-lete by. c1382Wyclif Isa. liii. 3 Wherfore ne wee setteden by hym. c1400Mandeville xxvii. 272 Thei sette not..by Caw⁓teles. 1407Songs Costume (1849) 57 Ye be so lewyd your selfe there setteth no man you bye. c1430How Wise man tauȝt Son 126 in Babees Bk. (1868) 52 Bi oþir richesse sette no greet price. c1440York Myst. xxxi. 105 Sette I noght be hym. 1549Psalm xv. 4 (Prayer Bk.) He that setteth not by himself, but is lowly in his own eyes. 1637Bastwick Litany iii. 13 That booke was highly set by and commended. 1729Butler Serm. 540 In all lowliness of mind we set lightly by ourselves. 1839Keightley Hist. Eng. I. 102. He also set by the hares, and they must go free.
7. More than, beyond, in preference to. † by and beside; outside of, without. by common, by ordinary (used adjectively): unusual, extraordinary. All Sc.
1567Test. H. Stewart in Scot. Poems 16th C. II. 257 Lancit with luif, sho luid me by all wycht. 1603Philotus cx, Our Parents hes opprest, And by all dew thair Dochters drest. a1657Sir J. Balfour Ann. Scotl. (1824–5) II. 182 The motione..is made by and besyde the knouledge and conscience of the kirke of this land. 1822Galt Entail II. ii. 13 He's mair than weel enough. He's by common. 1824Scott Redgauntlet let. xi, There was something in it by ordinar. 1832–53Whistle-Binkie (Sc. Songs) Ser. 11. 27 He courts a' the lasses..Yet for nane by anither cares bauld braxy Tam. 1851Mrs. Oliphant Marg. Maitland i, My father was a man of bye-ordinary mildness.
†8.
a. Beyond (= L. præter); hence, contrary to, (a limiting decree or authority); in spite of, against. Obs. exc. Sc.
1460–70Compl. Abbot of Arbroath in C. Innes E. Scot. Hist. App. (1861) 506 [He] has gart eyre and saw owr said landis by all resoun or apperans of ony clame thartyll. 1513Douglas æneis vii. x. 109 The hevynnis hie To wytnes drew he, all was by his wyll. 1650Row Hist. Kirk (1842) 366 By the expectation of many..the Parliament did ryde and end upon Fryday. 1668Pepys Diary 24 Feb., I could not deny him, but was forced, by myself, to give. Mod.Sc. That's by belief.
†b. Apart from, away from. by oneself: beside oneself, out of one's wits. Sc.
1600Gowrie's Conspir. in Harl. Misc. (Malh.) II. 339 The young gentleman..was become somewhat by himselfe, which his Maiestie conjectured..by his..vncouth stairing. 1785Burns Halloween xvi, He monie a day was by himsel, He was sae sairly frighted. 1832Blackw. Mag. XXXII. 644 Surely we're by ourselves, to speak this open blasphemy.
** Of direction or vague localization.
9. a. In the region or general direction of, towards. by the head (Naut.): deeper in the water forward than abaft; the opposite of which is by the stern. by the board: see board n. 12. by the wind: (see quot. 1867).
(Hence in many adverbs and prepositions; as be-east, be-fore, be-half, be-hind, be-low, be-north, be-side, be-south, be-west; † be-mong, etc.)
c893K. ælfred Oros. i. i. §7 Caucasus se beorᵹ is be norþan and Indus seo ea be westan, and seo Reade Sæ be suþan. a1225Leg. Kath. 591 Þe alre wiseste þe wuneð bi westen. c1340Cursor M. 12131 (Trin.) Who herde euer suche ferly Of any mon bi norþ or souþ. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. ii. 117 Hit is sykerer by southe þer þe sonne regneth Þan in þe north. 1556J. Heywood Spider & F. lx. 101 One sort by east, an other by west, did rise. 1627Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. ix. (1692) 43 Lay the Ship by the Lee to trie the Dep-sea Line. 1628Digby Voy. Medit. (1868) 46 In smooth water, and by a wind, was her best way. 1664Bushnell Shipwright 7 The most Ships saile by the Sterne. 1849Blackw. Mag. LXVI. 196 She's too much by the head. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., By the wind is when a ship sails as nearly to the direction of the wind as possible.
b. spec. used in the names of the sixteen smallest points of the compass, viz. North by East, North-east by North, North-east by East, East by North, etc., indicating one point towards the east, west, north, or south of N., NE., E., SE., S. SW., W., NW. respectively.
The point midway between N. and E. is NE.; that midway between N. and NE. is NNE.: the intermediate point between N. and NNE. is N. by E., that between NE. and NNE. is NE. by N.
1682Wheler Journ. Greece vi. 481, I observed Corinth to lie South-East by South off us. 1719De Foe Crusoe (1840) I. ii. 26, I..steered directly south and by east. 1837Fraser's Mag. XVI. 48 We steered S.E. by E. 1849Ibid. XL. 666 Cape Trafalgar bore east by south.
†c. In compound preps. of direction, as by-hither on this side of, by west to the west of, etc.; which are also used substantively. Obs. More commonly be-east, be-north, behither, etc., q.v.
c893K. ælfred Oros. i. i. §6 Be norþam þæm porte. c1420Avow. Arth. xlvii, He..was comun fro bi-southe. 1577Holinshed Chron. III. 961/2 The whole armie was landed two miles by west the towne of Lith. 1612Davies Why Ireland, &c. (1787) 177 They dwelt by west the law, which dwelt beyond the river of the Barrow. 1614Raleigh Hist. World v. ii. §8. 354 Like as they called Cisalpines, or bi-hither the Alpes, those who dwelt between them and the Mountaines. 1716Let. in Wodrow Corr. (1843) II. 119 The places in Fife, by-east Dunfermline.
†10. On (vaguely and indefinitely), in the region or domain of. Obs. exc. in phr. by land, etc. Cf. 11 c.
c1205Lay. 10511 Þa vt-laȝes beoð swa stronge bi watere & bi londe. c1314Guy Warw. (A.) 830 Who so winneþ þe turnament al Bi aiþer half, þe priis haue schal. c1325Coer de L. 1849 By the water-half ye them assail, And we will by land saunsfayl. 1578Lyte Dodoens iii. lxv. 407 The whiche leaves are playne by one side. 1770Langhorne Plutarch (1879) I. 241/2 They commonly commanded both by sea and land. 1866Kingsley Herew. i, I never saw one yet, by flood or field.
II. Of motion.
* Of motion alongside, along, or over a course.
11. a. Alongside of, along, down over, up over.
(In by a way, path, road, this touches the sense of means.)
c888K. ælfred Boeth. xl. §5 Ȝif ic þe læde be þam weᵹe. c1175Lamb. Hom. 79 Þer com a prost bi þe weie. a1250Owl & Night. 506 Þe heisugge Þat flihþ bi grunde a mong þe stubbe. c1300K. Alis. 1767 Hom heo wendith by doune and dale. a1300Cursor M. 14285 Þe teres bi þair chekes þon ran. 1486Bk. St. Albans D j b, And comyth low bi the grounde. 1534Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) C. iij, To goo by the stretes as vacabundes. 1682Wheler Journ. Greece i. 47 It fell to the Hollanders share to come by our Lee. 1712Parnell Spect. No. 460 ⁋6 The way by which we ascended. 1816J. Wilson City of Plague i. i. 187 Moving by the river side, Came on a ghost. 1885Act 48 & 49 Vic. liv. §14 The churches..are within four miles of one another by the nearest road.
¶b. By is sometimes elliptically omitted.
1768Wesley Jrnl. 23 Sept., Nor could I get to my lodgings the foot way. Mod. We came back the same way. You went a roundabout way to get there.
c. blended with some sense of means of transit; cf. 30 b.
c1205Lay. 31195 Comen..bi sæ & bi londe feole cunne leoden. 1382Wyclif Acts xx. 13 Makinge journey bi lond. c1450Merlin iii. 41 The shippes comynge by the see. 1630M. Godwyn Bp. Hereford's Ann. Eng. 82 Hee went by water to Greenwich. 1712Budgell Spect. No. 425 ⁋ 1 You descend at first by twelve Stone Steps. 1851Kingsley Yeast 216 Why not send a parcel by rail?
12. a. In passing along: said of incidents happening on a journey, etc.; chiefly in phr. by the way.
c1000ælfric Gen. xlv. 24 Ne forlæte ᵹe nan þing be weᵹe. c1340Cursor M. 18378 (Trin.) Amen alleluya son⁓gen þei And honoured him euer bi þe wey. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 5 b, But the sayd rychesse holpe them well by the waye. 1530Tindale Exp. (1849) 330 If a woman should find a man-child by the streets. 1611Shakes. Wint. T. iv. iii. 253, I was cozen'd by the way, and lost all my money. 1760Goldsm. Cit. W. xcix, They always grow young by the way. Mod. And by the way I dropped it.
b. Hence fig. by the way, by the by: (a) in passing, incidentally, as a chance idea in speech or writing; (b) ellipt., omitting words like ‘it may be remarked’. See by n.2, way.
