Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • prefix Prefix originally denoting a town or city
  • prefix Prefix denoting nearness
  • prefix Prefix meaning secondary, incidental, or parallel to

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle English by ("town"), of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse bȳr ("dwelling, town"), from Proto-Germanic *būwiz (“dwelling”), from Proto-Indo-European *bhōw- (“to dwell”). Cognate with Danish by ("town"). More at bower.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Partly from a combining form of by ("by, near, around"), and partly continuing Middle English bi-, by-, from Old English bī- ("by, near, around"), from Proto-Germanic *bi (“near”), from Proto-Indo-European *obhi, *ebhi (“by”).

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word by-.

Examples

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.