by-product
(ˈbaɪˌprɒdʌkt)
Also bye-.
[f. by- 4, 5 + product.]
a. A secondary product; a substance of more or less value obtained in the course of a specific process, though not its primary object.
| 1857 E. Acton Eng. Bread-bk. ii. 95 German yeast..in many distilleries forms an important by-product. 1876 M. Foster Physiol. (1879) App. 663 When any proteid is digested with pepsin..a bye-product makes its appearance. 1882 Standard 24 Aug., By-products of gas manufacture. |
b. attrib. and transf.
| 1905 Daily Report 9 Dec. iv/1 By-product coke ovens. 1926 Fowler Mod. Eng. Usage 304/1 But a regrettable by-product of their activities has been a relapse into primitive methods of soliciting attention. 1952 S. Kauffmann Philanderer (1953) ii. 23, I was going to say the principal thing is that you're here. But that's a by-product. The principal thing..is that you know me. 1969 Nature 27 Dec. 1297/2 By-product gypsum formed during the wet process manufacture of phosphoric acid contains various impurities. |