(a)1548Latimer Serm. Ploughers (Arb.) 21 Here haue I an occasion by the way somwhat to say vnto you. 1642Fuller Holy & Prof. St. v. 377 They had something..in the favour of Friers, though brought in only by the by. 1677Moxon Mech. Exerc. (1703) 202 And by the way you may take notice, that, etc. 1830Blackw. Mag. XXVIII. 247 All this is by the way. 1832J. C. Hare Philol. Museum I. 254 This question..merely came in by the by.
(b)1574tr. Marlorat's Apocalyps 41 By the waye, thys place teacheth vs, that, etc. 1631Gouge God's Arrows iv. xv. 396 Here by the way, the Providence of God..is remarkable. 1711Steele Spect. No. 32 ⁋3 One of the Seniors (whom by the by Mr. President had taken all this Pains to bring over) sat still. 1818Byron Juan i. lvi, Her blood was not all Spanish, by the by. 1882Knowledge No. 39. 144 Artificial irrigation, which, by-the-way, is now being extensively developed in Australia, etc.
†13. Through the extent of, throughout. Obs.
a1225St. Marher. 9 Þe fuheles þe fleon bi ðe lufte. c1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 41 Hou freris schullen go bi þe world. 1502tr. Magna Charta in Arnolde Chron. (1811) 220 To..dwell & goo bi England. 1647W. Browne Polex. P ij a, By the whole extent of her Territories.
14. Through, or so as to pass (in one's course); also expanded into by way of.
c1340Cursor M. 11529 (Fairf.) An angill come & hem forbad To wend by hym [Herod] eny way. 1382Wyclif John x. 1 He that cometh not in by the dore. c1400Epiph. (Turnb. 1843) 108 They returned by Jerusalem. c1485Digby Myst. (1882) i. 37 The thre kynges..promysed kyng herowde..To come a-geyn by him. 1553Eden Treat. New Ind. (Arb.) 8 The passage..by the strayghtes of Magellanus. 1625K. Long Barclay's Argenis iv. ix. 270 Faithful Sicambes was conveyed in by a backe chamber. 1633Featley in P. Fletcher Purple Isl. Introd., The Way to God is by ourselves. 1719De Foe Crusoe (1848) 357 The place was inaccessible, except by such windings, &c., as they themselves only who made them could find. 1885Sir J. Hannen in Law Rep. 15 Queen's B. Div. 140 Leaving the building by a side door.
1701W. Wotton Hist. Rome 481 He went by the way of Illyricum. 1865Cornh. Mag. XI. 595 It invaded France by way of Avignon.
** Of motion into a position beside, or within reach.
15. Near to, close up, into the presence of: chiefly in to come by, for the phraseological and fig. uses of which see come v.
c1175Lamb. Hom. 83 He [Christ] com bi þis forwundede mon. 1330R. Brunne Chron. 296 Alle þat he mot com bie, he robbed. c1350Will. Palerne 220 By-þan he com by þat barn. 1535Coverdale Tobit iv. 20 Seke some meanes, how thou mayest come by him. 1607Shakes. Cor. ii. iii. 46 We are not to stay altogether, but to come by him where he stands. Mod. Come close by me, and tell me what is the matter.
*** Of motion alongside and beyond.
16. a. On alongside of, into the vicinity of and on beyond, past. Originally the nearness in passing was emphasized; in later use ‘by’ is more frequently distinguished from ‘through’ or other word, and expresses passing without stopping or contact, and thus avoidance, aloofness; but often the notion is merely that of getting beyond, or to the other side of, and pass by, go by merely = pass.
c1380Sir. Ferumb. 1108 By hilles & roches swyþe horrible on hur cors þay wente. 1393Gower Conf. I. 227 To hem that passen all day by me. 1509Hawes Examp. Virtue vi. 78 That came vs by and very nere, Ascendynge vp into her hyghe sete. 1632Rutherford Lett. xxiii. (1862) I. 91 Your jealous Husband will not be content that ye look by Him to another. 1660Pepys Diary 2 Nov., I..got as far as Ludgate by all the bonfires. 1732Berkeley Alciphr. v. §1 We saw a fox run by the foot of our mount. 1786Burns Twa Dogs 92 They gang as saucy by poor folk, As I wad by a stinking brock. 1820Keats Lamia 315 She saw him as once she pass'd him by.
b. The notion of avoidance, disregard, omission, neglect, is especially present in fig. uses of go by, pass by and the like: see the verbs. Cf. 8.
c1385Chaucer Man of Law's T. 1026 But I lete all his storie passen by. 1535Stewart Cron Scot. II 639 Foull appetyte..causis thame oft till go by the rycht. 1552Abp. Hamilton Catech. (1884) 31 Cursit ar thai quhilk gangis by the commandis of God. 1667Pepys Diary (1877) V. 470 The king hath..passed by the thing and pardoned it already. 1673Marvell Reh. Transp. ii. 346, I am content to go by the loss. 1869J. Martineau Ess. II. 76 Instances may be accumulated..which legislation passes by in silence.
c. So in to put or set (anyone) by (an aim, purpose, duty, etc.): to cause him to miss or omit it; to deprive, disappoint, or cheat of, do out of. arch. and dial.
1580North Plutarch 798 The King..did put Tiribazus by his Wife. 1596Spenser Astroph. Elegy 174 Perhaps this may a suter be, To set Mars by his deitie. 1643Prynne Power Parl. i. (ed. 2) 53 Maude the Empresse..was put by the Crowne by the Prelates and Barons. 1647W. Browne Polexander ii. 329 We met with a storme, which put us by our course. 1726Amherst Terræ Fil. xliii. 236 He can put him by his degree for a whole year. 1768Johnson Lett. I. xiv. 17, I have been oddly put by my purpose. Mod. dial. The child has been put by his sleep.
d. dial. transferred to the idea of time.
1863Atkinson Danby Provinc., By the time, beyond or past the time. They're a lang way by their tahm.
17. Defining the space passed over, or to be passed over, in order to reach a point: At, to, or within the distance of.
c1230Hali Meid. 23 Loke..bi hu moni degrez ha falleð duneward. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xx. 58 Wolde nat neyhle him by nyne londes lengthe. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon 227 There is nother castell nor towne by xx myles nyghe aboute it. 1551R. Robinson tr. More's Utop. (Arb.) 77 By all that space..the water ebbeth and floweth. 1682Wheler Journ. Greece iv. 291 No Ship..can come near them by four or five Miles. 1880McCarthy Own Times III. xlv. 386 The Conservative miss by a foot was as good..as a miss by a mile.
18. Expressing, as the result of comparison, the amount of excess or increase, inferiority or diminution, in length, duration, weight, or quantity:
a. definitely.
c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 169 Þe þridde biwist..was bi twi⁓fold more þane þe forme. 1375Barbour Bruce ii. 230 Thar fayis war may then thai Be xv. c. 1556J. Heywood Spider & F. lx. 38, I thought him to young to haue winges, by a yeare. 1585Jas. I. Ess. Poesie (Arb.) 61 Gif ze place thame in the begynning of a lyne, they are shorter be a fute, nor they are, gif ze place thame hinmest in the lyne. 1614B. Jonson Barth. Fair i. i, He is taller than either of you by the head. 1753Chambers Cycl. Supp. s.v. Account, Balance of an Account is the sum by which the debt exceeds the credit, or vice versa. 1777Sheridan Sch. Scand. iv. iii, He is too moral by half. 1815Scribbleomania 261 Selwyn..missed it only by seven votes out of 7000. 1884Manch. Exam. 21 May 4/7 The M.C.C. winning by an innings and four runs.
b. in phrases by far, by much, by so much, etc.
c1230Hali Meid. 23 Bi hu muchel þe an passeð þe oðre. c1375Wyclif Antecrist (Todd) 117 By hou myche þei shul be more merueilous to men, be so myche þe hooli men..shulen be dispised. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xxiii. 314 More of fisik by fer. 1423Jas. I. Kingis Q. cxxxi, The werk that first is foundit sure..langere sall endure Be monyfald. 1450Myrc 1629 A-bregge hys penaunce þen by myche. 1595Barnfield Poems (Arb.) 43 By how much the lesse I am able to expresse it, by so much the more it is infinite. 1677Moxon Mech. Exerc. (1703) 35 By so much as Brass is a weaker Mettal than Iron. 1808Scott Marm. v. xii, 'Twere better by far To have matched our fair cousin with young Lochinvar.
