by

▪ I. † by, n.¹ Obs.
    Forms: 1– by, 4 bi, bii, bij, bie, 9 bye.
    [north. OE. b{yacu}, prob. a. ON. bœ-r, b{yacu}-r (Sw. and Da. by) habitation, village, town, f. b{uacu}a 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.

c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Mark v. 3 Se ðe hus vel lytelo by hæfde in byrᵹennum. a 1300 Cursor M. 19511 To preche he come intil a bi þat men cleped samari. c 1314 Guy Warw. (1840) 267 Balder bern was non in bi. [1803 R. Anderson Cumbrld. Ballads xxxiii. 71 There's Oughterby and Souterby, And bys beath far and weyde.] 1884 Pall 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. 1908 W. 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.

1456 in 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.

1567 Turberv. Ovid's Epist. 13 b, Refuseth me and all the wealth, and barres me by and maine. 1580 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 430 Alwayes haue an eye to the mayne, what so ever thou art chaunced at the buy. 1598 R. Barckley Felic. Man (1631) Pref., Dice players, that gaine more by the bye than by the maine. 1603 St. 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. 1610 W. 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. 1639 Sir R. Baker in Spurgeon Treas. Dav. Ps. cxliii. 3 These are but the bye; the main of his aim is at the soul. a 1734 North Lives II. 188 Neither was the main let fall, nor time lost, upon the by. 1791–1824 D'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.

1611 Florio, Massare, to play or cast at the by, at hazard or gresco. a 1619 Daniel Coll. Hist. Eng. (1626) Pref. 3 These things being but of the By. a 1639 W. 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.

1615 W. Hull Mirr. Maiestie 98 Not intentionally, but accidentally (as we say) vpon the bye. c 1620 Z. Boyd Zion's Flowers (1855) 85 Who ever he be that in adultery, Begets a child, he stealeth by a by. 1627 Hakewill Apol. Pref. 10 It led them some other way, thwarting and upon the by, not directly. 1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. St. v. v. 377 They had something..in the favour of Friers, though brought in only by the by. a 1661 B. Holyday Juvenal (1673) 149 If he be ask'd, though but by chance, and on the by. 1678 Butler Hud. iii. i. 605 All he does upon the By, She is not bound to Justifie. 1740 J. Clarke Educ. Youth (ed. 3) 66 Let it be done sparingly, and by the bye. 1794 G. Adams Nat. & Exp. Philos. IV. xlvi. 259 [Chemists] hunt, perhaps, after chimeras..and find something really valuable by the bye.

1621 Bp. R. Montagu Diatribe 9 You are much upon the by, to bring in your Philologicall observations. 1649 Cromwell Lett. 13 Aug., As for the pleasures of this life, and outward business, let that be upon the bye. 1661 J. Stephens Procurations 67 Little else than a τὸ παρεργον a work by the by. 1705 Stanhope Paraphr. II. 222 They would not make Religion a thing by the by. 1831 Sir W. Hamilton Discuss. (1853) 416 Tuition..lightly viewed and undertaken, as a matter of convenience, a business by the by. 1872 Geo. 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.

1708 Swift Bickerstaff Detect. Wks. 1755 II. i. 164 My wife's voice, (which by the by, is pretty distinguishable). 1762 T. 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?’ 1847 Barham Ingol. Leg. (1877) 269 A line that's not mine but Tom Moore's, by-the-by. 1866 Kingsley Herew. i, By-the-by, Martin—any message from my lady mother?

    3. ? A by-current, side current.

1877 Blackmore 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. b{iacu} (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 b{iacu} stód (bi-stód)’, ‘þæt folc him b{iacu} stod (him bi-stód)’, ‘þæt folc stód him b{iacu},’ ‘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 b{iacu} (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.

898 O.E. Chron. an. 894 §2 On Defna scire be þære norþ sæ. 971 Blickl. Hom. 15 Þa sæt þær sum blind þearfa be ðon weᵹe. c 1000 Whale (poem) 18 Ceolas stondað bi staðe fæste. 1160 Hatton G. Matt. xiii. 40 Hyo..sæten be þam strande. c 1200 Ormin 3340 Þat engel..stod hemm bi. c 1330 Assump. Virg. 368 To kepe þee & by þee by [?be thee by, or by thee be]. 1375 Barbour Bruce vi. 667 The Kyng lukyt hym by. c 1400 Destr. Troy 11569 To be..laid by hir legis, þat the lond aght. c 1485 Digby Myst. (1882) iv. 658 Com sit me bye. 1513 Douglas æneis ix. ix. 138 Hys scheild syne by hym lais. 1682 Wheler Journ. Greece i. 4 Hard by this Island..is Ruigna. 1764 Reid Inquiry ii. § 10. 174 The clock may strike by us without being heard. 1832 W. Irving Alhambra ii. 125 A sword by his side. 1860 Dickens Uncomm. Trav. xx, Down by the Docks they ‘board seamen’ at the eating houses. 1881 Saintsbury 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.

1508 Fisher Wks. i. 221 His commaundement must nedes be..abyden by. 1736 Cibber School-Boy ii. i, You'll stand by me upon Occasion. 1742 H. Walpole Corr. (1857) I. 193 They have given Mrs. Pulteney an admirable name and one that will stick by her. 1818 Moore Fudge Fam. Paris vi. 4 We Fudges stand by one another. 1865 Carlyle Fredk. Gt. (1873) V. 271 Let us stick by our excerpting. 1885 Sir 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.

a 1500 tr. Magna Charta in Arnolde Chron. (1811) 217 Be the sight of holy chirch, his goodis shalbe destribute. 1601 F. 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.

c 975 Rushw. Gl. Matt. xxiii. 22 Seþe sweraþ be heofune swerat be sedle godes, and in ðæm seþe siteþ on him. c 1205 Lay. 3447 Heo swor..bi al heuenliche main. a 1300 Cursor M. 7934 Bi godd o-liue he suor his ath. c 1435 Torr. Portugal 52 Tho he sware be hevyn kyng, Ther wase told hym a wondyr thyng. 1586 Warner Alb. Eng. i. ii. 5 Sworne-by Stix and wreakfull Mars at periuries repine. 1611 Bible Matt. v. 36 Neither shalt thou sweare by thy head. 1751 Jortin Serm. (1771) V. iii. 56 They took up a custom of swearing not by the Lord, but by other things. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 354 And I swear to you Athenians, by the dog I swear! 1884 St. 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.

1297 R. Glouc. 25 Þou ne schalt (bi hym þat made me) of scapie so lyȝte. a 1300 Cursor M. 13593 ‘A prophet,’ said he, ‘be mi lai.’ a 1330 Otuel 476 Bisengeme [= By Saint James] ihc habbe i-fouȝt Otuwel. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. iv. 285 By Cryst, at my knowynge, Mede ys worthy, me þynkeþ, þe maistrye to haue. c 1440 Generydes 2445, I take hir for my owen, sir, be the rode. 1519 Interl. Elem. in Hazl. Dodsley I. 33 Of all meats in the world that be, By this light, I love best drink. 1653 Urquhart Rabelais i. xlii, By's death, I would plume them. 1672 Davenant Siege (1673) 69 By this Light, you eat nimbly. 1841–4 Emerson Ess., Poet Wks. (Bohn) I. 170 By God, it is in me, and must go forth of me. 1875 Jowett 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).

a 1300 Fragm. Pop. Sc. (Wright) 134 Whan a man is an urthe ded, and his soule bi God. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. xii. ii, Accordynge as by hym is audyence. 1535 Coverdale Acts ix. 43 He taried..at Joppa by one Simon which was a tanner. 1541 Barnes Wks. (1573) 347/2 We haue an aduocate by the father, Christ Iesus. 1661 Boyle Scep. Chem. i. (1680) 73 What I have yet lying by me of that anomalous Salt. 1712 Henley Spect. No. 396 ¶1, I have kept it [a letter] by me some Months. 1800 Coleridge 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).

