Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “by” come from?

By comes from Old English be, a preposition of uncertain ultimate origin whose earliest sense remains unknown.

by (English): Near or next to; From one side of something to...

Definitions

  1. Near or next to; From one side of something to...

Ancestry of “by”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishbybe
2Old Englishbīlullaby!; near, by; by, near, around
3Proto-West Germanicbīby, at; near, around
4Proto-Germanicbiby, at; near, around
5Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂m̥bʰiaround, on either side of, about; in exchange...
6Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂n̥tbʰi—
7Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂éntsforehead; front
8Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂ent-face; forehead; front
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₂en-on, onto

Words derived from “by”

  • thereby
  • whereby
  • bye
  • hereby
  • bygone
  • closeby
  • swingby
  • forthby
  • passer-by
  • play-by-play
  • bye-bye
  • hang-by
  • side-by-side
  • бай
  • баю
  • babaille
  • bye
  • 拜
  • by
  • バイバイ
  • baybay
  • bæ
  • babay
  • bei
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₂en- →