III. Of time.
†19.
a. In the course of, at, in, on (the time or date of an action or event). Obs. exc. as in b.
a1000Laws of Eadgar I. 4 (Mätz.) Sy ælc heorðpening aᵹyfen be Petres mæssedæᵹ. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 47 Swich þeu wes bi þan dagen. c1300Beket 2494 This was bi a Tywesdai. c1380Wyclif De Eccles. Sel. Wks. III. 350 Crist techiþ..þat men shulden snybbe her briþeren bi þre tymes. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. ii. 102 Dauid by hus daies dobbede knyȝtes. 1488Caxton Chast. Goddes Chyldr. 42 Men haue dwellid stably in wyldernesse by hemselfe by olde tyme. 1543Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) F vij, His sonnes in lawe, that he hadde chose by his lifetyme. a1687H. More in R. Ward Life (1710) 352, I wish you would resolve to see Cambridge once by the year at least. 1797Philanthrope No. 23. 177 Where he used to wander many a morning by sun-rise, and many an evening by moonlight.
b. esp. by day (L. interdiu), by night (L. noctu). Here the statement of time approaches very nearly to the indication of the physical conditions, as in ‘by day-light’: see 34.
OE. used in this sense the adverbial genitive dæᵹes and nihtes, or on with the dative on dæȝ(e) and on niht(e); the early ME. examples show a mixture of these and the modern form with by.
c1200Ormin 11332 Heold Crist hiss fasste..Bi daȝhess & bi nahhtess. a1250Owl & Night. 241 Bi daie þu art stare⁓blind. c1380Sir Ferumb. 4265 Þe Ameral be-segeþ hymen þer-yn..Be niȝtes & be daye. c1440Partonope 1632 He come to Pountyff by the day. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 405 Alone, by Night, his watery way he took. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 232 The breaches made by day were repaired by night with indefatigable activity.
†20. During, for (a space of time). Obs. exc. in arch. by the space of. (Now expressed by for.)
c1460Towneley Myst. 274 (Mätz.) He ded shuld be, And ly in erthe by dayes thre. 1503–4Act 19 Hen. VII, xxxvi. Preamb., [He] lay both at Surgery and fesyk..by the space of ij yeres and more. 1509Hawes Past. Pleas. i viii, Thus stode I musynge myselfe all alone By right long tyme. 1611Bible Acts xx. 31. By the space of three yeeres, I ceased not to warne euery one. 1623–4Act 21 Jas. I, xx. § 1 The Offender..shall..be set in the Stocks by three whole Hours. 1841G. S. Faber Provinc. Lett. (1844) I. 221 Wholly given to..idolatry by the space of above eight hundred years.
21. a. Marking the completion of the time required or assigned for the performance of an action: On or before, not later than; † within (a space of time). Cf. betimes.
c1350Will. Palerne 2683 But hire fader com bi þe four⁓teniȝtes hende. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 346 He bryngiþ in newe [servants] þat done werse bi litil tyme. c1500Lancelot 30 Be the morow set I was a-fyre. 1616W. Forde Serm. 25 Learne by time how to die. 1682Wheler Journ. Greece i. 24 We parted and came by noon to Lesina. 1712Steele Spect. No. 503 ⁋2 By this time the best of the Congregation was at the Church-door. 1768Sterne Sent. Journ. (1778) II. 32 Ready at the door of the hotel by nine in the morning. 1867Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) I. v. 349 By midwinter they came back to their ships.
b. Hence, with omission of n.: by this, by that; also by now, by then, etc.
a1300Cursor M. 3007 Bi þis come sarra to þe tide O birth sco moght not ouerbide. Ibid. 2827 (Trin.) Bi þenne bigan þe liȝt of day. a1400Morte Arth. (1847) 19 By that was Launcelot hole and fere. c1500Lancelot 774 Be this the word wes to king arthur gone. c1565R. Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (1728) 62 There are other ambassadors..directed by-now from the pope. 1671Milton Samson 262 Had Judah that day joined..They had by this possessed the towers of Gath. 1795Southey Joan of Arc i. cxxxii, By this Dunois Had arm'd. 1864Atkinson Whitby Gloss. s.v., They must have sailed by now.
c. In the conjunctive phrase by the time (that); also formerly, by then (that), by that.
a1300Floriz & Bl. 151 Biþat hit was middai hiȝ Floriz was þe brigge niȝ. a1300Cursor M. 2839 Bi þe time þat þe sune ras, Strang cri in þa tounes was. a1400Morte Arth. (1847) 99 By than that endyd was the fight, The fals were feld. c1435Torr. Portugal 19 Be tyme he was xviij yer old, Of deddes of armys he wase bold. 1470–85Malory Arthur i. x, By than they were redy on horsbak there were vii C knyghtes. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. xlvi. 64 By yt it was day in the mornyng, they were before Courtray. 1575–85Abp. Sandys Serm. (1841) 300 They cannot tell what is said: it is forgotten by that it is spoken. 1684Bunyan Pilgr. ii. 82 By that these Pilgrims had been at this place a week, Mercy had a Visitor. 1701W. Wotton Hist. Rome 356 By that time he had overtaken the poor flying Emperor, he was almost equal to him. 1854Thoreau Walden iv. (1886) 111 By the time the villagers had broken their fast. 1868Morris Jason iii. 503 Now was it eve by then that Orpheus came Into the hall.
†d. whence by as quasi-conj. in same sense: By the time that, when, after. Obs. exc. Sc.
1297R. Glouc. 369 Be hii aryse..Wolues dede hii nymeþ vorþ. a1440Sir Degrev. 961 That lady was glad By sche that chartur had rad. c1565Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. 31 (Jam.) By thir words were said, his men were so enraged. c1644MS. Hist. Somerville Family, Be this execution was done, the prince returned from the persuite. 1724Ramsay Tea-t. Misc. (1733) I. 103 By you've drunk a dozen bumpers, Bacchus will begin to prove..Drinking better is than love. Mod.Sc. It was done be (or by̆) we came home.
IV. Of mental or ideal proximity. (fig. from I. 1.)
* Of accordance to a model, rule, or standard.
22. In imitation of, after; with verbs of calling or naming. Cf. 29.
c893K. ælfred Oros. iii. ix. §14 Oþer [byriᵹ] wæs hatenu be his horse Bucefal, oþer Nicea. a1593Marlowe Dido v. i, Let it be term'd Aenea, by your name. Serg. Rather Ascania, by your little son. 1682Wheler Journ. Greece i. 24 The Town is called by the name of the Isle.
23. According to, in accordance with, in conformity or harmony with:
a. a command, law, rule, will, or any standard of action. So in phrases by book, † by course (= in turn), by heart, by rote, † by row (= in order). (See the ns.)
a1000O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 634 Se Birinus com þider be Honorius wordum. c1000ælfric Gen. xxiv. 10 Ferde to þam lande be his hlafordes hæse. c1175Lamb. Hom. 97 Todelende u wilchen bi þan þet him iwurð. a1300Cursor M. 13052 Þi broþer wijf þat þou agh not to haf be lau. Ibid. 9589 Mercy þou owest to haue be riȝt. 1463Bury Wills (1850) 16, I will that they be revardyd..by the discrecion of my executours. 1556Chron. Gr. Friars (1852) 11 To be songe solemply be note. 1663Butler Hud. i. i. 86 And tell what Rules he did it by. 1712Addison Spect. No. 409 ⁋7 In examining æneas his Voyage by the Map. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 665 The right by which freeholders chose knights of the shire. 1859F. Griffiths Artil. Man. (1862) 14 By the left.—Quick march. By the right.—Quick march. 1866Kingsley Herew. v. 109 They had timed their journey by the tides. 1884W. C. Smith Kildrostan 46 We judge a stranger by our home⁓bred ways.
1470–85Malory Arthur (1816) I. 52 The barons..assayed all by row, but none might speed. 1551–6R. Robinson tr. More's Utop. (Arb.) 93 The women of euery family by course haue the office..of cookerie. 1552Huloet By herte, memoriter. c1579G. Harvey in Athenæum 789/1 His œconomicks..every on hath by rote. 1709Add. & Steele Tatler No. 93 ⁋4, I am therefore obliged to learn by book. a1834Coleridge Table T. (1874) 91 In Germany, the hymns are known by heart by every peasant.
b. ellipt. with persons: According to the words or instructions of (obs.); now only in take example, pattern, or warning by, i.e. by the case of.
c1300K. Alis. 3089 No doth nought by Dalmadas. c1550Scot. Poems 16th C. II. 133 Euer liue in charity Be Christ Iesu. 1643Parables on Times 12, I will take warning by the Eagle. 1866Kingsley Herew. iv. (1877) 96 Take example by Alcinous. 1882Athenæum 18 Mar. 339 He has taken pattern by Goethe.
c. in by your leave, by consent, etc.
c1250Gen. & Ex. 2865 God..of israel, ðe bode sente..ðat bi ði leve, hise folc vt-fare. c1386Chaucer Reeve's Prol. 62 By youre leue I shal him quite anoon. 1470Harding Chron. xxvii. iii, His heire to been by their bothes assent. 1558Queen Elizabeth in Strype Ann. Ref. I. App. i, Elizabeth, by the grace of God, queen of England, Fraunce and Ireland. 1593Hooker Eccl. Pol. Pref. vi. §2 Given by authority. 1754Richardson Grandison (1811) IV. iii. 22 By the doctor's allowance, I enclose it to you. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 153 The old civil polity was, therefore, by the general consent of both the great parties, re-established.