c 1460 Towneley Myst. 145 (Mätz.) We rede thus by I say. 1579 Tomson 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.

a 1225 Ancren 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.

c 1200 Ormin 821 Sone summ he cuþe ben Himm ane bi himm selfenn. 1297 R. Glouc. 104 Þo heo were al bi hem selue..He slow þe kyng. a 1300 Cursor M. 12834 He fand his cosin Ion, In wildernes bi him allan. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 35 By thy selfe, seorsum. 1559 Bp. Cox in Strype Ann. Ref. I. vi. 99 Weigh this matter by your self. 1611 Shakes. Cymb. iii. i. 13 Britaine's a world By it selfe. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 26 ¶1, I very often walk by myself in Westminster Abbey. 1712 Steele ibid. No. 302 ¶11 My husband and I were sitting all alone by our selves. 1813 Jane Austen Pride & Prej. (1846) 301 We may as well leave them by themselves. 1884 G. 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.

a 1000 Ags. Gosp. John vii. 17 Hwæðer þe ic be me sylfum spece. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xx. 140 The paume..haþ power by hym-self, Oþer-wise þan þe wrythen fust. c 1400 Mandeville 194 Ȝif thei abyden to dyen be hem self, as nature wolde. c 1450 Merlin i. 14 Tyll she be stronge to goo by her-self. 1711 Lond. Gaz. No. 4794/2 The Battalions..charg'd by their own selves. 1744 Berkeley 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.

1330 R. Brunne Chron. 149 We þre haf..þe schippes of Kyng Richard to keep & ȝow þam bie. c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. ix. xxvii. 331 By his awyn war Baneris five Dysplayt. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. III. 230 Nocht be the clething on oure bak. 1600 J. Melvill Diary (1842) 146 By and besyde the inward hand of my God, I haid twa utward speciall comforts. 1722 De Foe Col. Jack (1840) 95 We will have a lift, if we don't get the horse by the bargain. 1816 Scott 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.

1340 Ayenb. 249 Amang þe bestes man heþ þane leste mouþ be þe bodie. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xviii. 104 Noþer þei knoweþ ne conneþ o cours by a-noþer. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon ix. 224 The four sones of Aymon were good to knowe by thother. c 1515 Elegy on Henry VIII's Fool in Halliw. Nugæ P. 45 Many folys by the thynke themselfe none. 1578 in Scot. Poems 16th C. II. 126, I gaif thee ressoun, quhereby thou might Haue knawin the day by the dark night. 1729 Let. in Wodrow Corr. (1843) III. 448 Twenty-six years ago..we were in a pleasant situation..by what we are at present. 1768 Goldsm. 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.

1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. xi. 29 Luytel is he loued or leten bi. 1393 Ibid. C. vi. 3 Cloþed as a lollere, And lytel y-lete by. c 1382 Wyclif Isa. liii. 3 Wherfore ne wee setteden by hym. c 1400 Mandeville xxvii. 272 Thei sette not..by Caw⁓teles. 1407 Songs Costume (1849) 57 Ye be so lewyd your selfe there setteth no man you bye. c 1430 How Wise man tauȝt Son 126 in Babees Bk. (1868) 52 Bi oþir richesse sette no greet price. c 1440 York Myst. xxxi. 105 Sette I noght be hym. 1549 Psalm xv. 4 (Prayer Bk.) He that setteth not by himself, but is lowly in his own eyes. 1637 Bastwick Litany iii. 13 That booke was highly set by and commended. 1729 Butler Serm. 540 In all lowliness of mind we set lightly by ourselves. 1839 Keightley 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.

1567 Test. H. Stewart in Scot. Poems 16th C. II. 257 Lancit with luif, sho luid me by all wycht. 1603 Philotus cx, Our Parents hes opprest, And by all dew thair Dochters drest. a 1657 Sir 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. 1822 Galt Entail II. ii. 13 He's mair than weel enough. He's by common. 1824 Scott Redgauntlet let. xi, There was something in it by ordinar. 1832–53 Whistle-Binkie (Sc. Songs) Ser. 11. 27 He courts a' the lasses..Yet for nane by anither cares bauld braxy Tam. 1851 Mrs. 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.

1460–70 Compl. 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. 1513 Douglas æneis vii. x. 109 The hevynnis hie To wytnes drew he, all was by his wyll. 1650 Row Hist. Kirk (1842) 366 By the expectation of many..the Parliament did ryde and end upon Fryday. 1668 Pepys 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.

1600 Gowrie's Conspir. in Harl. Misc. (Malh.) II. 339 The young gentleman..was become somewhat by himselfe, which his Maiestie conjectured..by his..vncouth stairing. 1785 Burns Halloween xvi, He monie a day was by himsel, He was sae sairly frighted. 1832 Blackw. 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.)

c 893 K. ælfred Oros. i. i. §7 Caucasus se beorᵹ is be norþan and Indus seo ea be westan, and seo Reade Sæ be suþan. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 591 Þe alre wiseste þe wuneð bi westen. c 1340 Cursor M. 12131 (Trin.) Who herde euer suche ferly Of any mon bi norþ or souþ. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. ii. 117 Hit is sykerer by southe þer þe sonne regneth Þan in þe north. 1556 J. Heywood Spider & F. lx. 101 One sort by east, an other by west, did rise. 1627 Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. ix. (1692) 43 Lay the Ship by the Lee to trie the Dep-sea Line. 1628 Digby Voy. Medit. (1868) 46 In smooth water, and by a wind, was her best way. 1664 Bushnell Shipwright 7 The most Ships saile by the Sterne. 1849 Blackw. Mag. LXVI. 196 She's too much by the head. 1867 Smyth 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.

1682 Wheler Journ. Greece vi. 481, I observed Corinth to lie South-East by South off us. 1719 De Foe Crusoe (1840) I. ii. 26, I..steered directly south and by east. 1837 Fraser's Mag. XVI. 48 We steered S.E. by E. 1849 Ibid. 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.

c 893 K. ælfred Oros. i. i. §6 Be norþam þæm porte. c 1420 Avow. Arth. xlvii, He..was comun fro bi-southe. 1577 Holinshed Chron. III. 961/2 The whole armie was landed two miles by west the towne of Lith. 1612 Davies Why Ireland, &c. (1787) 177 They dwelt by west the law, which dwelt beyond the river of the Barrow. 1614 Raleigh Hist. World v. ii. §8. 354 Like as they called Cisalpines, or bi-hither the Alpes, those who dwelt between them and the Mountaines. 1716 Let. 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.

c 1205 Lay. 10511 Þa vt-laȝes beoð swa stronge bi watere & bi londe. c 1314 Guy Warw. (A.) 830 Who so winneþ þe turnament al Bi aiþer half, þe priis haue schal. c 1325 Coer de L. 1849 By the water-half ye them assail, And we will by land saunsfayl. 1578 Lyte Dodoens iii. lxv. 407 The whiche leaves are playne by one side. 1770 Langhorne Plutarch (1879) I. 241/2 They commonly commanded both by sea and land. 1866 Kingsley 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.)

c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xl. §5 Ȝif ic þe læde be þam weᵹe. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 79 Þer com a prost bi þe weie. a 1250 Owl & Night. 506 Þe heisugge Þat flihþ bi grunde a mong þe stubbe. c 1300 K. Alis. 1767 Hom heo wendith by doune and dale. a 1300 Cursor M. 14285 Þe teres bi þair chekes þon ran. 1486 Bk. St. Albans D j b, And comyth low bi the grounde. 1534 Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) C. iij, To goo by the stretes as vacabundes. 1682 Wheler Journ. Greece i. 47 It fell to the Hollanders share to come by our Lee. 1712 Parnell Spect. No. 460 ¶6 The way by which we ascended. 1816 J. Wilson City of Plague i. i. 187 Moving by the river side, Came on a ghost. 1885 Act 48 & 49 Vic. liv. §14 The churches..are within four miles of one another by the nearest road.

