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By

Source : Wright, Joseph English Dialect Dictionary
web : https://eddonline4-proj.uibk.ac.at/edd/main.html


BY, sb. Yks. Also Suf. [bai.] In phr. (1) to give a
person the by, to ignore, pass him by; (2) on the by, by
chance.
(1) w.Yks. Ah saw him when t'chapel lowsed, but ah gav' him
t'by (J.T.). (2) e.Suf. I happened with him on the by (F.H.).
BY, prep. Var. dial. uses in Sc. Irel. and Eng. Also
written bi, be; see below. see Be, Biv. [Stressed form
bai, unstressed bi.]
I. Of place or position: beyond, past, by the side of.
Also fig.
Slk. Why... should you endeavour to put grist by your own
mill, Hogg Tales (1838) 209, ed. 1866. ne.Yks.1 Aether thruff or
by [by hook or by crook], 84. e.Yks. It's a case o' thruff an' by [we
must get through it or over it] (R.S.). se.Wor. She corn't abear
nothing to go by her [of a grasping person] (R.M.E.). e.Suf. (F.H.)
II. Of means, cause, relation, &c.
1. Of means: by the help of, by means of; upon, with.
Ayr. (J.F.) Gall. Common (A.W.). Wm. It war paid for bi
nooats. T'babby hes just begun ta walk across t'kitchen bi haulds.
We leev a gay bit bi poddish an' treacle (B.K.). n.Yks. (R.H.H.)
e.Yks. (G.C.); Tak it doon by endways (R.S.). w.Yks. (S.K.C.)
s.Wor. The pig doesn't come on noane by thot sart o' stuff (H.K.).
s.Pem. Pigs feeds well by baarley (rare) (W.M.M.). Glo. To ‘buy
bĭ hand’ is to buy cattle according to the way they feel to the hand,
and by estimation with the eye. ‘How do 'ee sell em ─ bĭ hand or bĭ
wāte?’ (S.S.B.) e.Suf. He must have something but bread to
work all day by (F.H.). w.Sus. (E.E.S.) sw.Sus. In common
use (G.A.W.). Dor. (H.J.M.), e.Som. (G.S.) w.Som.1 There idn
nort like good hard bread and cheese and cider to work by. In
ref. to a particular sort of food for pigs: Dhai du dùe· vuur·ee wuul
buy· ut [they thrive very well upon it]. This would be quite the
common mode of expression. nw.Dev. ‘On’ is more gen. used.
Have 'ee got ort vor tie'n up by? (R.P.C.) Cor.3
2. In consequence of; judging from.
Per. We'll hae fine weather by the barometer (G.W.). Ayr.
(J.F.), Edb. (J.G.) Gall. Common (A.W.). n.Ir. (A.J.I.), s.Ir.
(J.F.M.ff.) Nhb. Yor tired bi yor waak, aa see (R.O.H.). Wm.
He's plenty o' brass bi t'way it rattles i' his pocket (B.K.). n.Yks.
(R.H.H.) e.Yks. Train's comin', by signal (R.S.). w.Yks. Thah's
been laikin' i' t'muck, bi thi cloas (S.K.C.); Be that, ah sud say at
boath t'mester an his coil wor raand, Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsla
Ann. (1852). Stf.2, Not.1 n.Lin. I should think by the colour of
his nose that he drinks (J.T.F.). Lei. It's going to rain, by that
sound in the chimney (C.E.). War.3 The ice is giving, by the
noise. s.Wor. I've fund thot by the broccolo (H.K.). se.Wor.
We'll ha' falling weather, by the wind (R.M.E.). s.Pem. I've a
found your blacklid [pencil] as you'd a lost, by sweeping. She've
a hurted her knee by comin' downstairs. In these cases a stress is
laid on ‘by’ (E.D.); Th' rabbat is ket, by the dog (rare) (W.M.M.).
s.Oxf. That there horse have got a colic, by the manner of him
(M.W.). e.Suf. (H.J.L.R.); There's a bird in that bush, by the
cat (F.H.). w.Suf. (C.G.B.)., w.Sus. (E.E.S.) s.Wil., Dor.
Usual (C.V.G.). Dor. (H.J.M.) w.Som.1 Thick rabbit's a-passed
on, by the dog. He 'ont never 'gree to it; can tell by un.
nw.Dev. There was brave doings, by the papers (R.P.C.). w.Cor.
(M.A.C.) Cor.3 He's a dead man, by his groaning.
3. Relating to, concerning, about, of, towards.
Ayr. Louis, what reck I by thee, title, Louis, what reck I by thee, Burns. Gall. Rare
(A.W.). Nhb. It'll come in biv him [retribution will follow some
time for an injury done] (R.O.H.). Wm. Ah think nowt bi yon
nag, does thoo? Nowt fine at o', as t'man said bi his wife (B.K.);
I never saw anything wrong by him (T.E.); Wm.1 I knaa nowt
but weel by im. n.Yks. As t'man sed biv hiz wife (I.W.). w.Yks.
