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(b), prep.[OE. bi, AS. b, big, near to, by, of, from, after, according to; akin to OS. & OFries. bi, be, D. bij, OHG. b, G. bei, Goth. bi, and perh. Gr. 'amfi°. E. prefix be- is orig. the same word. 203. See pref.Be-.] 1. In the neighborhood of; near or next to; not far from; close to; along with; as, come and sit by me. By foundation or by shady rivulet He sought them both. Milton. 2. On; along; in traversing. Compare 5. Long labors both by sea and land he bore. Dryden. By land, by water, they renew the charge. Pope. 3. Near to, while passing; hence, from one to the other side of; past; as, to go by a church. 4. Used in specifying adjacent dimensions; as, a cabin twenty feet by forty. 5. Against. [Obs.] Tyndale [1. Cor. iv. 4]. 6. With, as means, way, process, etc.; through means of; with aid of; through; through the act or agency of; as, a city is destroyed by fire; profit is made by commerce; to take by force. To the meaning of by, as denoting means or agency, belong, more or l By (), adv. 1. Near; in the neighborhood; present; as, there was no person by at the time. 2. Passing near; going past; past; beyond; as, the procession has gone by; a bird flew by. 3. Aside; as, to lay by; to put by. By (), a.Out of the common path; aside; -- used in composition, giving the meaning of something aside, secondary, or incidental, or collateral matter, a thing private or avoiding notice; as, by-line, by-place, by-play, by-street. It was formerly more freely used in composition than it is now; as, by-business, by-concernment, by-design, by-interest, etc. スポンサード リンク
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