    ¶ b. By is sometimes elliptically omitted.

1768 Wesley 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.

c 1205 Lay. 31195 Comen..bi sæ & bi londe feole cunne leoden. 1382 Wyclif Acts xx. 13 Makinge journey bi lond. c 1450 Merlin iii. 41 The shippes comynge by the see. 1630 M. Godwyn Bp. Hereford's Ann. Eng. 82 Hee went by water to Greenwich. 1712 Budgell Spect. No. 425 ¶ 1 You descend at first by twelve Stone Steps. 1851 Kingsley 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.

c 1000 ælfric Gen. xlv. 24 Ne forlæte ᵹe nan þing be weᵹe. c 1340 Cursor M. 18378 (Trin.) Amen alleluya son⁓gen þei And honoured him euer bi þe wey. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 5 b, But the sayd rychesse holpe them well by the waye. 1530 Tindale Exp. (1849) 330 If a woman should find a man-child by the streets. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. iv. iii. 253, I was cozen'd by the way, and lost all my money. 1760 Goldsm. 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) 1548 Latimer Serm. Ploughers (Arb.) 21 Here haue I an occasion by the way somwhat to say vnto you. 1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. St. v. 377 They had something..in the favour of Friers, though brought in only by the by. 1677 Moxon Mech. Exerc. (1703) 202 And by the way you may take notice, that, etc. 1830 Blackw. Mag. XXVIII. 247 All this is by the way. 1832 J. C. Hare Philol. Museum I. 254 This question..merely came in by the by.

(b) 1574 tr. Marlorat's Apocalyps 41 By the waye, thys place teacheth vs, that, etc. 1631 Gouge God's Arrows iv. xv. 396 Here by the way, the Providence of God..is remarkable. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 32 ¶3 One of the Seniors (whom by the by Mr. President had taken all this Pains to bring over) sat still. 1818 Byron Juan i. lvi, Her blood was not all Spanish, by the by. 1882 Knowledge No. 39. 144 Artificial irrigation, which, by-the-way, is now being extensively developed in Australia, etc.

    † 13. Through the extent of, throughout. Obs.

a 1225 St. Marher. 9 Þe fuheles þe fleon bi ðe lufte. c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 41 Hou freris schullen go bi þe world. 1502 tr. Magna Charta in Arnolde Chron. (1811) 220 To..dwell & goo bi England. 1647 W. 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.

c 1340 Cursor M. 11529 (Fairf.) An angill come & hem forbad To wend by hym [Herod] eny way. 1382 Wyclif John x. 1 He that cometh not in by the dore. c 1400 Epiph. (Turnb. 1843) 108 They returned by Jerusalem. c 1485 Digby Myst. (1882) i. 37 The thre kynges..promysed kyng herowde..To come a-geyn by him. 1553 Eden Treat. New Ind. (Arb.) 8 The passage..by the strayghtes of Magellanus. 1625 K. Long Barclay's Argenis iv. ix. 270 Faithful Sicambes was conveyed in by a backe chamber. 1633 Featley in P. Fletcher Purple Isl. Introd., The Way to God is by ourselves. 1719 De Foe Crusoe (1848) 357 The place was inaccessible, except by such windings, &c., as they themselves only who made them could find. 1885 Sir J. Hannen in Law Rep. 15 Queen's B. Div. 140 Leaving the building by a side door.

1701 W. Wotton Hist. Rome 481 He went by the way of Illyricum. 1865 Cornh. 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.

c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 83 He [Christ] com bi þis forwundede mon. 1330 R. Brunne Chron. 296 Alle þat he mot com bie, he robbed. c 1350 Will. Palerne 220 By-þan he com by þat barn. 1535 Coverdale Tobit iv. 20 Seke some meanes, how thou mayest come by him. 1607 Shakes. 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.

c 1380 Sir. Ferumb. 1108 By hilles & roches swyþe horrible on hur cors þay wente. 1393 Gower Conf. I. 227 To hem that passen all day by me. 1509 Hawes Examp. Virtue vi. 78 That came vs by and very nere, Ascendynge vp into her hyghe sete. 1632 Rutherford Lett. xxiii. (1862) I. 91 Your jealous Husband will not be content that ye look by Him to another. 1660 Pepys Diary 2 Nov., I..got as far as Ludgate by all the bonfires. 1732 Berkeley Alciphr. v. §1 We saw a fox run by the foot of our mount. 1786 Burns Twa Dogs 92 They gang as saucy by poor folk, As I wad by a stinking brock. 1820 Keats 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.

c 1385 Chaucer Man of Law's T. 1026 But I lete all his storie passen by. 1535 Stewart Cron Scot. II 639 Foull appetyte..causis thame oft till go by the rycht. 1552 Abp. Hamilton Catech. (1884) 31 Cursit ar thai quhilk gangis by the commandis of God. 1667 Pepys Diary (1877) V. 470 The king hath..passed by the thing and pardoned it already. 1673 Marvell Reh. Transp. ii. 346, I am content to go by the loss. 1869 J. 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.

1580 North Plutarch 798 The King..did put Tiribazus by his Wife. 1596 Spenser Astroph. Elegy 174 Perhaps this may a suter be, To set Mars by his deitie. 1643 Prynne Power Parl. i. (ed. 2) 53 Maude the Empresse..was put by the Crowne by the Prelates and Barons. 1647 W. Browne Polexander ii. 329 We met with a storme, which put us by our course. 1726 Amherst Terræ Fil. xliii. 236 He can put him by his degree for a whole year. 1768 Johnson 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.

1863 Atkinson 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.

c 1230 Hali Meid. 23 Loke..bi hu moni degrez ha falleð duneward. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xx. 58 Wolde nat neyhle him by nyne londes lengthe. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon 227 There is nother castell nor towne by xx myles nyghe aboute it. 1551 R. Robinson tr. More's Utop. (Arb.) 77 By all that space..the water ebbeth and floweth. 1682 Wheler Journ. Greece iv. 291 No Ship..can come near them by four or five Miles. 1880 M{supc}Carthy 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.

c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 169 Þe þridde biwist..was bi twi⁓fold more þane þe forme. 1375 Barbour Bruce ii. 230 Thar fayis war may then thai Be xv. c. 1556 J. Heywood Spider & F. lx. 38, I thought him to young to haue winges, by a yeare. 1585 Jas. 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. 1614 B. Jonson Barth. Fair i. i, He is taller than either of you by the head. 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp. s.v. Account, Balance of an Account is the sum by which the debt exceeds the credit, or vice versa. 1777 Sheridan Sch. Scand. iv. iii, He is too moral by half. 1815 Scribbleomania 261 Selwyn..missed it only by seven votes out of 7000. 1884 Manch. 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.

c 1230 Hali Meid. 23 Bi hu muchel þe an passeð þe oðre. c 1375 Wyclif Antecrist (Todd) 117 By hou myche þei shul be more merueilous to men, be so myche þe hooli men..shulen be dispised. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xxiii. 314 More of fisik by fer. 1423 Jas. I. Kingis Q. cxxxi, The werk that first is foundit sure..langere sall endure Be monyfald. 1450 Myrc 1629 A-bregge hys penaunce þen by myche. 1595 Barnfield Poems (Arb.) 43 By how much the lesse I am able to expresse it, by so much the more it is infinite. 1677 Moxon Mech. Exerc. (1703) 35 By so much as Brass is a weaker Mettal than Iron. 1808 Scott 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.