Say t'same by them, Tom Treddlehoyle Bairnsla Ann. (1850).
Lan. What have you done by your father, as he has not come with
you? (S.W.); (H.M.) ne.Lan.1 s.Chs. Rarely used (T.D.).
Stf.2 Oi'l dəu mi dəuti boi ər. s.Not. He didn't do amiss by his
pigs. A know no harm by him, nor yet no good. But a slight
shade of depreciation is perhaps conveyed, as we could not say
‘A know no good by him.’ Jack's gone. ─ Well, what by that?
(J.P.K.) Not.3 As the chap said by his brother ─ 'e was aw reet
wen 'e warn't drunk. Lin. I done moy duty boy 'um, as I 'a done
boy the lond, Tennyson N. Farmer, Old Style (1864) st. 3. n.Lin.1
Well, what by that? Lei. If you tell a native, near Melton Mowbray,
that he has done something he ought not to have done, or vice
versâ, he will reply ‘Well, what by that?’ (C.C.B.) Wor. (W.B.)
s.Wor. I doesn't knaow what-hever us shall be to do by thahy rots
i' the barn (H.K.). sw.Wor. To be well done by [well cared for]
(E.R.D.). Shr.1 Whad did they say by 'er? The rots bin snivin',
I dunna know whadever's to be done by 'em. s.Oxf. He said he'd
do a good part by her (M.W.). e.Suf. Something must be done
by the green-fly on the roses. Not that I know by. Your allotment
will do better by you, if you take more pains with it. You've
hurt me, but I don't care by it (F.H.). w.Suf. (C.G.B.) sw.Sus.
You'll do no good by that (G.A.W.). s.Wil. I han't the money to
do it by her. We've had a good bit to do by bells. I can't do
nothing by him (C.V.G.). Dor. (H.J.M.), e.Som. (G.S.) w.Som.1
Jis the same's the man zaid by 'is wive ─ her's a rare forester vor
butter-n cheese. You don't hear it by many vokes. After the
verb to know, ‘by’ is constantly used in negative answers: Naut·-s
aay noa· buy [not that I know of]. nw.Dev. He won't do't if he
hath'n a mind to, as the man said by his jackass. I don't know
'ot us shall do by't. I don't mind lending 'ee a hand, if thee't
do the same by me (R.P.C.). w.Cor. Are you going? ─ Not as I
knows by. What will you do by all the cold meat? (M.A.C.)
Cor.3 Do you know by a house that will suit me?
4. In accordance with, by the rule of.
Wm. Ah buy my nags by mi Bible [i.e. they are honestly bought]
(B.K.).
5. In comparison with, compared with.
Inv. It's less sore now by what it was before (H.E.F.). Abd.
Sindle I sing, by what I us'd to doe, Shirrefs Poems (1790) 100;
She's bonnie be him (W.M.). Per. He's old by [more commonly
byse] me (G.W.). Ayr. (J.F.) e.Lth. Archie was auld by me,
but a hale carle yit, Hunter J. Inwick (1895) 74. Edb. He's rich
by me (J.M.); (J.G.) Gall. (A.W.) n.Ir. No matter what he
says, he's nothing by them (A.J.I.). Wm. He's a licker frae bi
me. Oor pig's nowt bi yon o' yours (B.K.). n.Yks. Very common
(R.H.H.). ne.Yks. Hoo's them beeas' by yours? Occas. also
‘Ah's an au'd woman fra-by you’ (M.C.F.M.). e.Yks. (G.C.);
Farmer ─ ‘Thoo's fair doon stupid!’ Man ─ ‘Thenk ye; hoo's Ah
by you?’ (R.S.) w.Yks. My face is mucky, but it's clean through
by thine (S.K.C.); Very common (M.F.). Lan. (H.M.), Stf.2
s.Not. Look at your work by mine, yer lazy thing! (J.P.K.)
Not.1 He's a poor fool by his wife. e.Suf. Occas. used, but more
freq. ‘again’ (H.J.L.R.); Your head is big by mine (F.H.). w.Suf.
(C.G.B.), w.Sus. (E.E.S.), Dor. (H.J.M.), e.Som. (G.S.) w.Som.
Uur-z yuung bee yùe [i.e. she is younger than you]. Ai·z tau·l
[tall] bee ai·, Elworthy Gram. (1877) 24. Cor.3
6. Resembling, like.
e.Suf. He has a face by a monkey (F.H.).
7. Together with, in company with.
e.Som. I'll go if you'll go by me. Come along by me (G.S.).