†d. by so, by so that: if only, provided that.
1393Langl. P. Pl. C. v. 98 So alle myne claymes ben quyt by so þe kynge asente. Ibid. xvii. 209 By so þat no man were a-greued. Ibid. xxiii. 221 Ich counte conscience no more by so ich cacche seluer.
e. = ‘Judging by or from’, ‘judged by’.
1597Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iv. i. 21 By the ground they hide, I iudge their number..thirtie thousand. 1768E. Carter Lett. (1809) III. 164 By what I have heard of his character, I fear it affords no very comfortable prospects for our poor Princess. 1879L. Stephen Hours in Libr. iii. vii. 294 He [Macaulay] ought, by all his intellectual sympathies, to be a utilitarian.
24. According to:
a. estimation or measurement of any kind. Whence the phrases by the great (obs.) = by wholesale, by piecemeal(s, by retail, etc.
c1000ælfric Lev. xxvi. 26 And ᵹe etaþ hlaf be ᵹewihte. c1205Lay. 27607 Fif hundred bi tale fusden to-somne. c1400Destr. Troy 1291 Seuyn thousand be sowme all of sure knightes. 1609Bible (Douay) Lament. iii. 16 And he hath broken my teeth by number. 1611Bible Josh. iii. 4 A space..about two thousand cubites by measure. 1682Wheler Journ. Greece ii. 203 They sell it by weight. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 212 For ev'ry Bloom..An Autumn Apple was by tale restor'd. 1886Law Times LXXX. 166/2 A miner..paid by piecework.
1598W. Phillip Linschoten's Trav. Ind. (1864) 189 By means of their Brokers they buy by the great, and sell them againe by the piece. 1691Reply Vind. Disc. Unreasonableness of New Separ. 14, I have Englished your Latin by Piecemeal. 1748Anson Voy. iii viii. (ed. 4) 485 The Carpenters went on board to agree for all the work by the great. 1842Blackw. Mag. LII. 279 The..people are ‘perishing by wholesale’.
b. a definite standard or unit of measurement.
1494Act 1. 1 Hen. VII, xxiii, No such Merchant..should put any Herring to Sale by Barrel, Demy-Barrel, or Firkin. 1600O.E. Repl. Libel i. viii. 210 The rest ate bread by the ounce, and drunke water by the quart. 1728Young Love Fame ii. 64 'Tis hard That Science should be purchased by the yard. 1885Manch. Exam. 2 May 6/2 Roses..may be gathered by the basketful.
c. distributively, For each, for every, a; see a adj.2 4. (Cf. per cent., per annum, per pound; F. par jour, etc.)
a1300Cursor M. 8833 To wijt hu þat it [be tre] gru be yere. 1495Hen. VII. in Ellis Orig. Lett. i. 11 I. 21 For..an archer or bille on horsback viijd. by the day. 1570R. Ascham Scholem. (Arb.) 38 A stipend of 200 crounes by yeare. 1647Husbandman's Plea agst. Tithes 35 Arable land at 6s. 8d. by the Acre. 1781Phil. Trans. LXXI. 305 The common price..is just two shillings by the pound. 1797Philanthrope No. 4. 22 He..had now several thousands by year. 1815Scribbleomania 30 A public accustomed to quartos of original poetry by the month.
25. Succession of numerical groups or quantities, later of individuals, of the same class is indicated by by:
a. followed by the n. of quantity repeated with and between, as by two and two, by little and little. arch.
c1205Lay. 16128 Heo droȝen ut of þan wuden bi sixti & bi sixti. c1300K. Alis. 548 By threo, by foure, with his taile, To the ground he smot. 1413Lydg. Pylgr. Sowle iii. viii. (1483) 55 They..bounden them to geders by ten and by twelue. 1483Cath. Angl. 31/2 By lytylle and lytylle, sensim, paulatim. 1556J. Heywood Spider & F. lxix. 2 Streight these twelue a rose By foure, four, and foure. 1593Shakes. Rich. II, iii. ii. 198, I play the Torturer by small and small To lengthen out the worst. 1682Wheler Journ. Greece iv. 321 Which, by little and little, enlargeth it self. 1710Steele Tatler No. 225 ⁋2 A Set of Wags..appear generally by Two and Two. 1820Keats St. Agnes xli, By one and one the bolts full easy slide.
b. followed by the n. of quantity in pl., as by hundreds, by inches, by files, by degrees; also by times, by turns (obs.), = ‘time after time, turn after turn’.
a1300Cursor M. 4710 Togider þei flocked in þat lond Bi hundrides & bi þousond. 1535Coverdale Habak. i. 8 Their horsmen come by greate heapes from farre. 1578Lyte Dodoens iv. lviii. 519 The roote is..full of joyntes by spaces. 1593Hooker Eccl. Pol. i. vi. §1 They grow by degrees. 1607Shakes. Cor. ii. iii. 47 We are..to come..by ones, by twoes, & by threes. 1635Quarles Embl. i. (1818) 42 One..rends hair by handfuls. 1645City Alarum 11 We do worse then stand still, in doing things by halves. 1686Goad Celest. Bodies ii. iii. 191 To win our Ground by Inches. 1704Pope Spring 41 Then sing by turns, by turns the Muses sing. 1728― Dunciad iii. 89 The North by myriads pours her mighty sons. 1817J. Gilchrist Intell. Patrimony 71 Raving, perchance, by times, concerning religion and morality. 1843Barham Ingol. Leg., Nurse's Story, Hand in hand The murderers stand, By one, by two, by three. 1869Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) III. xii. 146 By twenties, by hundreds, by thousands, the force gathered.
c. preceded and followed by the n. or word of quantity, as man by man, little by little.
c1392Chaucer Compl. Venus 81 To folowe word by word the Curiosite of Graunson. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xiii. 11 And praye for þe, pol by pol, yf þow be pecunyous. c1449Pecock Repr. ii. iiij. 144 Ouer long to be rehercid word bi word here. c1500Cocke Lorelles B. (1843) 8, I wyll..reken them one by one. 1630Wadsworth Sp. Pilgr. iii. 15 They go downe two by two. 1709Tatler No. 42 ⁋14 Draw out Company by Company, and Troop by Troop. 1812Keats Lamia 663 A deadly silence step by step increased. 1830Tennyson Poems 66 The thick snow falls on her flake by flake.
d. To this may perhaps be referred the arithmetical phrases, to multiply by, divide by (although by is now associated with the agent or factor); also the ellipt. by = ‘multiplied by’ in measurements of surface or content.
c1391Chaucer Astrol. ii. §41 a, Multiplie þat be 12. Ibid. §42 b, Ȝif þou deuide 144 be 3. 1581Styward Mart. Discip. i. 23 Then deuide the product by 1000. 1614T. Bedwell Nat. Geom. Numbers iv. 65, I square the quotient 2, that is, I multiply it by it selfe. 1753Chambers Cycl. Supp. s.v. Multiplication, It is easy to conceive a quantity of any kind multiplied by a number. 1859Barn. Smith Arith. & Algebra (ed. 6) 194 The former of these quantities is to be divided by the latter.
1731Swift Corr. II. 690 Adjoining the kitchen may be made one room of 18 feet by 18. 1771Goldsm. Haunch of Venison 68 A chair-lumber'd closet, just twelve feet by nine. 1865Cornh. Mag. XI. 60 An open water sixteen miles long by three broad.
** Of relation to an object about which physical or mental activity is engaged.
26. About, concerning, with respect to, in regard to, as concerns:
a. after verbs of action, as do, act, deal. Phr. do as you would be done by: see do v. 37.
c1175Lamb. Hom. 51 Þenne do we bi ure sunne al swa me deað bi þe deade. a1225Ancr. R. 122 Þauh me dude so bi þe, me dude þe eorðe riht. c1380Sir Ferumb. 5855 Doþ now syre by thys man As it is þy wille. 1579Spenser Sheph. Cal. May 171 Such faitors..Will doe as did the Foxe by the Kidde. 1621Burton Anat. Mel. ii. i. i. i, As the Spanish Marques is said to have done by one of his slaves. 1769Goldsm. Roman Hist. (1786) I. 332 He murdered Hiempsal..and attempted the same by Adherbal. 1812Jane Austen Mansf. Park v, He will consider it a right thing by Mrs. Grant, as well as by Fanny. 1869Mrs. Norton Old Sir Douglas xxx. 178 That Kenneth should do his duty by his mother. 1872Yeats Growth Comm. 32 Neither side acting unfairly by the other.
b. after neuter impersonal verbs, as be, fall, fare: With. Obs. or dial.
a1250Owl & Night. 1373 Al swa hit is bi mine songe. c1280Commandm. 31 in E.E.P. (1862) 16 Hit falliþ bi children þat beþ quede, as fariþ bi been in hiue. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xxi. 236 So shal hit fare by þis folke. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ccccxi. 717 Bycause they rode forth lyke foles, so it came by them.