a 1000 Laws of Eadgar I. 4 (Mätz.) Sy ælc heorðpening aᵹyfen be Petres mæssedæᵹ. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 47 Swich þeu wes bi þan dagen. c 1300 Beket 2494 This was bi a Tywesdai. c 1380 Wyclif De Eccles. Sel. Wks. III. 350 Crist techiþ..þat men shulden snybbe her briþeren bi þre tymes. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. ii. 102 Dauid by hus daies dobbede knyȝtes. 1488 Caxton Chast. Goddes Chyldr. 42 Men haue dwellid stably in wyldernesse by hemselfe by olde tyme. 1543 Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) F vij, His sonnes in lawe, that he hadde chose by his lifetyme. a 1687 H. More in R. Ward Life (1710) 352, I wish you would resolve to see Cambridge once by the year at least. 1797 Philanthrope 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.

c 1200 Ormin 11332 Heold Crist hiss fasste..Bi daȝhess & bi nahhtess. a 1250 Owl & Night. 241 Bi daie þu art stare⁓blind. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 4265 Þe Ameral be-segeþ hymen þer-yn..Be niȝtes & be daye. c 1440 Partonope 1632 He come to Pountyff by the day. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 405 Alone, by Night, his watery way he took. 1855 Macaulay 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.)

c 1460 Towneley Myst. 274 (Mätz.) He ded shuld be, And ly in erthe by dayes thre. 1503–4 Act 19 Hen. VII, xxxvi. Preamb., [He] lay both at Surgery and fesyk..by the space of ij yeres and more. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. i viii, Thus stode I musynge myselfe all alone By right long tyme. 1611 Bible Acts xx. 31. By the space of three yeeres, I ceased not to warne euery one. 1623–4 Act 21 Jas. I, xx. § 1 The Offender..shall..be set in the Stocks by three whole Hours. 1841 G. 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.

c 1350 Will. Palerne 2683 But hire fader com bi þe four⁓teniȝtes hende. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 346 He bryngiþ in newe [servants] þat done werse bi litil tyme. c 1500 Lancelot 30 Be the morow set I was a-fyre. 1616 W. Forde Serm. 25 Learne by time how to die. 1682 Wheler Journ. Greece i. 24 We parted and came by noon to Lesina. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 503 ¶2 By this time the best of the Congregation was at the Church-door. 1768 Sterne Sent. Journ. (1778) II. 32 Ready at the door of the hotel by nine in the morning. 1867 Freeman 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.

a 1300 Cursor 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. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. (1847) 19 By that was Launcelot hole and fere. c 1500 Lancelot 774 Be this the word wes to king arthur gone. c 1565 R. Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (1728) 62 There are other ambassadors..directed by-now from the pope. 1671 Milton Samson 262 Had Judah that day joined..They had by this possessed the towers of Gath. 1795 Southey Joan of Arc i. cxxxii, By this Dunois Had arm'd. 1864 Atkinson 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.

a 1300 Floriz & Bl. 151 Biþat hit was middai hiȝ Floriz was þe brigge niȝ. a 1300 Cursor M. 2839 Bi þe time þat þe sune ras, Strang cri in þa tounes was. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. (1847) 99 By than that endyd was the fight, The fals were feld. c 1435 Torr. Portugal 19 Be tyme he was xviij yer old, Of deddes of armys he wase bold. 1470–85 Malory Arthur i. x, By than they were redy on horsbak there were vii C knyghtes. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. xlvi. 64 By y{supt} it was day in the mornyng, they were before Courtray. 1575–85 Abp. Sandys Serm. (1841) 300 They cannot tell what is said: it is forgotten by that it is spoken. 1684 Bunyan Pilgr. ii. 82 By that these Pilgrims had been at this place a week, Mercy had a Visitor. 1701 W. Wotton Hist. Rome 356 By that time he had overtaken the poor flying Emperor, he was almost equal to him. 1854 Thoreau Walden iv. (1886) 111 By the time the villagers had broken their fast. 1868 Morris 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.

1297 R. Glouc. 369 Be hii aryse..Wolues dede hii nymeþ vorþ. a 1440 Sir Degrev. 961 That lady was glad By sche that chartur had rad. c 1565 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. 31 (Jam.) By thir words were said, his men were so enraged. c 1644 MS. Hist. Somerville Family, Be this execution was done, the prince returned from the persuite. 1724 Ramsay 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 b{ybreve}) 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.

c 893 K. ælfred Oros. iii. ix. §14 Oþer [byriᵹ] wæs hatenu be his horse Bucefal, oþer Nicea. a 1593 Marlowe Dido v. i, Let it be term'd Aenea, by your name. Serg. Rather Ascania, by your little son. 1682 Wheler 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.)

a 1000 O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 634 Se Birinus com þider be Honorius wordum. c 1000 ælfric Gen. xxiv. 10 Ferde to þam lande be his hlafordes hæse. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 97 Todelende u wilchen bi þan þet him iwurð. a 1300 Cursor M. 13052 Þi broþer wijf þat þou agh not to haf be lau. Ibid. 9589 Mercy þou owest to haue be riȝt. 1463 Bury Wills (1850) 16, I will that they be revardyd..by the discrecion of my executours. 1556 Chron. Gr. Friars (1852) 11 To be songe solemply be note. 1663 Butler Hud. i. i. 86 And tell what Rules he did it by. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 409 ¶7 In examining æneas his Voyage by the Map. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 665 The right by which freeholders chose knights of the shire. 1859 F. Griffiths Artil. Man. (1862) 14 By the left.—Quick march. By the right.—Quick march. 1866 Kingsley Herew. v. 109 They had timed their journey by the tides. 1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan 46 We judge a stranger by our home⁓bred ways.

1470–85 Malory Arthur (1816) I. 52 The barons..assayed all by row, but none might speed. 1551–6 R. Robinson tr. More's Utop. (Arb.) 93 The women of euery family by course haue the office..of cookerie. 1552 Huloet By herte, memoriter. c 1579 G. Harvey in Athenæum 789/1 His œconomicks..every on hath by rote. 1709 Add. & Steele Tatler No. 93 ¶4, I am therefore obliged to learn by book. a 1834 Coleridge 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.

c 1300 K. Alis. 3089 No doth nought by Dalmadas. c 1550 Scot. Poems 16th C. II. 133 Euer liue in charity Be Christ Iesu. 1643 Parables on Times 12, I will take warning by the Eagle. 1866 Kingsley Herew. iv. (1877) 96 Take example by Alcinous. 1882 Athenæum 18 Mar. 339 He has taken pattern by Goethe.

    c. in by your leave, by consent, etc.

c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2865 God..of israel, ðe bode sente..ðat bi ði leve, hise folc vt-fare. c 1386 Chaucer Reeve's Prol. 62 By youre leue I shal him quite anoon. 1470 Harding Chron. xxvii. iii, His heire to been by their bothes assent. 1558 Queen Elizabeth in Strype Ann. Ref. I. App. i, Elizabeth, by the grace of God, queen of England, Fraunce and Ireland. 1593 Hooker Eccl. Pol. Pref. vi. §2 Given by authority. 1754 Richardson Grandison (1811) IV. iii. 22 By the doctor's allowance, I enclose it to you. 1848 Macaulay 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.

1393 Langl. 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’.

1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iv. i. 21 By the ground they hide, I iudge their number..thirtie thousand. 1768 E. 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. 1879 L. 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.

c 1000 ælfric Lev. xxvi. 26 And ᵹe etaþ hlaf be ᵹewihte. c 1205 Lay. 27607 Fif hundred bi tale fusden to-somne. c 1400 Destr. Troy 1291 Seuyn thousand be sowme all of sure knightes. 1609 Bible (Douay) Lament. iii. 16 And he hath broken my teeth by number. 1611 Bible Josh. iii. 4 A space..about two thousand cubites by measure. 1682 Wheler Journ. Greece ii. 203 They sell it by weight. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 212 For ev'ry Bloom..An Autumn Apple was by tale restor'd. 1886 Law Times LXXX. 166/2 A miner..paid by piecework.