8. Of difference: from.
Sc. He kens na a B by a bull's foot, Ramsay Prov. (1737);
Gretein kend not gude be ill, Herd Sngs. (1776) I. 53. Sh.I. He
doesna ken right by wrang (K.I.). Inv. (H.E.F.) Abd. He disna
ken the een [one] be the ither (W.M.). Per. (G.W.) Ayr.
(J.F.) e.Lth. Ninnyvites wha didna ken their richt han' by their
left, Hunter J. Inwick (1895) 37. Gall. Common (A.W.). Kcb.
Misted souls in a dark night cannot know east by west, Rutherford
Lett. (1660) No. 123. n.Ir. (A.J.I.) Cum. You cudn't tell
ther toke by geese, Borrowdale Lett. (1787) 4, ed. 1866. Wm.
Ther necks an feeaces lile differant bi' sweeps, Spec. Dial. (1877)
pt. i. 27; Wm.1 He didnt knaw em be ony odther thing. w.Yks.
(S.K.C.) e.Suf. His talk doesn't differ by an Essex man's.
Your watch is different by mine [i.e. keeps different time] (F.H.).
Dor. (H.J.M.)
9. Against, to the detriment or injury of.
Gall. Not very common (A.W.). Ir. I know nothing by that man,
Booker Obs. Wds. and Phr. (1859) 77. Wm. Ah'll say nowt bi
a man when he's away (B.K.). n.Yks. (I.W.); (R.H.H.)
ne.Yks. (M.C.F.M.) w.Yks. Ah've done nowt by thee (S.K.C.);
w.Yks.1 Lan. What have you done by that child? (H.M.) Der.2
I know nothing by him. nw.Der.1, s.Not. (J.P.K.) s.Wor. A
didn't sahy nothin by (more commonly ‘agen') 'im (H.K.). Shr.1
'E's a tidy mon, sir, leastways I know nuthin' by 'im. s.Pem. The
gen. idiom. A did a nasty trick by the owl man his father
(W.M.M.). Glo.1 I know no harm by him. e.Suf. What have
you done by the man that he is angry? (F.H.) w.Cy. The wumun
axed un wat had a dun by hur, for she suffered agonies, Hunt Pop.
Rom. w.Eng. (1865) II. 80. Dor. I've nothing to say by him, he
was always very quiet (C.V.G.); (H.J.M.) w.Som.1 Yùe nur
noa mae·un uul·s kaa·n zai noa·urt buy· ur [you nor no man else
can't say nothing against her]. nw.Dev. Occas. used (R.P.C.).
Cor.3
10. Excepting, except; beyond, omitting; past.
Sc. Grizzy has naething frae me by twa pair o' new shoon ilka
year, Scott Guy M. (1815) xxxii; There's just twa living by
mysell, Scott Antiquary (1816) xxi. Sh.I. (K.I.) Abd. Mairryin'
yer minaister bye the maiden o' Clinkstyle, Alexander Johnny
Gibb (1871) xlix. Per. Naething's wrang wi' ye by the rheumatisms.
By Wednesday, I'm idle ilka nicht this week (G.W.).
Ayr. He will put nothing by you (J.F.). Edb. (J.G.) Gall. He
is by his usual [not in ordinary health] (A.W.). n.Ir. By (more
freq. ‘for-by’) me, he wouldn't sell it to any one (A.J.I.). Nhb.
Aa'll not let the hoose by (more commonly ‘past’) ye (R.O.H.).
Wm. They selt t'sheep by him, and he was sair put aboot (B.K.).
n.Yks. He cou'd na see at he had any mak' or mander o' duds by
an au'd ragg'd soort ov a sark, Atkinson Moorl. Parish (1891) 55;
Not to sell it by him [i.e. not to another] (I.W.). e.Suf. Nobody
at home by him. No clothes on by a shirt and trousers (F.H.).
Dor. (H.J.M.)
11. In phr. to put or set by, to deprive of, to spoil one's
appetite for a meal; to prevent or hinder from doing.
Sh.I. He was put by his dinner [with no ref. to time] (K.I.).
Per. That ill-roasten beef pat me by my dinner (G.W.). Edb.
(J.M.), n.Ir. (A.J.I.) Wm. Ah was put bi mi dinner bi fashin wi
yon sheep (B.K.); (T.E.) n.Yks. Very common. It put me by
me breekfast (R.H.H.). e.Yks. (G.C.); That coo deein's reglar
put me by my meals to-day (R.S.). w.Yks. (S.K.C.) n.Lin.
The bairns made such an a noise I was put by sayin' what I'd
gotten to tell her (E.P.). e.Suf. (F.H.), Dor. (H.J.M.)