†c. after verbs of thinking, saying, etc.: About, of. Obs.
a1000Elene 562 Witᵹan sungon..be godes bearne. a1121O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1036 Sume men sædon be Harolde þæt he wære Cnute sunu cynges. c1175Lamb. Hom. 7 Þis he witeȝede bi drihtene þurh þene halie gast. a1250Owl & Night. 46 Hu thincthe nu bi mine songe? c1320Cast. Loue 495 Be vs foure þis I telle. c1460Towneley Myst. 188 How thynk the, sir Pilate, Bi this brodelle. 1556J. Heywood Spider & F. xliv. 9 What dishonestie know you by flies, sur? More then flies know by spiders. 1601Shakes. All's Well v. iii. 237 By him and by this woman heere, what know you? 1645T. Hill Olive Branch (1648) 12 God knows more good and evil by us, then we know by our selves. 1752Fielding Amelia viii. ii, I always love to speak by people as I find.
†d. with pejorative force: Against. Obs. exc. dial.
c1300Beket 871 Bi the Bischop of Londone thulke word he sede. c1530Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. 23 Arthur wolde fayne fynde some cause by her. 1611Bible 1 Cor. iv. 4, I know nothing by myself [Revised against]. 1678Yng. Man's Call. 351 He never knew any thing by her to be worthy of the least suspicion. 1879G. F. Jackson Shropsh. Wd.-bk. (E.D.S.), 'E's a tidy mon, leastways I know nuthin' by 'im.
*** Of relation to a circumstance.
27. With respect to, in the matter of, as concerns (name, trade, age; also birth, blood, nature, etc., in which there is prob. some notion of instrumentality also).
c1380Sir Ferumb. 1131 A knyȝt of fraunce, Be name ne know y noȝt wat he was. 1606G. W[oodcocke] Justine 96 By age but a boy. 1622–62Heylin Cosmogr. iii. (1673) 58/1 The People..were by composition of a middle stature. 1711Addison Spect. No. 47 ⁋7 A Neighbour of mine, who is a Haberdasher by Trade. 1712Ibid. No. 69 ⁋2 A Merchant..who just knows me by sight. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 529 Allowed to associate..with him as with a brother by blood. 1864Cornh. Mag. X. 175 Frenchmen by blood as well as by birth and estate.
V. Of medium, means, instrumentality, agency. (A fig. development of the notion of way in II. 11.)
28. a. Indicating the part which serves as the medium of application or direct point and means whereby an action is applied to the whole.
a1000Beowulf 3298 Þa wæs be feaxe on flet boren Grendles heafod. c1000ælfric Gen. xxxix. 12 Heo teh hine be his claþum. a1154O.E. Chron. an. 1137 Me henged up bi the fet. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. iv. 10 Cortesliche þe clerk þenne..Toke mede by þe myddel. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 272 b, An hande sent downe toke me by the heer of my heed. 1547Boorde Introd. Knowl. 131 Pediculus other whyle do byte me by the backe. 1667Pepys Diary 13 July, I did give her a pull by the nose, and some ill words. 1711Addison Spect. No. 12 ⁋2 Her little boy offers to pull me by the coat. 1798Gouv. Morris in Sparks Life & Writ. (1832) III. 109 The new peace hangs by a very slender thread. 1830Tennyson Ode to Memory 30 Thou leddest by the hand thine infant Hope.
b. by the roots; by the ground: (? orig. = from the foundation), completely.
c1420Pallad. on Husb. i. 1132 Floure of lyme in oil, yf thou confounde And helde it in, upheleth it by grounde. 1713Berkeley Hylas & P. ii, If I were to..tear up a tree by the roots. 1833H. Martineau Briery Creek ii. 26 They could pull up a tall tree by the roots.
c. to set by the ears: to set quarrelling. to be, fall, go by the ears (Sc. lugs): to quarrel.
1556J. Heywood Spider & F. lvi. 18, I thought they wold all haue gone by thears theare. 1600O. E. Repl. Libel i. i. 32 We must needes fall by the eares together. 1650A. B. Mutat. Polemo 8 Set the Cavaleer and Presbyter together by the ears. 1702De Foe Ref. Manners i. 306 To set the Town together by the Ears. 1822Scott Nigel x, The King, and the Prince, and the Duke have been by the lugs about ye.
29. a. After verbs of knowing, perceiving, calling, etc.; introducing that which serves as a sign or means of identification. Also with omission of the verb. Phr. by the name of: see name n. 13.
c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. vii. 20 Be hyra wæstmum ᵹe hiᵹ oncnawað. c1200Ormin 479 Þatt ta bi name nemmnedd wass Abyuþþ. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xviii. 98 Shephurdes by the seuen sterres Wisten.. whenne hit shoude reynen. a1400Cov. Myst. 297 (Mätz.) Be thi face wel we may the ken. 1562J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 202, I here by the hounds, the hare is a foote. 1596Spenser F.Q. vi. iii. 1 The gentle minde by gentle deeds is knowne. 1611Bible Luke i. 61 There is none of thy kinred that is called by this name. 1682Wheler Journ. Greece v. 341 The Athenians..would never more have any Governour by the Name or Title of King. 1796Gouv. Morris in Sparks Life & Writ. (1832) III. 98 That anarchy which goes by the name of the German Empire. 1867Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) I. App. 692 Cnut was baptized by the name of Lambert. 1869J. T. Coleridge Mem. Keble 217 Dialogues, in which a mason by that name [sc. Richard Nelson] bears a principal part.
b. In to understand by, mean by: see these verbs.
1382Wyclif Prol. Bible xiv. 54 Bi Salamon here is vndirstonden God himself. 1692Bp. of Ely Answ. Touchstone 49 He..by the way understands that narrow way which he taught.
30. a. Introducing the means or instrumentality: = by means of. (OE. more usually employed fram, thurh, of). (The material instrument or tool is usually introduced by with: ‘to cut with a knife’.)
a1000Scopes Widsið 100 Ic be songe secᵹan sceolde. c1205Lay. 28337 Ich wuste bi mine sweuene whæt sorȝen me weoren ȝeneðe. c1300K. Alis. 2941 That Y have by lettre yow saide. c1340Cursor M. 15986 (Trin.) He shal neuer rise aȝeyn truly bi no myȝt. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 302 Þes feyned religious..amortisen many grete lordischipis bi fals title. c1450Merlin x. 156 Thei remounted Gifflet be fyn force a-monge his enmyes. 1548Latimer Serm. Ploughers (Arb.) 34 Christe..draweth soules unto hym by his bloudy sacrifice. 1548Udall, etc. Erasm. Par., Mark i. 14 The firste teachyng by mouthe of Christes religion. 1573G. Harvey Letter-bk. (1884) 13 Nether to be allurid by prommissis nor persuadid bi wurds. 1628Earle Microcosm. iii. (Arb.) 4 Hee instructs men to dye by his example. 1769Goldsm. Roman Hist. (1786) II. 475 He..at last died either by poison or madness. 1855Kingsley Glaucus (1878) 167 The bird's foot star..you may see crawling by its thousand sucking feet. 1866― Herew. Prel. 6 Trying to expiate by justice and mercy the dark deeds of his bloodstained youth.
b. In by coach, by ship, by rail, the idea of motion blends with that of means; cf. 11 c.
c1440Partonope 383 Be shipp come merchandyse to the town. 1535Coverdale Deut. ii. 28 Onely let me go thorow by fote. 1866Cornh. Mag. XIII. 348 To go by coach in that direction is a sort of tempting of fortune.
c. by no ways (obs.), by no means: in no possible way, in no respect, in no degree. by all means: in every way possible. (These have gradually come to be used as strong expressions respectively of negation and affirmation.)
c1340Cursor M. 12908 (Fairf.) Þat is na ferly be na wayes. c1430Freemasonry 626 Ȝef thou wolt not thyselve pray, Latte non other mon by no way. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon 235 By no wyse we maye not scape. 1593Hooker Eccl. Pol. Pref. ii. §7 To argue and by all means to reason for it. 1713Guardian No. 140 (1756) II. 224, I can by no means consent to spoil the skin of my pretty country-women. 1768Gray in Corr. w. Nicholls (1843) 85, I would wish by all means to oblige and serve Temple. 1813Jane Austen Pride & Prej. (1846) 29 Jane was by no means better.
d. in numerous phrases, see 38.
31. With live: introducing both the food and the means of obtaining it. Also fig.
971Blickl. Hom. 57 Þa gastlican lare..þe ure saul biᵹ leofaþ. a1000Guthlac 244 Bi hwon scealt þu lifᵹan, þeah þu lond aᵹe? c1205Lay. 467 Leouere heom his to libben bi þan wode-roten. c1300K. Alis. 4971 Hy..libben by the wylde goot. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. vii. 292 Ȝut were me leuere..lyue by well-carses. 1583Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. 89 The most of them..attempt..vnlawfull meanes to liue by. 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. vii. 14 As I do liue by foode, I met a foole. 1611Bible Matt. iv. 4 Man shall not liue by bread alone. 1815Scribbleomania 217 Each pestle's displayer who living by drugs, proves humanity's slayer. 1880Church Spenser iii. 52 No one in those days could live by poetry.