1598 W. Phillip Linschoten's Trav. Ind. (1864) 189 By means of their Brokers they buy by the great, and sell them againe by the piece. 1691 Reply Vind. Disc. Unreasonableness of New Separ. 14, I have Englished your Latin by Piecemeal. 1748 Anson Voy. iii viii. (ed. 4) 485 The Carpenters went on board to agree for all the work by the great. 1842 Blackw. Mag. LII. 279 The..people are ‘perishing by wholesale’.

    b. a definite standard or unit of measurement.

1494 Act 1. 1 Hen. VII, xxiii, No such Merchant..should put any Herring to Sale by Barrel, Demy-Barrel, or Firkin. 1600 O.E. Repl. Libel i. viii. 210 The rest ate bread by the ounce, and drunke water by the quart. 1728 Young Love Fame ii. 64 'Tis hard That Science should be purchased by the yard. 1885 Manch. 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.)

a 1300 Cursor M. 8833 To wijt hu þat it [be tre] gru be yere. 1495 Hen. VII. in Ellis Orig. Lett. i. 11 I. 21 For..an archer or bille on horsback viijd. by the day. 1570 R. Ascham Scholem. (Arb.) 38 A stipend of 200 crounes by yeare. 1647 Husbandman's Plea agst. Tithes 35 Arable land at 6s. 8d. by the Acre. 1781 Phil. Trans. LXXI. 305 The common price..is just two shillings by the pound. 1797 Philanthrope No. 4. 22 He..had now several thousands by year. 1815 Scribbleomania 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.

c 1205 Lay. 16128 Heo droȝen ut of þan wuden bi sixti & bi sixti. c 1300 K. Alis. 548 By threo, by foure, with his taile, To the ground he smot. 1413 Lydg. Pylgr. Sowle iii. viii. (1483) 55 They..bounden them to geders by ten and by twelue. 1483 Cath. Angl. 31/2 By lytylle and lytylle, sensim, paulatim. 1556 J. Heywood Spider & F. lxix. 2 Streight these twelue a rose By foure, four, and foure. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, iii. ii. 198, I play the Torturer by small and small To lengthen out the worst. 1682 Wheler Journ. Greece iv. 321 Which, by little and little, enlargeth it self. 1710 Steele Tatler No. 225 ¶2 A Set of Wags..appear generally by Two and Two. 1820 Keats 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’.

a 1300 Cursor M. 4710 Togider þei flocked in þat lond Bi hundrides & bi þousond. 1535 Coverdale Habak. i. 8 Their horsmen come by greate heapes from farre. 1578 Lyte Dodoens iv. lviii. 519 The roote is..full of joyntes by spaces. 1593 Hooker Eccl. Pol. i. vi. §1 They grow by degrees. 1607 Shakes. Cor. ii. iii. 47 We are..to come..by ones, by twoes, & by threes. 1635 Quarles Embl. i. (1818) 42 One..rends hair by handfuls. 1645 City Alarum 11 We do worse then stand still, in doing things by halves. 1686 Goad Celest. Bodies ii. iii. 191 To win our Ground by Inches. 1704 Pope Spring 41 Then sing by turns, by turns the Muses sing. 1728 ― Dunciad iii. 89 The North by myriads pours her mighty sons. 1817 J. Gilchrist Intell. Patrimony 71 Raving, perchance, by times, concerning religion and morality. 1843 Barham Ingol. Leg., Nurse's Story, Hand in hand The murderers stand, By one, by two, by three. 1869 Freeman 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.

c 1392 Chaucer Compl. Venus 81 To folowe word by word the Curiosite of Graunson. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xiii. 11 And praye for þe, pol by pol, yf þow be pecunyous. c 1449 Pecock Repr. ii. iiij. 144 Ouer long to be rehercid word bi word here. c 1500 Cocke Lorelles B. (1843) 8, I wyll..reken them one by one. 1630 Wadsworth Sp. Pilgr. iii. 15 They go downe two by two. 1709 Tatler No. 42 ¶14 Draw out Company by Company, and Troop by Troop. 1812 Keats Lamia 663 A deadly silence step by step increased. 1830 Tennyson 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.

c 1391 Chaucer Astrol. ii. §41 a, Multiplie þat be 12. Ibid. §42 b, Ȝif þou deuide 144 be 3. 1581 Styward Mart. Discip. i. 23 Then deuide the product by 1000. 1614 T. Bedwell Nat. Geom. Numbers iv. 65, I square the quotient 2, that is, I multiply it by it selfe. 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp. s.v. Multiplication, It is easy to conceive a quantity of any kind multiplied by a number. 1859 Barn. Smith Arith. & Algebra (ed. 6) 194 The former of these quantities is to be divided by the latter.

1731 Swift Corr. II. 690 Adjoining the kitchen may be made one room of 18 feet by 18. 1771 Goldsm. Haunch of Venison 68 A chair-lumber'd closet, just twelve feet by nine. 1865 Cornh. 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.

c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 51 Þenne do we bi ure sunne al swa me deað bi þe deade. a 1225 Ancr. R. 122 Þauh me dude so bi þe, me dude þe eorðe riht. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 5855 Doþ now syre by thys man As it is þy wille. 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. May 171 Such faitors..Will doe as did the Foxe by the Kidde. 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. ii. i. i. i, As the Spanish Marques is said to have done by one of his slaves. 1769 Goldsm. Roman Hist. (1786) I. 332 He murdered Hiempsal..and attempted the same by Adherbal. 1812 Jane Austen Mansf. Park v, He will consider it a right thing by Mrs. Grant, as well as by Fanny. 1869 Mrs. Norton Old Sir Douglas xxx. 178 That Kenneth should do his duty by his mother. 1872 Yeats Growth Comm. 32 Neither side acting unfairly by the other.

    b. after neuter impersonal verbs, as be, fall, fare: With. Obs. or dial.

a 1250 Owl & Night. 1373 Al swa hit is bi mine songe. c 1280 Commandm. 31 in E.E.P. (1862) 16 Hit falliþ bi children þat beþ quede, as fariþ bi been in hiue. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xxi. 236 So shal hit fare by þis folke. 1523 Ld. 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.

a 1000 Elene 562 Witᵹan sungon..be godes bearne. a 1121 O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1036 Sume men sædon be Harolde þæt he wære Cnute sunu cynges. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 7 Þis he witeȝede bi drihtene þurh þene halie gast. a 1250 Owl & Night. 46 Hu thincthe nu bi mine songe? c 1320 Cast. Loue 495 Be vs foure þis I telle. c 1460 Towneley Myst. 188 How thynk the, sir Pilate, Bi this brodelle. 1556 J. Heywood Spider & F. xliv. 9 What dishonestie know you by flies, sur? More then flies know by spiders. 1601 Shakes. All's Well v. iii. 237 By him and by this woman heere, what know you? 1645 T. Hill Olive Branch (1648) 12 God knows more good and evil by us, then we know by our selves. 1752 Fielding Amelia viii. ii, I always love to speak by people as I find.

