by
Out of the way, off to one sideOut of the way, off to one side.
Recorded UK: Speaker: Pvanp7 Recorder: Pvanp7, CC0, Wikimedia Commons · Recorded US: Dvortygirl, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Meaning
2 senses(not comparable)Out of the way, off to one side.
a by path; a by room
(not comparable)Subsidiary, incidental.
by catch; a by issue
Origin
From Middle English by, bi, from Old English bī (“by; near; around”), from Proto-West GermFrom Middle English by, bi, from Old English bī (“by; near; around”), from Proto-West Germanic *bī, from Proto-Germanic *bi (“near; by; around; about”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Dictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.