12. Out of; in phr. by himsel(f, by his mind, distracted,
demented.
Abd. (J.G.); (W.M.) Per. Very common (G.W.). Rnf. He
noo was fairly by himsel', Barr Poems (1861) 93. Ayr. Monie
a day was by himsel, He was sae sairly frighted, Burns Halloween
(1785) st. 16. Edb. (J.M.) Dmb. I wad never be demented or
gang by my mind, Cross Disruption (1844) ii. Gall. Common
(A.W.). n.Ir. (A.J.I.) Nhb.1 The man's fairly bi his sel. ‘Past his sel’
is the commoner form. Wm. Ah's varra near by misel wi'
t'tic (B.K.). n.Yks. By hizsel [deranged], but bǐv hizsel [alone]
(I.W.); Common (R.H.H.). ne.Yks. Sha's fair by hersen
(M.C.F.M.). w.Yks. (S.K.C.), e.Suf. (F.H.), Dor. (H.J.M.), Cor.3
13. Beside, in addition to; over and above, beyond.
Also fig.
Sh.I. I never caa'd him by his name [said anything derogatory
of him] (K.I.). Or.I. (J.G.) Abd. Naething by the common
(W.M.). Ayr. There was something by the common o' cousinship
atween them, Galt Entail (1823) lxxiv. Edb. (J.M.) Gall.
Used with such words as expectation, hope, desire, imagination
(A.W.). n.Ir. It is by all that ever I heard (A.J.I.). Nhb. It's
by common, aa can tell ye (R.O.H.). Wm. They co'd yan anudder
ivverything by ther awn neeams (B.K.); To call a person by his
name [i.e. by another name] (I.W.). e.Suf. He's a bad fellow by
the common. Don't call him by his name (F.H.).
14. Comb. (1) By-bush, in ambush, in hiding; (2)
By-common, out of the common, extraordinary; cf. by-ordinary;
(3) By course, of course; (4) By-hap, by chance;
as the case may be; peradventure, perhaps; (5) By-keease,
by chance; as the case may be; (6) By much, by a good
deal; (7) By now, a short time ago, just now; (8) By ought,
by any conceivable quantity; (9) By row, in order; (10)
By (good) right(s, properly; in justice; (11) By that, (a)
in a moment, immediately; (b) thereabouts; (12) By then,
by the time that; (13) By this, by this time; (14) By-times,
sometimes, occasionally; see Betimes; (15) By when, by
the time when; (16) By-whiles, now and then, at times.
(1) Ken.1 I just stood by-bush and heard all they said. [Not
known to our correspondents.] (2) Sc. Ye do seem to be a chap by
common, Scott Guy M. (1815) III. xxiii. Ayr. He's mair than well
enoough, he's by-common, Galt Entail (1823) xxxiii. Slk. To hae
something by common on that occasion, Wilson Tales (1836) II.
24. Nhb.1 (3) Ir. By coorse it is, Lever C. O'Malley (ed. 1880) xii.
Cor. I... got tended immedjunt, by coose, Forfar Poems (1885)
6. (4) n.Yks.2 w.Som.1 Behap you mid-n be there, and then
what be I to do? Dhai oan lee·ust aewt bee-aap [perhaps they
will not last out]. (5) n.Yks.2 (6) n.Yks.1 There's nit eneugh by
mich. (7) Hmp. (J.R.W.); Hmp.1 Dor. Surely, shepherd, I seed
you blowing into a great flute by now at Casterbridge? Hardy
Madding Crowd (1874) viii; He be only gone back to's wark,
a little bit by now, Hare Vill. Street (1895) 97. Som. W. & J.
Gl. (1873). w.Som.1 Wur-z mee nai·v? aay-d u-gau·t-n beenaew·
[where is my knife? I had it just now]. Very common. (8)
n.Yks.1 Gen. used after a comparative; as, Better, Mair, Warse by
owght, &c. (9) n.Lin.1 He knaws th' naames o' all th' kings and
queens o' England by raw. (10) n.Yks. Yon chap owt tə 'ev pēd
his rēts bifūr nū bireet (W.H.). e.Yks. This job owt ti be deean
ti neet, bi reets, Nicholson Flk-Sp. (1889); e.Yks.1 Tom owt tĭ
gan bĭ reets, MS. add. (T.H.) w.Yks. (W.H.), Chs.1 s.Not. By
good rights Johnny 'd ought to a hed the property (J.P.K.);
Not.1 n.Lin.1 Them two cloäsis is mine by good reights, but
I ha'n't munny to try it wi' him. Lei.1 A should 'a bin 'ere afore
naow by good roights. War.2 You ought by rights to put them
seeds in now. 'E belongs the very cottage 'e pays rent for, by
rights; War.3 Wor. (J.W.P.) Oxf.1 MS. add. w.Som.1 Dhai
ad-n u-gau·t noa búz·nees dhae·ur bee gèo·d rai·t [in justice they
had no business to be there]. (11, a) n.Lin. If th' Squire gets to
knaw you'll hev' a summons an' be up afore th' magistrates by that
(E.P.); n.Lin.1 sw.Lin.1 He gave three gasps, and was gone by
that. (b) Sur.1 I'll be round at one o'clock or by that. (12)
s.Not. He'll have grown out of it, by then he's ten year old
(J.P.K.). Not.1, Lei.1, War.2 War.3 s.Wor. By then a'd got 'ome,
the t'others wuz gwon (H.K.). s.Oxf. (M.W.) e.Suf. I shall
have it finished by then he is ready for it (H.J.L.R.). Sus.