    † d. with pejorative force: Against. Obs. exc. dial.

c 1300 Beket 871 Bi the Bischop of Londone thulke word he sede. c 1530 Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. 23 Arthur wolde fayne fynde some cause by her. 1611 Bible 1 Cor. iv. 4, I know nothing by myself [Revised against]. 1678 Yng. Man's Call. 351 He never knew any thing by her to be worthy of the least suspicion. 1879 G. 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).

c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 1131 A knyȝt of fraunce, Be name ne know y noȝt wat he was. 1606 G. W[oodcocke] Justine 96 By age but a boy. 1622–62 Heylin Cosmogr. iii. (1673) 58/1 The People..were by composition of a middle stature. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 47 ¶7 A Neighbour of mine, who is a Haberdasher by Trade. 1712 Ibid. No. 69 ¶2 A Merchant..who just knows me by sight. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 529 Allowed to associate..with him as with a brother by blood. 1864 Cornh. 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.

a 1000 Beowulf 3298 Þa wæs be feaxe on flet boren Grendles heafod. c 1000 ælfric Gen. xxxix. 12 Heo teh hine be his claþum. a 1154 O.E. Chron. an. 1137 Me henged up bi the fet. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. iv. 10 Cortesliche þe clerk þenne..Toke mede by þe myddel. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 272 b, An hande sent downe toke me by the heer of my heed. 1547 Boorde Introd. Knowl. 131 Pediculus other whyle do byte me by the backe. 1667 Pepys Diary 13 July, I did give her a pull by the nose, and some ill words. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 12 ¶2 Her little boy offers to pull me by the coat. 1798 Gouv. Morris in Sparks Life & Writ. (1832) III. 109 The new peace hangs by a very slender thread. 1830 Tennyson Ode to Memory 30 Thou leddest by the hand thine infant Hope.

    b. by the roots; by the ground: (? orig. = from the foundation), completely.

c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. i. 1132 Floure of lyme in oil, yf thou confounde And helde it in, upheleth it by grounde. 1713 Berkeley Hylas & P. ii, If I were to..tear up a tree by the roots. 1833 H. 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.

1556 J. Heywood Spider & F. lvi. 18, I thought they wold all haue gone by thears theare. 1600 O. E. Repl. Libel i. i. 32 We must needes fall by the eares together. 1650 A. B. Mutat. Polemo 8 Set the Cavaleer and Presbyter together by the ears. 1702 De Foe Ref. Manners i. 306 To set the Town together by the Ears. 1822 Scott 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.

c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. vii. 20 Be hyra wæstmum ᵹe hiᵹ oncnawað. c 1200 Ormin 479 Þatt ta bi name nemmnedd wass Abyuþþ. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xviii. 98 Shephurdes by the seuen sterres Wisten.. whenne hit shoude reynen. a 1400 Cov. Myst. 297 (Mätz.) Be thi face wel we may the ken. 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 202, I here by the hounds, the hare is a foote. 1596 Spenser F.Q. vi. iii. 1 The gentle minde by gentle deeds is knowne. 1611 Bible Luke i. 61 There is none of thy kinred that is called by this name. 1682 Wheler Journ. Greece v. 341 The Athenians..would never more have any Governour by the Name or Title of King. 1796 Gouv. Morris in Sparks Life & Writ. (1832) III. 98 That anarchy which goes by the name of the German Empire. 1867 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) I. App. 692 Cnut was baptized by the name of Lambert. 1869 J. 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.

1382 Wyclif Prol. Bible xiv. 54 Bi Salamon here is vndirstonden God himself. 1692 Bp. 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’.)

a 1000 Scopes Widsið 100 Ic be songe secᵹan sceolde. c 1205 Lay. 28337 Ich wuste bi mine sweuene whæt sorȝen me weoren ȝeneðe. c 1300 K. Alis. 2941 That Y have by lettre yow saide. c 1340 Cursor M. 15986 (Trin.) He shal neuer rise aȝeyn truly bi no myȝt. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 302 Þes feyned religious..amortisen many grete lordischipis bi fals title. c 1450 Merlin x. 156 Thei remounted Gifflet be fyn force a-monge his enmyes. 1548 Latimer Serm. Ploughers (Arb.) 34 Christe..draweth soules unto hym by his bloudy sacrifice. 1548 Udall, etc. Erasm. Par., Mark i. 14 The firste teachyng by mouthe of Christes religion. 1573 G. Harvey Letter-bk. (1884) 13 Nether to be allurid by prommissis nor persuadid bi wurds. 1628 Earle Microcosm. iii. (Arb.) 4 Hee instructs men to dye by his example. 1769 Goldsm. Roman Hist. (1786) II. 475 He..at last died either by poison or madness. 1855 Kingsley 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.

c 1440 Partonope 383 Be shipp come merchandyse to the town. 1535 Coverdale Deut. ii. 28 Onely let me go thorow by fote. 1866 Cornh. 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.)

c 1340 Cursor M. 12908 (Fairf.) Þat is na ferly be na wayes. c 1430 Freemasonry 626 Ȝef thou wolt not thyselve pray, Latte non other mon by no way. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon 235 By no wyse we maye not scape. 1593 Hooker Eccl. Pol. Pref. ii. §7 To argue and by all means to reason for it. 1713 Guardian No. 140 (1756) II. 224, I can by no means consent to spoil the skin of my pretty country-women. 1768 Gray in Corr. w. Nicholls (1843) 85, I would wish by all means to oblige and serve Temple. 1813 Jane 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.

971 Blickl. Hom. 57 Þa gastlican lare..þe ure saul biᵹ leofaþ. a 1000 Guthlac 244 Bi hwon scealt þu lifᵹan, þeah þu lond aᵹe? c 1205 Lay. 467 Leouere heom his to libben bi þan wode-roten. c 1300 K. Alis. 4971 Hy..libben by the wylde goot. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. vii. 292 Ȝut were me leuere..lyue by well-carses. 1583 Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. 89 The most of them..attempt..vnlawfull meanes to liue by. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. vii. 14 As I do liue by foode, I met a foole. 1611 Bible Matt. iv. 4 Man shall not liue by bread alone. 1815 Scribbleomania 217 Each pestle's displayer who living by drugs, proves humanity's slayer. 1880 Church 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.

c 1300 K. Alis. 4304 Darie hit wot by a spye. c 1325 Coer de L. 1522 Sche greetes the wel by me. 1382 Wyclif John i. 3 Alle þingis ben maad bi [Gr. διὰ, L. per] him. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. iv. 417 God sente to saul by samuel þe prophete. c 1450 Merlin i. 23 Thow hast herde be my moder the trauayle that they hadden. 1622 T. Stoughton Chr. Sacrif. xvii. 239 Hath he more benefit by his horse then by his Minister? 1711 Steele Spect. No. 118 ¶2 The Lady is addressed to, presented and flattered, only by Proxy, in her Woman. 1785 Henry Hist. Gt. Brit. V. v. xxxviii. 382 The King could not..administer justice to his subjects in person, but only by his judges. 1833 Fraser's Mag. VIII. 312 Send check by bearer. 1866 Rogers Agric. & Prices I. xxi. 527 The lord was present either in person or by a deputy.

    b. in extended phrase by the hands of.

1411 E. E. Wills (1882) 17 Whiche somme ys owynge to me, to be payd..by þ⊇ handes of my lady lovell. a 1500 tr. Magna Charta in Arnolde Chron. 217 By the handis of his kynnes folk..his goodis shalbe destribute. 1534 Old City Acc. Bk. in Archæol. Jrnl. XLIII, Resuyd of m{supr} grayn by the hands of m{supr} hoxton v wrytyngs. 1866 Cornh. 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.

a 1000 Cædmon's Gen. 2326 (Gr.) Þu scealt sunu aᵹan, bearn be bryde þinre. c 1000 ælfric Gen. xxxviii. 25 Be þam men ic eom mid childe. c 1205 Lay. 19249 Ygærne wes mid childe bi Uther. 1297 R. Glouc. 23 Brut..sones hadde þre By hys wyf. 1393 Langl. P. Pl. C. xi. 144 And haþ fyue faire sones by hus furste wyf. 1576 Gascoigne Steel Gl. (Arb.) 50 He begat me by Simplycitie. 1631 Gouge God's Arrows iii. ii. 183 Amalek was the sonne of Esaus sonne by a concubine. 1750 Johnson Rambl. No. 22 ¶1 Wit and learning were the children of Apollo, by different mothers. 1788 J. Powell Devises (1827) II. 351 The testator..had had several children by a native woman. 1805 East Reports V. 234 A bastard child..which a young woman had had by the defendant. c 1812 Jane 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.

c 1400 Mandeville iii. 15 That Cytee was destroyed by hem of Grece. 1461 J. Paston Lett. 384 II. 3 Assigned be the commissioners. 1570–87 Holinshed Scot. Chron. II. 52 Slaine miserablie in prison be..the duke Albanie. 1593 Hooker Eccl. Pol. i. iii. §2 A law natural to be observed by creatures. 1682 Wheler Journ. Greece i. 26 The Walls of it were built by Diocletian. 1785 Reid Let. Wks. I. 66/1 A malefactor is not hanged by the law, but according to the law, by the executioner. 1848 Macaulay 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.

