English word origin

Etymology of by-

From Middle English by (“town”), of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse býr (“dwelling, town”), from Proto-Germanic *būwiz (“dwelling”). Cognate with Danish by (“town”). More at bower.

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

prefix

Town or city.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Root classification mention*bʰuH-ine-pro
Inherited-form mentionbyenm
Derivation mentionbýrnon
Derivation mention*būwizgem-pro
Cognate mentionbyda

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
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    {
      "name": "root",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*bʰuH-"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "by",
        "4": "",
        "5": "town"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English by (“town”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gmq"
      },
      "expansion": "North Germanic"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "non",
        "3": "býr",
        "4": "",
        "5": "dwelling, town"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Norse býr (“dwelling, town”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*būwiz",
        "4": "",
        "5": "dwelling"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *būwiz (“dwelling”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "da",
        "2": "by",
        "3": "",
        "4": "town"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish by (“town”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "by",
      "by#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "býr",
      "býr#Old_Norse"
    ],
    [
      "*būwiz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/būwiz"
    ],
    [
      "by",
      "by#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "bower",
      "bower#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "prefix",
      "glosses": [
        "Town or city."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ],
      "recordId": "6132bdde0cc16257f2c3d4fc42177ead55e23ac9cb293f2c172168cd59ab2ff7",
      "rawRecordSha256": "b3468a1ae0295c2e007b81c3c415e1598dcfa786f6dfeff445ce87071548c892",
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

prefix

Near or roundabout. · Secondary, incidental, or parallel to.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

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-, whence also be-. Cognate with Dutch bij-, German bei-.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Derivation mentionbi-enm
Derivation mentionbī-ang
Derivation mention*bi-gem-pro
Cognate mentionbij-nl
Cognate mentionbei-de

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "bi-"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English bi-"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "bī-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "by, near, around"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English bī- (“by, near, around”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*bi-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *bi-"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "bij-"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch bij-"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "bei-"
      },
      "expansion": "German bei-"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "by",
      "by#English"
    ],
    [
      "bi-",
      "bi-#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "by-",
      "by-#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "bī-",
      "bi-#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*bi-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/bi-"
    ],
    [
      "be-",
      "be-#English"
    ],
    [
      "bij-",
      "bij-#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "bei-",
      "bei-#German"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "prefix",
      "glosses": [
        "Near or roundabout.",
        "Secondary, incidental, or parallel to."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ],
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    "lexicalSenses": 0,
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  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for by- →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-Ynkt