Bythen he wur old he had brass, Jackson Southward Ho (1894)
I. 339; Sus.1 (13) Wm.1 It's ower be this. n.Yks. (I.W.),
w.Yks.1 (14) Ant. (W.H.P.) Lei.1 A'd oon'y 'ad a drop or tew
moor nur a knood aow to carry awee loike, as a man mut do by
toimes. s.Wil. (C.V.G.) (15) n.Yks. (I.W.) (16) Gall. By
whiles muttering and mumbling the words over to himself,
Crockett Grey Man (1896) 70. Shr.1 By-w'iles they [owls] sin
a mouze an' they droppen on 'im (s.v. Owlert).
15. In phr. (1) By ab or by nab, by hook or by crook;
(2) by cause of, because of; (3) time by chance, occasionally;
(4) by the east nook, slightly touched in the head, ‘cracked’;
(5) by the hand, on hand; (6) by hulch and stulch, by hook
or by crook; (7) by long and by late, some time or other,
in the long run; (8) by the ordinar, out of the common;
see By-ordinary; (9) by scowl o' brow, of work: done by
rule of thumb or by eye, without exact measurement;
(10) by side and by seam, (11) by the way, in pretence,
feignedly.
(1) w.Yks. Ah mun finish to-neet by ab or by nab (J.T.). (2)
Lin. Couldn' I luvv thy muther by cause o' 'er munny laaïd by
Tennyson N. Farmer, New Style (1870) st. 9. (3) ne.Yks.1 35.
(4) Sc. Wowf ─ a wee bit by the East Nook or sae; it's a common
case ─ the ae half of the warld thinks the tither daft, Scott Redg.
(1824) vii. (5) Lan. Aw've a quare job bi th' hont, aw con
tell yo, Wood Sketches, 5. (6) Chs.1 Chs.3 (7) Dor. Do that and
you'll have him by-long and by-late, Hardy Greenwood Tree
(1872) II. 125. Well known (H.J.M.). (8) Frf. I d'na kin am
onything by the ordinar, Barrie Licht (1888) 161. (9) Yks. N.
& Q. (1885) 6th S. xii. 359. [Amer. A carpenter, having finished
a chair, remarked, ‘There, that's a pretty good job, ben't it
Made by no rule nor measure, but jest by scowl er brow,’ N. & Q. 309.]
(10) Dor. She hunted everywhere, ballyragging Jack by side and
by seam, Hardy Tess (1891) 172, ed. 1895. (11) Ir. Oonagh set
up a loud laugh, of great contempt, by-the-way, Yeats Flk-Tales
(1888) 275.
16. In oaths or expletives: (1) By the blest; (2) By the
blood and wounds; (3) By cavers; (4) By Cock; (5) By the
crass o' Moses; (6) By Crike; (7) By Crikey; (8) By Dad;
(9) By Der; (10) By eye; (11) By the feraps; (12) By Gad;
(13) By Gar; (14) By Gell; (15) By Gen; (16) By Gens; (17)
By Gew (Gaow); (18) By the gins; (19) By Gock (Gok); (20)
By Gockers; (21) By Gocks; (22) By Goes; (23) By Gol; (24)
By Golls; (25) By Golly; (26) By Gom; (27) By Gommany;
(28) by Gommins; (29) By Gonnies; (30) By Gor; (31) By
Goramaity; (32) By Goramassy; (33) By Gorries; (34) By
Gorsh; (35) By Gosh; (36) By Goshen; (37) By Gow; (38)
By the Gowky; (39) By Gox; (40) By Goy; (41) By Gum;
(42) By Gummers; (43) By Guy; (44) By the haft and sides;
(45) By th' hairty mon; (46) By the heart: (47) By th' heartly
death; (48) By the heartly gins; (49) By the holy poker; (50)
By Jaiminie King; (51) By Jegs; (52) By Jen; (53) By Jiggers;
(54) By Jing; (55) By Jings; (56) By maa jinkers; (57) By
Jinks; (58) By Jobs; (59) By Jol; (60) By the laws; (61) By
th' mack; (62) By th' mackins (makkins); (63) By th' maskins;
(64) By the mass; (65) By mass mas; (66) By (the) megs;
(67) By t'meskins; (68) By (th') mess; (69) By th' mon; (70)
By th' mons; (71) By the pipe; (72) By shots; (73) By me sowl;
(74) By this and by that; (75) By th' wunds.