1549 Bk. Com. Prayer Pref., There was never anything by the wit of man so well devised..which hath not been corrupted. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 333 ¶5 This is followed by the tearing up of mountains and promontories. 1757 Johnson Rambl. No. 165 ¶2 Truth finds an easy entrance into the Mind when she is introduced by desire, and attended by pleasure. 1816 J. Wilson City of Plague i. i. 255 Swallow'd up in a moment by the heedless earth. 1844 Punch 13 Jan. 27 Pipes and alcoholic liquors are superseded by matrimony. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 263 Such a demand..was not authorised by the existing treaties. 1875 Browning 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. 1779 Mirror No. 24 Can the representations of moon-light, even by Homer, Milton, and Shakespeare, be more exquisitely finished? 1832 Disraeli Cont. Fleming ii. xiv, I must get ‘Manstein’ directly, if it be by young Moskoffsky. 1901 Lincoln City & Cathedral 154 The latter [window], by a Nuremburg executant, is poor and feeble. 1966 Observer 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).

1840 Dickens Old C. Shop xxix, This is the Valiant Soldier, by James Groves. 1885 Henley & Stevenson Macaire i. iii, Auberge des Adrets, by John Paul Dumont. 1919 Masefield 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.).

1930 Amer. 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. 1960 New 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.)

a 1000 Riddles xxviii. 17 (Gr.) Ic..on eorðan swa esnas binde dole æfter dyntum be dæᵹes leohte. 1154 O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1138 §2 Me lihtede candles to æten bi. a 1300 Cursor M. 14195 God es to go bi light o dai. ? a 1400 Chester Pl. (1843) i. 4 Those wise Kinges three..by the starre that did shine, Sought the sighte of the Saviour. 1701 J. Cunningham in Phil. Trans. XXIII. 1201 The Weather so favouring us, that we were never but by our Topsails. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 409 ¶6 Seeing an Object by the Light of a Taper. 1872 Mark Twain Innoc. Abr. xii. 85 No gas to read by.

    b. From, after, according to (a model).

a 1650 E. 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. 1654 H. 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.

c 1340 Cursor M. 18323 (Laud MS.), Alle that þou seidist by prophecy Thou hast fulle-fillid. 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour I ij, Thenne wente shee and told it to hym by..fayre and attemperate language. c 1489 ― Sonnes of Aymon 32 Reynawde..thwerled his swerde by grete fyers⁓nesse. 1509 Hawes Examp. Virt. ix. 161 Where byrdys sange by grete melody. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. clxxvi. 214 By this manere was the stronge castell of Eureux won agayne. 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie iii. xxii. (Arb.) 257 Wordes..written by wrong ortographie. 1677 Moxon Mech. Exerc. (1703) 241 A great part of its increase goes away by a kind of Glass. 1765 Act 5 Geo. III, xxvi. Preamb., To hold to the said John..by liege homage. 1840 Dana Bef. Mast. xi. 25 The halyards were at this moment let go by the run. 1875 Jowett 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.)

1684 Scanderbeg Rediv. vi. 150 The next Considerable Exploit of his Majesty..was, by taking of Zytchin. 1827 Hallam Const. Hist. (1842) I. 151 Ministers who employ spies..are sure to..end by the most violent injustice and tyranny. 1839 Thirlwall Greece II. 76 He began by banishing 700 families. 1887 Gladstone 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.

c 1400 Mandeville 199 The king ȝeveth leve to pore men..to gadre hem precyous stones and perles, be weye of ælmesse. 1762 Hume 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.

1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. iv. ix. (1495) 93 Though flewme of hymself be thicke and vnsauery by strengthe of heete. 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour H iij, Soone after by this synne he fylle. ― Cato G iv, And by so thou oughtest to be contente. 1540 R. Hyrde Vives' Instr. Chr. Wom. (1592) F v, He would haue women of his country to be regarded by their virtue. 1557 N. T. (Geneva) Matt. xxvi. 31 Al ye shalbe offended by me this nyght. 1593 Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, iv. iv. 12 Warwickes Brother, and by that our Foe. 1627 Feltham Resolves i. xxix. Wks. (1677) 49 A Hill almost unascendable, by the roughness of a craggy way. 1667 Pepys Diary 27 Aug., By the growth of his beard and gray hairs, I did not know him. 1771 Goldsm. Hist. Eng. III. 240 The press..swarmed with productions, dangerous by their sedition and calumny, more than by their eloquence or style. 1839 Thirlwall 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.

c 1175 Cott. Hom. 235 Be þam þe he fader is and laford he him self cwed be þe witie, Si ego, etc. a 1536 Tindale Exp. Matt. Wks. II. 128 By that they prophesied..and by that they cast out devils..it is plain that they be false prophets. 1558 Kennedy Compend. Tract. in Wodr. Soc. Misc. (1844) 101 Be ressoun the Kirk..can nevir be gatherit togidder. 1601 F. Tate Househ. Ord. Edw II, §10 He shal have no more, bi reson that he shal have cariage. 1606 Earl of Northampton in True & Perf. Relation (1606) R r 4 b, By that hee cals him virum mortis, I may lawfully conclude, etc. 1682 Wheler Journ. Greece ii. 203 Wine is scarce, by reason that it is prohibited. 1711 Steele 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.

1695 E. 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. 1751 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Book, Ledger Book. By Cash for his remittance on James {pstlg}1900. 1838 R. 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.

1297 R. Glouc. 490 He vel of is palefrey, & brec is fot bi cas. c 1340 Cursor M. 10700 (Laud MS.) Vow that is made by right, Ow no man to breke by might. 1475 Bk. Noblesse 31 Provided that..no man take vitaile beforce. 1544 Phaër Regim. Lyfe (1560) R vij, Hitherto have I declined by occasion. 1565 in Sir J. Picton L'pool Munic. Rec. (1883) I. 113 That no..person..succour by cover or operte, any apprentice. 1583 Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. 22 Either by hooke or crooke, by night or day. a 1586 Answ. Cartwright 17 He alleadgeth another proofe by peraduenture. a 1610 Babington Wks. (1622) 257 This Manna followed the Israelites whatsoeuer the earth was: and by name in the wilderness. 1620 J. Wilkinson Courts Leet 117 These persons by particular are said to be by the statute rogues. 1660 Fuller Mixt Contemp. (1841) 171 Ponderous, and by consequence probable to settle..on the earth. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 745 Some prying Churl had..thence, By Stealth, convey'd th' unfeather'd Innocence. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 145 ¶6 He snatches Kisses by Surprise. 1721 St. German's Doctor & Stud. 338 It is alledged in the indictment by matter in deed that he had such weapon. 1751 Jortin Serm. (1771) V. v. 90 They might not imagine that the world was..made by chance. 1836 Landor Pericles & Asp. Wks. 1846 II. 394/1, I am not speaking by metaphor and Asiatically. 1848 Macaulay 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.