32. a. Introducing the intermediate or subordinate agent viewed as the medium or channel of action; = L. per, OE. þurh.
c1300K. Alis. 4304 Darie hit wot by a spye. c1325Coer de L. 1522 Sche greetes the wel by me. 1382Wyclif John i. 3 Alle þingis ben maad bi [Gr. διὰ, L. per] him. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. iv. 417 God sente to saul by samuel þe prophete. c1450Merlin i. 23 Thow hast herde be my moder the trauayle that they hadden. 1622T. Stoughton Chr. Sacrif. xvii. 239 Hath he more benefit by his horse then by his Minister? 1711Steele Spect. No. 118 ⁋2 The Lady is addressed to, presented and flattered, only by Proxy, in her Woman. 1785Henry Hist. Gt. Brit. V. v. xxxviii. 382 The King could not..administer justice to his subjects in person, but only by his judges. 1833Fraser's Mag. VIII. 312 Send check by bearer. 1866Rogers Agric. & Prices I. xxi. 527 The lord was present either in person or by a deputy.
b. in extended phrase by the hands of.
1411E. E. Wills (1882) 17 Whiche somme ys owynge to me, to be payd..by þ⊇ handes of my lady lovell. a1500tr. Magna Charta in Arnolde Chron. 217 By the handis of his kynnes folk..his goodis shalbe destribute. 1534Old City Acc. Bk. in Archæol. Jrnl. XLIII, Resuyd of mr grayn by the hands of mr hoxton v wrytyngs. 1866Cornh. Mag. XIII. 692 The Doctor will kill him, by my hands.
c. In phrases to have children by, to be pregnant by, and the like.
a1000Cædmon's Gen. 2326 (Gr.) Þu scealt sunu aᵹan, bearn be bryde þinre. c1000ælfric Gen. xxxviii. 25 Be þam men ic eom mid childe. c1205Lay. 19249 Ygærne wes mid childe bi Uther. 1297R. Glouc. 23 Brut..sones hadde þre By hys wyf. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xi. 144 And haþ fyue faire sones by hus furste wyf. 1576Gascoigne Steel Gl. (Arb.) 50 He begat me by Simplycitie. 1631Gouge God's Arrows iii. ii. 183 Amalek was the sonne of Esaus sonne by a concubine. 1750Johnson Rambl. No. 22 ⁋1 Wit and learning were the children of Apollo, by different mothers. 1788J. Powell Devises (1827) II. 351 The testator..had had several children by a native woman. 1805East Reports V. 234 A bastard child..which a young woman had had by the defendant. c1812Jane Austen Sense & Sens. (1846) 1 By a former marriage, Dashwood had one son.
33. a. Introducing the principal agent.
This, which has now become a main use of by, is hardly found before 15th c.; OE. used of, fram, ME. commonly of, which is still poetical, esp. with non-material verbs, as ‘he was beloved of all’. Cf. Fr. use of de and par.
c1400Mandeville iii. 15 That Cytee was destroyed by hem of Grece. 1461J. Paston Lett. 384 II. 3 Assigned be the commissioners. 1570–87Holinshed Scot. Chron. II. 52 Slaine miserablie in prison be..the duke Albanie. 1593Hooker Eccl. Pol. i. iii. §2 A law natural to be observed by creatures. 1682Wheler Journ. Greece i. 26 The Walls of it were built by Diocletian. 1785Reid Let. Wks. I. 66/1 A malefactor is not hanged by the law, but according to the law, by the executioner. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 31 It was among the articles which John was compelled by the Barons to sign. Mod. By whom was the book written?
b. So with personal qualities and attributes, natural agencies, etc., treated as principal agents.
For usage as to by after particular verbs, see these.
1549Bk. Com. Prayer Pref., There was never anything by the wit of man so well devised..which hath not been corrupted. 1712Addison Spect. No. 333 ⁋5 This is followed by the tearing up of mountains and promontories. 1757Johnson Rambl. No. 165 ⁋2 Truth finds an easy entrance into the Mind when she is introduced by desire, and attended by pleasure. 1816J. Wilson City of Plague i. i. 255 Swallow'd up in a moment by the heedless earth. 1844Punch 13 Jan. 27 Pipes and alcoholic liquors are superseded by matrimony. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 263 Such a demand..was not authorised by the existing treaties. 1875Browning Aristoph. Apol. 99 Demonstrable By time, that tries things.
c. Used for: written, painted, executed by (an author, painter, sculptor, etc.).
1570(title) The Scholemaster..¶ By Roger Ascham. 1595(title) Colin Clovts Come home againe. By Ed. Spencer. 1673(title) Poems, &c. upon Several Occasions. By Mr. John Milton: Both English and Latin, &c. Composed at several times. 1779Mirror No. 24 Can the representations of moon-light, even by Homer, Milton, and Shakespeare, be more exquisitely finished? 1832Disraeli Cont. Fleming ii. xiv, I must get ‘Manstein’ directly, if it be by young Moskoffsky. 1901Lincoln City & Cathedral 154 The latter [window], by a Nuremburg executant, is poor and feeble. 1966Observer 23 Oct. 22/2 (Advt.), Lady Windermere's Fan. Directed by Anthony Quayle. Scenery & costumes by Cecil Beaton.
d. Of a public house, etc.: kept or managed by (as licensee).
1840Dickens Old C. Shop xxix, This is the Valiant Soldier, by James Groves. 1885Henley & Stevenson Macaire i. iii, Auberge des Adrets, by John Paul Dumont. 1919Masefield Reynard the Fox 2 The meet was at ‘The Cock and Pye By Charles and Martha Enderby’.
e. Followed by a personal pronoun or personal name in expressions indicating agreement: with, as far as I (etc.) am concerned. colloq. (orig. U.S.).
1930Amer. Mercury Dec. 456 Five skins is jake by me. 1940‘N. Shute’ Old Captivity i. 37 If it pleases you to think like that, it's O.K. by me. 1956― Beyond Black Stump vi. 167 I'd like to go on..if that's all right by you. 1960New York Times Bk. Rev. 30 Apr. 8 He is regarded as a youngish-type people's critic..and this is fine by Mr. Fiedler.
VI. Of circumstance, condition, manner, cause, reason. (Chiefly developments or weakenings of earlier senses.)
34. a. The physical circumstances of an action often become conditions more or less contributory or essential to its performance, and hence pass into the notion of aid or means, cf. ‘to walk by moonlight’, ‘read by moonlight’, ‘read by candle-light’.
(by day light closely approaches by day: see 19 b.)
a1000Riddles xxviii. 17 (Gr.) Ic..on eorðan swa esnas binde dole æfter dyntum be dæᵹes leohte. 1154O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1138 §2 Me lihtede candles to æten bi. a1300Cursor M. 14195 God es to go bi light o dai. a1400Chester Pl. (1843) i. 4 Those wise Kinges three..by the starre that did shine, Sought the sighte of the Saviour. 1701J. Cunningham in Phil. Trans. XXIII. 1201 The Weather so favouring us, that we were never but by our Topsails. 1712Addison Spect. No. 409 ⁋6 Seeing an Object by the Light of a Taper. 1872Mark Twain Innoc. Abr. xii. 85 No gas to read by.
b. From, after, according to (a model).
a1650E. Norgate Miniatura (1919) 84 When the Italians have not the Life to draw by, they make use off Models. Ibid. 86 By these and such others they draw. 1654H. Vaughan tr. Nieremberg's Discourses 88 Pictures that have not so much as an ayre of those faces they were drawn by.
35. a. The sense of ‘means’ often passes into that of ‘attendant circumstances’, and so approaches or reaches that of manner.
c1340Cursor M. 18323 (Laud MS.), Alle that þou seidist by prophecy Thou hast fulle-fillid. 1483Caxton G. de la Tour I ij, Thenne wente shee and told it to hym by..fayre and attemperate language. c1489― Sonnes of Aymon 32 Reynawde..thwerled his swerde by grete fyers⁓nesse. 1509Hawes Examp. Virt. ix. 161 Where byrdys sange by grete melody. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. clxxvi. 214 By this manere was the stronge castell of Eureux won agayne. 1589Puttenham Eng. Poesie iii. xxii. (Arb.) 257 Wordes..written by wrong ortographie. 1677Moxon Mech. Exerc. (1703) 241 A great part of its increase goes away by a kind of Glass. 1765Act 5 Geo. III, xxvi. Preamb., To hold to the said John..by liege homage. 1840Dana Bef. Mast. xi. 25 The halyards were at this moment let go by the run. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 350 The cause when heard went by default.
b. esp. in phrase to begin by, end by, etc., with gerund. (See further under these verbs.)