(1) w.Yks.2 Obsol. (2) w.Yks.2 At Eyam this is pronounced as Bith
lud unz uns. (3) Nhb.1 (4) Ess. I combed his head well for him,
I did by cock! Baring-Gould Mehalah (1885) 84. (5) Ir. By the
crass o' Moses, I'll do it in style, Carleton Fardorougha (1848)
228. (6, 7) Nhb.1 (8) w.Ir. Oh, by dad, you must say more nor
that, Lover Leg. (1848) I. 9. (9) Stf.2 (10) Nhb.1 (11) w.Yks.
Pogmoor Olm. (1893) 51. (12) se.Wor.1 Used more in the same
sense as ‘indeed': ‘Ower Jack fund a shillin' this marnin'.’ ‘Did
a, be-gad.’ (13) Dev. A cockney youth, by gar, thinks I, Pulman
Sketches (1853) 12. Cor. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) (14) Nhb.1
(15) Wm. (B.K.) (16) w.Yks. Banks Wkfld. Wds. (1865). (17)
se.Wor.1 (18) Der.2, nw.Der.1 (19) Nhb.1 Wm. By gock, I'll
be chokt, Jack Robison Aald Taales (1882) 4. m.Yks.1 Lan.
Bigock, but aw have it neaw, Staton Loominary (c. 1861) 34.
(20) Cum.3 57. (21) Nhb.1 (22) n.Lin. ‘By goes!’ says man,
‘that thowt niver cum'd i'to my head,’ Peacock Tales and Rhymes
(1886) 65. (23) Cor. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) (24) Ken.
Grose (1790). (25) N.I.1, Nhb.1 w.Yks.5 Often at the end of
a sentence, ‘Luke here be golly!’ and when so used, is always indicative
of surprise. Chs.1, s.Chs.1, w.Som.1 (s.v. Oaths.) (26)
Wm. (B.K.), s.Chs.1, Stf.2, Nrf. (E.M.), Suf. (F.H.), Ess. (W.W.S.),
w.Som.1 (27) N.I.1 (28) s.Chs.1 (29) N.I.1, Stf.2 (30) w.Ir. By
gor,... that's impossible, Lover Leg. (1848) I. 7. w.Som.1
(31, 32) w.Som.1 (33) Sus. Holloway. (34) Shr.2 (35) Shr.2,
w.Som.1 (36) Nhb.1 (37) w.Yks. By gow! worn't ther a
malak i' t'mule-hoil, Cudworth Sketches (1884) 14; w.Yks.5 (38)
Nhb.1 (39) Nhb.1, Wm. (B.K.) (40) Wm. (B.K.) w.Yks.
(S.P.U.) (41) Nhb.1, w.Yks.5 Lan. By gum, aw'll believe thee,
Clegg David's Loom (1894) v. Chs.1, Stf.2, Shr.1 Shr.2, War.2,
Nrf. (E.M.), w.Som.1 (42) w.Som.1 (43) w.Yks.2 (44) Der.2,
nw.Der.1 (45) Lan. By th' hairty mon, that theer eighteenpence
war soon ernt, New Wkly. (Jan. 19, 1895) 7, col. 2. (46) w.Yks.
(Æ.B.) Lan. Bith heart! this is a grand brew, Waugh Owd
Cronies (1875) iv. (47) nw.Der.1 (48) Der.2, nw.Der.1 (49) Uls.
(M.B.-S.) (50) N.I.1 (51) w.Yks.5 (52) w.Yks.1 (53) Lei.1 203.
(54) Ayr. Willie lap, an' swoor by jing, Burns Halloween (1785)
st. 9. Nhb.1, Cum. (J.A.) (55) Chs.1, s.Chs.1 Shr.1 Used
chiefly by children to express approbation. By jings! Surrey, lad,
yo'n copped that. (56, 57) Nhb.1 (58) w.Som.1 A very common
oath. (59) Cor. Grose (1790) MS. add. (P.) (60) Wxf. Be the
laws if you don't make more haste we'll give you a cobbing,
Kennedy Banks Boro (1867) 29. (61) Lan. By th' mack, hoo says,
thet's th' shop, Staton Loominary (c. 1861) 5. (62) Lan. Harland
Wilsons (1865) 44. s.Chs.1 (63) Lan. Bi th' maskins, aw wur
fain if aw cud get traycle to my porritch, Wood Sketches, 19; Lan.1
Neaw, byth maskins if I be naw fast, Tim Bobbin Wks. (ed.