c 1380 Wyclif Last Age Ch. (1840) 25 Bi resoun of whiche þe þridde tribulacioun schal entre into Cristis Chirche. c 1420 Avow. Arth. xxxii, Ther to-gedur faȝte we Be chesun of this lady fre. 1535 Coverdale Tobit xi. 18 By reason of all the good that God had shewed vnto him. c 1555 Songs & Ball., Ph. & Mary (1860) 3 He hathe us up lyfft By the means of hys sonne callyd Emanuell. 1593 Shakes. 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. 1621 H. Elsing Debates Ho. Lords (1870) 127 The Parlement is adjourned by virtue thereof [the Comission]. 1664 Butler Hud. ii. ii. 736 Vict'ry gotten without Blows, By dint of sharp hard words. 1710 in Select. fr. Harl. Misc. (1793) 561 Edward Whitacre..hath, by colour of his employment received the sum of twenty-five thousand pounds. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 523 ¶6 By virtue of that spectatorial authority with which I stand invested. 1728 Morgan Algiers I. iii. 32 Jugurtha..by Dint of Money, corrupted many of the Senators. 1737 L. Clarke Hist. Bible viii. (1740) 496 By means thereof he took the City. 1864 Bryce Holy Rom. Emp. 99 It was chiefly by means of the Papacy that this came to pass. 1876 Blackmore Cripps I. ii. 23 Quite out of sight..by reason of the bend of the hollow. 1881 R. 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 b{iacu}, 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.

[c 993 Battle of Maldon 182 Beᵹen ða beornas þe him biᵹ stodon.] c 1340 Cursor M. 14282 (Trin.) Men say hir þat bi stood Rennonde. c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. viii. xl. 93 Oþir Lordis, þat war by. 1463 Bury Wills (1850) 35 If any be⁓drede man or woman ly by. 1526 Tindale John xi. 42 Because of the people that stonde by I sayde it. 1602 Return fr. Parnass. iii. iii. (Arb.) 43 He thinkes hee hath gulld the standers by sufficiently. 1623 Massinger Dk. of Milan ii. i, My brother being not by now to protect her. 1732 Berkeley Alciphr. i. §15 Methinks you sit by very tamely. 1834 Marryat P. Simple III. 101 Stand by to haul over the boom-sheet when she pays off. 1861 F. Nightingale Nursing 39 Patients are often accused of being able to ‘do much more when nobody is by’. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Stand by! the order to be prepared.

    b. preceded by fast, hard, near. Also transferred to the idea of time.

c 1400 Mandeville viii. 93 Faste by, is ȝit the Tree of Eldre, that Judas henge him self upon. 1580 Baret Alv. B 631 Here is a little towne or village harde bie to flie vnto. 1795 Southey Joan of Arc i. cliv, Domremi's cottages Gleam'd in the sun hard by. 1866 Kingsley Herew. i. (1877) 20 He founded Boston near by.

c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 2604 The aray is wrought, the tyme is faste by. 1535 Coverdale 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.

c 1470 Henry Wallace i. 50 Bruce [clamyt as] fyrst male of the secund gre by. 1475 Caxton 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. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 94, I stole into a neighbour thicket by. 1627 J. 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.)

1627 Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. ix. (1692) 42 Fill the Sails, keep full, full and by. 1628 Digby Voy. Medit. (1868) 83 Your chace goeth best before the wind, and..you can outbeare her, by. 1881 W. 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.

c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. viii. iv. 253 For Custwme approwyd oft by drawys Of Canon and Cyvyle bath the Lawys. 1535 Stewart 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. a 1586 Answ. Cartwright 6 He must..laye by his proofe as vntrue. 1595 Shakes. John iv. iii. 95 Stand by, or I shall gaul you Faulconbridge. 1614 W. B. Philos. Banquet (ed. 2) 3 Age might be kept backe, and sicknesse kept bye. 1634 Bayne On Coloss. 344 What a Pride is it, for some ignorant Schollar to put by the direction of his Tutor. 1655 L'Estrange Chas. I, 125 Some thing or other ever came travers..and put him by. 1721 De Foe Mem. Cavalier (1840) 311 They had set by the lords for not agreeing to it. 1731 Swift Corr. II. 701 These things can lie by till you come to carp at them. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. xx, Vile things that nature designed should be thrown by into her lumber room. 1807 Windham Speeches Parl. (1812) III. 19 Laying something by for a rainy day. 1867 Froude 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).

1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, iii. i. 11 The Billowes of the Sea, Hung their heads, and then lay by. 1674 Petty Disc. bef. Royal Soc. 102 To stop Leaks afore, the Ship must stop its motion, lye by, or bear up. 1704 Lond. Gaz. No. 4054/1 We lay by all day..repairing our Defects. 1753 Hanway 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.

[c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Mark xv. 21 Geneddon bi geongende [Rushw. bigongende]. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. (1847) 233 Ffloridas with a swerde, as he by glenttys, Alle the flesche of the flanke he flappes in sondyre. c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. viii. xviii. 186 Thai persawyd by gangand A man. 1535 Coverdale 2 Sam. xvi. 1 Dauid was gone a lytle by from the toppe of the mount. 1606 B. Jonson Barriers Wks. 1870 III. 34 They marched by in pairs. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. xxi, A stage coach happening to pass by. 1844 Disraeli 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.

1436 Pol. Poems (1859) II. 185 Thys coloure..muste be seyde alofte, And by declared of the grete fulle ofte. a 1440 Sir Degrev. 223 Tene score knythis..And iii hondred archerus by. 1600 in Farr S.P. (1845) II. 435 Onlesse my seruice be employed by. 1653 Holcroft Procopius, He might spend less wood, and wages upon bakers, and by gain the weight. 1763 C. Johnston Reverie I. 143 For a guinea by. 1804 Illust. 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.

1784 Burns Ep. Rankine x, As soon 's the clocking-time is buy, And the wee pouts begun to cry. 1846 A. Laing Wayside Flowers 20 Whan the buryin' was bye, an' relations a' gane. 1896 Crockett 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.

1890 Service Notandums vi. 34 When the dykes are broken you're bye, ye ken,—ouay! fairly bye! 1893 Stevenson Catriona xxx, You're by with it, James More. You can never show your face again. 1900 Kipling 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.

c 1330, etc. [see by-way]. 1485 Caxton St. Wenefr. 2 By a bye dore of the chamber she wente oute. 1545 [see by-door s.v. by- 3 a]. 1582 Bentley Mon. Matrones 39 Seeking manie crooked and biwaies. 1583 Stanyhurst æneis iii. (Arb.) 73 Soom bye place of resting graunt vs. 1655 Gouge Comm. Heb. x. 20 There are so many bie broad pathes. 1706 Lond. Gaz. No. 4259/4 The Man that is supposed to have robb'd..a bye Hackney Coach..upon the Forest of Sherwood. 1748 Richardson Clarissa (1811) II. xli. 307 Nothing can be more bye and unfrequented. 1796 Morse Amer. Geog. I. 335 Hospitals erected..in bye places. 1830 Southey in For. Rev. & Cont. Misc. V. 278 The mule preferred the high road to the bye one. 1880 W. 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.

c 1050, etc. [see by-word]. 1552, etc. [see by-matter]. 1562 Cooper Answ. Priv. Masse (1850) 168 You have brought out of them all but a few bye sentences. 1599 B. Jonson Ev. Man out of Hum., The Stage, Entertain this troop With some familiar and by-conference. 1632 D. Lupton London Carbon. 105 He..hopes to haue..some by preferment. 1633 Fosbrooke Warre or Confl. 9 Done either in hypocrisie or for some by and sinister respect. a 1652 Brome 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. 1802 Paley Nat. Theol. xxvi. (1819) 455 The bye effect may be unfavourable. 1842 Miall Nonconf. II. 393 Some trivial bye consideration being unsound will vitiate our whole conclusion. 1849 Ruskin Sev. Lamps iv. §3. 96 Far too serious a work to be undertaken in a bye way. 1857 Gen. 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.

Oxford English Dictionary