1684Scanderbeg Rediv. vi. 150 The next Considerable Exploit of his Majesty..was, by taking of Zytchin. 1827Hallam Const. Hist. (1842) I. 151 Ministers who employ spies..are sure to..end by the most violent injustice and tyranny. 1839Thirlwall Greece II. 76 He began by banishing 700 families. 1887Gladstone in Ho. Comm. 12 Sept., The right hon. gentleman the Secretary for Ireland sat down by saying that, etc. Mod. He finished by putting them all in the fire.
c. In by way of: as an instance of, as something tending or amounting to, somewhat under the form of. For full illustration see way n.1 32 d.
c1400Mandeville 199 The king ȝeveth leve to pore men..to gadre hem precyous stones and perles, be weye of ælmesse. 1762Hume Hist. Eng. (1806) V. lxx. 235 By way of pleasantry he [Jefferies] used to call them [the soldiers] his lambs.
36. a. The sense of ‘means’ sometimes approaches or passes into that of ‘cause’ or ‘reason’: Because of, on account of, in consequence of, through; in virtue of, on the ground of. † by so, by that: therefore.
1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. iv. ix. (1495) 93 Though flewme of hymself be thicke and vnsauery by strengthe of heete. 1483Caxton G. de la Tour H iij, Soone after by this synne he fylle. ― Cato G iv, And by so thou oughtest to be contente. 1540R. Hyrde Vives' Instr. Chr. Wom. (1592) F v, He would haue women of his country to be regarded by their virtue. 1557N. T. (Geneva) Matt. xxvi. 31 Al ye shalbe offended by me this nyght. 1593Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, iv. iv. 12 Warwickes Brother, and by that our Foe. 1627Feltham Resolves i. xxix. Wks. (1677) 49 A Hill almost unascendable, by the roughness of a craggy way. 1667Pepys Diary 27 Aug., By the growth of his beard and gray hairs, I did not know him. 1771Goldsm. Hist. Eng. III. 240 The press..swarmed with productions, dangerous by their sedition and calumny, more than by their eloquence or style. 1839Thirlwall Greece IV. 263 In his house Protagoras was said to have read one of his works by which he incurred a charge of atheism.
b. in the conjunctive phrases be þam þe, by that, by reason that, by reason: inasmuch as, because, since. Now only in full form by reason that.
c1175Cott. Hom. 235 Be þam þe he fader is and laford he him self cwed be þe witie, Si ego, etc. a1536Tindale Exp. Matt. Wks. II. 128 By that they prophesied..and by that they cast out devils..it is plain that they be false prophets. 1558Kennedy Compend. Tract. in Wodr. Soc. Misc. (1844) 101 Be ressoun the Kirk..can nevir be gatherit togidder. 1601F. Tate Househ. Ord. Edw II, §10 He shal have no more, bi reson that he shal have cariage. 1606Earl of Northampton in True & Perf. Relation (1606) R r 4 b, By that hee cals him virum mortis, I may lawfully conclude, etc. 1682Wheler Journ. Greece ii. 203 Wine is scarce, by reason that it is prohibited. 1711Steele Spect No. 2 ⁋1 He keeps himself a Batchelor by reason he was crossed in Love.
37. In Book-keeping, placed before Credit entries; the person or account being made creditor by the amount entered.
1695E. Hatton Merch. Mag. 140 By all the Cash you receive, and deliver nothing for the same; as By Money received with an Apprentice; By Rebate for paying a Summ before due. Ibid. 169 By stock, {pstlg}150. 1751Chambers Cycl. s.v. Book, Ledger Book. By Cash for his remittance on James {pstlg}1900. 1838R. Langford Introd. Trade 79, 1837 July 10 By remittance per W. Jackson {pstlg}1000.
VII. In phrases.
38. By enters into a great number of phrases, which originated in one or other of the preceding uses, but are now used without analysis, and sometimes with such modification of meaning as to obliterate or obscure the force of the preposition. Such are
a. adverbial, † by cas, by chance, by force, by guess, by hook or by crook, by might; and others for which an adverb might easily be substituted, as by consequence, † by cover (= covertly), † by matter in deed (? = as an actual fact), by metaphor, † by name (= especially), † by occasion, † by particular, by stealth. [Here Fr. has usually par.] See the various substantives.
1297R. Glouc. 490 He vel of is palefrey, & brec is fot bi cas. c1340Cursor M. 10700 (Laud MS.) Vow that is made by right, Ow no man to breke by might. 1475Bk. Noblesse 31 Provided that..no man take vitaile beforce. 1544Phaër Regim. Lyfe (1560) R vij, Hitherto have I declined by occasion. 1565in Sir J. Picton L'pool Munic. Rec. (1883) I. 113 That no..person..succour by cover or operte, any apprentice. 1583Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. 22 Either by hooke or crooke, by night or day. a1586Answ. Cartwright 17 He alleadgeth another proofe by peraduenture. a1610Babington Wks. (1622) 257 This Manna followed the Israelites whatsoeuer the earth was: and by name in the wilderness. 1620J. Wilkinson Courts Leet 117 These persons by particular are said to be by the statute rogues. 1660Fuller Mixt Contemp. (1841) 171 Ponderous, and by consequence probable to settle..on the earth. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 745 Some prying Churl had..thence, By Stealth, convey'd th' unfeather'd Innocence. 1711Steele Spect. No. 145 ⁋6 He snatches Kisses by Surprise. 1721St. German's Doctor & Stud. 338 It is alledged in the indictment by matter in deed that he had such weapon. 1751Jortin Serm. (1771) V. v. 90 They might not imagine that the world was..made by chance. 1836Landor Pericles & Asp. Wks. 1846 II. 394/1, I am not speaking by metaphor and Asiatically. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 649 note, I have therefore been forced to arrange them [the events] by guess.
b. prepositional, † by cause of, by chesun of, by colour of, by dint of, by the hands of, by means of, by reason of, by virtue of, by way of, etc. See under the various substantives.
c1380Wyclif Last Age Ch. (1840) 25 Bi resoun of whiche þe þridde tribulacioun schal entre into Cristis Chirche. c1420Avow. Arth. xxxii, Ther to-gedur faȝte we Be chesun of this lady fre. 1535Coverdale Tobit xi. 18 By reason of all the good that God had shewed vnto him. c1555Songs & Ball., Ph. & Mary (1860) 3 He hathe us up lyfft By the means of hys sonne callyd Emanuell. 1593Shakes. Rich. III, i. iii. 78 Our Brother is imprison'd by your meanes. 1597― 2 Hen. IV, iv. i. 128 All..That..by dint of Sword, Haue since miscarryed vnder Bullingbrooke. 1621H. Elsing Debates Ho. Lords (1870) 127 The Parlement is adjourned by virtue thereof [the Comission]. 1664Butler Hud. ii. ii. 736 Vict'ry gotten without Blows, By dint of sharp hard words. 1710in Select. fr. Harl. Misc. (1793) 561 Edward Whitacre..hath, by colour of his employment received the sum of twenty-five thousand pounds. 1712Addison Spect. No. 523 ⁋6 By virtue of that spectatorial authority with which I stand invested. 1728Morgan Algiers I. iii. 32 Jugurtha..by Dint of Money, corrupted many of the Senators. 1737L. Clarke Hist. Bible viii. (1740) 496 By means thereof he took the City. 1864Bryce Holy Rom. Emp. 99 It was chiefly by means of the Papacy that this came to pass. 1876Blackmore Cripps I. ii. 23 Quite out of sight..by reason of the bend of the hollow. 1881R. Buchanan God & Man I. 111 The widow—by dint of strict parsimony, had saved a trifle.
39. Phrases occurring under preceding senses: by and beside 5, 7; by common, by ordinar 7; by day, etc. 19 b; by no means, ways 30 c; by one's self 4, 8 b; by so, by that 23 d, 36; by that, by reason that 36 b; by the by, by the way 12 b; by wholesale, degrees, etc. 24, 25.
B. adv.
Forms: [1 bí, biᵹ], 4 bi, (4–6 bie, 5–8, 9 (dial.) bye, 4– by. In OE. the instances of the adv. may all be treated (from the modern point of view) either as prefixes to a verb, or as prepositions following their object.
1. a. Of position: Near, close at hand, in another's presence or immediate neighbourhood; occas. after verbal ns., as in dweller by, stander by, Naut. phr. stand by! = be ready. See by- in comb. 2 a.