1750) Introd. 35. (64) w.Yks. Withaat ivver thinkin' ─ bith mass ─
'At yor wearin' soa mitch off yor booit, Hartley Plenty o' Brass
(1868); w.Yks.2 Lan.1 Bith mass, iv he'll let me, aw will, Waugh
Sngs. (1859) Dule's i' this Bonnet. e.Lan.1 s.Lan. Bamford Dial.
(1850). Chs.1 s.Chs.1 Obs. nw.Der.1 (65) Lan. Bi mass mas,
there's a greight tall chap, Wood Sketches, 20. (66) w.Yks. Bi
t'megs, bud it's time to be lewking rahnd t'corners, Cudworth
Sketches (1884) 11; w.Yks.5 (67) w.Yks.1 (68) w.Yks.1 w.Yks.2 Lan.
Winneh forgi' meh then? ─ Byth' miss well eh meay froth bothum
o' me crop, Tim Bobbin View Dial. (1746) 69. w.Lan. (B.K.)
Lei.1 Obs. 203. (69) Lan. Eh! bi th' mon, ther wur such row in
that hoile, Wood Sketches, 6; Lan.1 Am aw to goo at this time o'
neet? ─ Ay, bith mon, mun tha'. (70) Lan. Bi'th mons aw hadn't
gone so far, Lahee Owd Yem, 5. (71) Wxf. Oh, by the pipe
down he began to sink, Kennedy Banks Boro (1867) 31. (72)
w.Yks. Leeds Merc. Suppl. (Jan. 23, 1892). (73) Nhb.1 (74) w.Ir.
By this and that, I'll make you sorry, Lover Leg. (1848) I. 50.
(75) Lan. Bith' wunds, Whistle-pig, ov o' th' scheeams ot won has
hyerd on, Walker Plebeian Pol. (1792) 12, ed. 1801.
III. Of time.
1. Of point of time: at.
e.Suf. Be here by your time [i.e. at the time named for you]
(F.H.). nw.Dev. I don't know whe'er 'twas there by his time
(R.P.C.).
2. Beyond, past, after.
Sh.I. (K.I.), Or.I. (J.G.) Abd. Always emphatic. Is he by
his time? ─ No, he said he wid be here be ten, an' it's nae lang by
nine (W.M.). Per. What o'clock is it? ─ Five minutes by three
(G.W.). Ayr. (J.F.), Edb. (J.M.), Gall. (A.W.), s.Ir. (J.F.M.ff.)
Nhb. He was lang by the quarter day afore he could pay his rent
(R.O.H.). Wm. She's by her time a gay bit noo (B.K.). n.Yks.
(I.W.); (R.H.H.) e.Yks. It's by eleven o'clock (G.C.). e.Suf.
You have gone by your time [have come late] (F.H.).
3. Of length of time: during, in the space of; over.
Nhb. Ye'll not be deun'd bi this year (R.O.H.). Not.1 e.An.1
He took care to do it by his life-time, 154. e.Suf. I shan't get
through the job by this week. I stopped too long by my dinner.
He stayed here by a whole month (F.H.). Dor. (H.J.M.) w.Som.1
Wút-n dùe· ut bee dhee luy·vtuym [thou wouldst not do it in the
space of thy lifetime]. nw.Dev. Seldom used, prob. only with
word ‘lifetime’ (R.P.C.). Cor.3

BY, conj. Sc. Irel. Nhb. Wm. Yks. Lan. Chs. Stf. Der.
Not. Lin. War. Suf. Sus. Wil. Dor. Cor. [Stressed form
bai, unstressed bi.]
1. By the time that.
Per. The schule'll be skailed by you win till't (G.W.). Ayr.
(J.F.), Edb. (J.M.) Gall. In common use (A.W.). n.Ir. (A.J.I.)
Nhb. Ye'll think se bi y'or as aad as me (R.O.H.). Wm.
T'supper'll be ready by thoo is (B.K.). n.Yks. (I.W.) e.Yks. Sall
you be ready by Ah get my bonnet on? (R.S.); You won't finish
by you die (G.C.). w.Yks. Very common (M.F.); w.Yks.3 Lan.
(S.W.) s.Chs.1 Bi ahy gy'et wom [home]. Stf.2 Der.1 By he is
of age. s.Not. (J.P.K.), Not.1 n.Lin.1 I'll hev it ready by you
cum back. e.Lin. (J.C.W.), War.3 e.Suf. The house will be
built by the month is out (F.H.). sw.Sus. Common (G.A.W.).