[c993Battle of Maldon 182 Beᵹen ða beornas þe him biᵹ stodon.] c1340Cursor M. 14282 (Trin.) Men say hir þat bi stood Rennonde. c1425Wyntoun Cron. viii. xl. 93 Oþir Lordis, þat war by. 1463Bury Wills (1850) 35 If any be⁓drede man or woman ly by. 1526Tindale John xi. 42 Because of the people that stonde by I sayde it. 1602Return fr. Parnass. iii. iii. (Arb.) 43 He thinkes hee hath gulld the standers by sufficiently. 1623Massinger Dk. of Milan ii. i, My brother being not by now to protect her. 1732Berkeley Alciphr. i. §15 Methinks you sit by very tamely. 1834Marryat P. Simple III. 101 Stand by to haul over the boom-sheet when she pays off. 1861F. Nightingale Nursing 39 Patients are often accused of being able to ‘do much more when nobody is by’. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Stand by! the order to be prepared.
b. preceded by fast, hard, near. Also transferred to the idea of time.
c1400Mandeville viii. 93 Faste by, is ȝit the Tree of Eldre, that Judas henge him self upon. 1580Baret Alv. B 631 Here is a little towne or village harde bie to flie vnto. 1795Southey Joan of Arc i. cliv, Domremi's cottages Gleam'd in the sun hard by. 1866Kingsley Herew. i. (1877) 20 He founded Boston near by.
c1385Chaucer L.G.W. 2604 The aray is wrought, the tyme is faste by. 1535Coverdale Isa. li. 5 It is hard by, that my health and my rightuousness shal go forth.
c. following a n. in sense lying, living, situate close or hard by. Not now used alone. Also in fig. expressions.
c1470Henry Wallace i. 50 Bruce [clamyt as] fyrst male of the secund gre by. 1475Caxton Jason 41 b, Thauncient knight that was loggid in that other bedde by might not slepe. Ibid. 52 Alle the nobles..of the countrees by and adjacent. 1588Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 94, I stole into a neighbour thicket by. 1627J. Carter Expos. 54 Dead in trespasses and sinnes, or next doore by.
d. Naut. by and large: see as main entry. full and by: sailing close-hauled to the wind. (Adm. Smyth.)
1627Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. ix. (1692) 42 Fill the Sails, keep full, full and by. 1628Digby Voy. Medit. (1868) 83 Your chace goeth best before the wind, and..you can outbeare her, by. 1881W. C. Russell Ocean Free-L. I. vi. 265 They held on after us nevertheless, sailing full and bye.
2. a. Aside, out of the way; out of use or consideration. to put by, set by or lay by: to put aside from use, set aside, discard; (more recently) to put aside from present use, so as to reserve for the future. to put by: also (obs.) to turn from one's purpose; cf. A. 16 c.
c1425Wyntoun Cron. viii. iv. 253 For Custwme approwyd oft by drawys Of Canon and Cyvyle bath the Lawys. 1535Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 222 This ȝoung Arthure..Tha crownit king and put the richt air bye. Ibid. 339 All kynd of armour in that place cast by. a1586Answ. Cartwright 6 He must..laye by his proofe as vntrue. 1595Shakes. John iv. iii. 95 Stand by, or I shall gaul you Faulconbridge. 1614W. B. Philos. Banquet (ed. 2) 3 Age might be kept backe, and sicknesse kept bye. 1634Bayne On Coloss. 344 What a Pride is it, for some ignorant Schollar to put by the direction of his Tutor. 1655L'Estrange Chas. I, 125 Some thing or other ever came travers..and put him by. 1721De Foe Mem. Cavalier (1840) 311 They had set by the lords for not agreeing to it. 1731Swift Corr. II. 701 These things can lie by till you come to carp at them. 1766Goldsm. Vic. W. xx, Vile things that nature designed should be thrown by into her lumber room. 1807Windham Speeches Parl. (1812) III. 19 Laying something by for a rainy day. 1867Froude Short Stud. (ed. 2) 161 Neither party is entitled to say..‘Stand by, I am holier than thou’.
b. Naut. to lie (lay) by: (a) to come almost to a stand, either by backing sail or by leaving only enough sail to keep the vessel's head straight; = modern phrase lie to; also transf.; (b) to dodge under small sail under the land (Adm. Smyth).
1613Shakes. Hen. VIII, iii. i. 11 The Billowes of the Sea, Hung their heads, and then lay by. 1674Petty Disc. bef. Royal Soc. 102 To stop Leaks afore, the Ship must stop its motion, lye by, or bear up. 1704Lond. Gaz. No. 4054/1 We lay by all day..repairing our Defects. 1753Hanway Trav. I. ii. xvi. 72 We were obliged to lay-by in the night.
3. Of motion: Past a certain point, beyond. Also transferred to time; cf. by- in comb. 2 b.
[c950Lindisf. Gosp. Mark xv. 21 Geneddon bi geongende [Rushw. bigongende]. a1400Morte Arth. (1847) 233 Ffloridas with a swerde, as he by glenttys, Alle the flesche of the flanke he flappes in sondyre. c1425Wyntoun Cron. viii. xviii. 186 Thai persawyd by gangand A man. 1535Coverdale 2 Sam. xvi. 1 Dauid was gone a lytle by from the toppe of the mount. 1606B. Jonson Barriers Wks. 1870 III. 34 They marched by in pairs. 1766Goldsm. Vic. W. xxi, A stage coach happening to pass by. 1844Disraeli Coningsby i. iii. 14 The days are gone by for senates to have their beards plucked in the forum.
†4. In addition, besides, also. Obs. (Cf. Sc. for-by.) by (and) attour, see atour.
1436Pol. Poems (1859) II. 185 Thys coloure..muste be seyde alofte, And by declared of the grete fulle ofte. a1440Sir Degrev. 223 Tene score knythis..And iii hondred archerus by. 1600in Farr S.P. (1845) II. 435 Onlesse my seruice be employed by. 1653Holcroft Procopius, He might spend less wood, and wages upon bakers, and by gain the weight. 1763C. Johnston Reverie I. 143 For a guinea by. 1804Illust. Lond. News 21 Aug. (1886) 194 The Gallant and Spirited Race run..for 500 guineas, and 1000 guineas bye, between Mrs. Thornton and Mr. Flint.
5. a. Over in duration, finished, at an end. Of time: past, gone by. Also by with. Sc. and north.
1784Burns Ep. Rankine x, As soon 's the clocking-time is buy, And the wee pouts begun to cry. 1846A. Laing Wayside Flowers 20 Whan the buryin' was bye, an' relations a' gane. 1896Crockett Grey Man xii, The days of curses are by with.
b. Of a person: done for, ruined, dead: esp. in to be by with it. Sc. and north.
1890Service Notandums vi. 34 When the dykes are broken you're bye, ye ken,—ouay! fairly bye! 1893Stevenson Catriona xxx, You're by with it, James More. You can never show your face again. 1900Kipling in Daily Express 26 June 4/6 I'll not call it farmin'—up yonder, but ye're by with that even.
▪ IV. by, bye, a.
Forms: 5–9 bye, 6– by; also 6 bi, 7 bie.
[Attrib. use of prec. by- in adv., as in out patient, etc. Not separated by any clear line from by combinations: see by- III. (In modern use the spelling bye seems to be preferred when the word is treated as an adj.)]
Generally. The opposite of main.
1. Situated to one side, as a door, or out of the way, as a place; running in a side direction, or out of the way, as a path. Also fig. See by- in comb. 3 a, b, and by-path, by-way, etc.
c1330, etc. [see by-way]. 1485Caxton St. Wenefr. 2 By a bye dore of the chamber she wente oute. 1545[see by-door s.v. by- 3 a]. 1582Bentley Mon. Matrones 39 Seeking manie crooked and biwaies. 1583Stanyhurst æneis iii. (Arb.) 73 Soom bye place of resting graunt vs. 1655Gouge Comm. Heb. x. 20 There are so many bie broad pathes. 1706Lond. Gaz. No. 4259/4 The Man that is supposed to have robb'd..a bye Hackney Coach..upon the Forest of Sherwood. 1748Richardson Clarissa (1811) II. xli. 307 Nothing can be more bye and unfrequented. 1796Morse Amer. Geog. I. 335 Hospitals erected..in bye places. 1830Southey in For. Rev. & Cont. Misc. V. 278 The mule preferred the high road to the bye one. 1880W. Cornw. Gloss. (E.D.S.) Bye, lonely. Our house is rather bye.
2. fig.
a. Away from the main purpose, occurring ‘by the way’, incidental, casual;
b. of secondary importance;
c. privy, clandestine, secret, underhand; cf. by- in comb. 3 c, d, 4, 5: often coupled with another epithet, as by and sinister, familiar and by, etc. See by-matter, by-word, etc.
c1050, etc. [see by-word]. 1552, etc. [see by-matter]. 1562Cooper Answ. Priv. Masse (1850) 168 You have brought out of them all but a few bye sentences. 1599B. Jonson Ev. Man out of Hum., The Stage, Entertain this troop With some familiar and by-conference. 1632D. Lupton London Carbon. 105 He..hopes to haue..some by preferment. 1633Fosbrooke Warre or Confl. 9 Done either in hypocrisie or for some by and sinister respect. a1652Brome Crt. Beggar ii. i, Have we spent all this while in by and idle talke? 1674[Z. Cawdrey] Catholicon 16 Those whom they have gained in their concealed and by-trade as Undertakers. 1802Paley Nat. Theol. xxvi. (1819) 455 The bye effect may be unfavourable. 1842Miall Nonconf. II. 393 Some trivial bye consideration being unsound will vitiate our whole conclusion. 1849Ruskin Sev. Lamps iv. §3. 96 Far too serious a work to be undertaken in a bye way. 1857Gen. P. Thompson Audi Alt. I. ii. 5 A bye debate..arose on a motion by Lord Claud Hamilton.
▪ V. by
obs. f. be, bee, buy; also of been pa. pple. of be v. |