Wil. (G.E.D.), Dor. (H.J.M.) Cor.3 I'll be there by you [are].
2. Nevertheless, yet.
Sc. Come weel, come woe, I carena by; I am a king! Poems
and Ballads, 399. Ayr. How we love and how we 'gree, I care
na by how few may see, Burns Whistle owre the Lave o't; (J.F.)

BY, int. Yks. [bai.] Used as a mild expletive.
w.Yks. By! lad, tha'll cop it when thi fatther gets to knaw
(J.T.).

BY, BYE, adj. and adv. Var. dial. uses in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. [bai.]
1. adj. Of places: lonely, desolate; retired, away from
the main road.
Sc. In the forenoon they came into a bye fell, Scott Minstrelsy
(1802) II. 105, ed. 1848. Or.I. (J.G.) Lakel. A bye place,
Ellwood (1895). Wm. It's a by dowly auld hoose, an' maks yan's
teeth jadder ta gang in (B.K.). n.Yks. I' the clefts o' the rock in
the bye spots o' the stairs, Robinson Whitby Sng. Sol. (1860) ii.
14; The house is down a bye land (R.H.H.). Wor. (W.B.) Glo.
It's a lonely road to Northwood, but Tranch Lane is a deal byer.
nw.Dev. Not common (R.P.C.). Cor.1 Our house is rather bye;
Cor.2; Cor.3 Comparative form not known, but positive is used.
2. adv. Used with a prep. or adv. denoting place, to form
adv. phr., with the suggestion of proximity.
Sc. Huw yr ye aa doon-bye? Cum yn-bye an' gie's yeir cràks
[come in this way and tell us your news]. An oot-bye wurker
[an out-of-doors servant], Murray Dial. (1873) 227; Gang in by,
and be a better bairn another time, Scott Midlothian (1818) iv.
Sh.I. (K.I.), Inv. (H.E.F.) Abd. Inveetin' the coachman an'
gamekeeper up bye, Alexander Johnny Gibb (1871) xix; Exceedingly
common usage (W.M.). Per. Very commonly used with
up, down, in, out, owre. It is there or there by. Sit out by from
the fire (G.W.); As for the fouks doon bye, ye can get naething
oot o' them, Ian Maclaren Auld Lang Syne (1895) 121. Fif.
They'll no keep her up-bye, Meldrum Margrédel (1894) 147. Rnf.
Found them in an outbye stable, Webster Rhymes (1835) 182.
Ayr. (J.F.); The millman doon by has a dochter in service,
Johnston Kilmallie (1891) I. 157. Lnk. The Hoose wi' sic confusion,
Hold their Parliament oot by, Wardrop J. Mathison (1881)
109. e.Lth. The pairty up by roun' the hill-fits, Hunter J. Inwick
(1895) 136. Edb. (J.M.) Slk. Ye had better come in by, Hogg
Tales (1838) 362, ed. 1866. Gall. (A.W.) n.Ir. Put that dog out-by.
He is out-by feeding the cows (A.J.I.). Nhb. He hasn't much
to say to them owerby. Ye'll find his shop just through by. When
ye come ti the church it's just up by (R.O.H.); Nhb.1 Inby is
further in, or inside; in a pit it is in from the shaft. Ootby is just
outside, or in a pit it is the direction towards the shaft or exit.
Owerby is just across; Backby just behind; Upby is just up the
street or road; and Doonby is just down the way. In all these,
close neighbourhood is suggested. Nhb., Dur. The ventilation had
not been damaged any further out-bie by the shock of the explosion,
and encouraged them to hope that they might still be able to save
the lives of some of the people at the in-bie end of the horizontal
stone drift, Buddle Trans. Nat. Hist. Soc. Nhb. and Dur. (1830)
I. 192. Wm. Ur ye yen o' the doon by priests [a clergyman
belonging to this locality]? (T.E.) Glo. I come down thur bye,
Buckman Darke's Sojourn (1890) x. nw.Dev. Where was a to,
then? ─ Why, home by [close at hand]. The nest was home by
the gate-poss (R.P.C.). [See Home.]
3. Used redundantly with adv. of place.
s.Wel. In the Swansea valley and adjacent districts by is used
redundantly before here and there. Put it by here. I met him by
there [i.e. at that very spot] (E.S.H.); In constant use. Come by
here (D.M.R.). s.Pem. I put'n up by there (W.M.M.).
4. Past, gone by, finished, over.
Sh.I. (K.I.) Inv. Very common (H.E.F.). Abd. Oor denner's
by (W.M.). Frf. When the buryin' was bye, an' relations a' gane,
Laing Wayside Flrs. (1846) 20. Per. The meeting was by before
ten o'clock (G.W.). Rnf. I wish it [her marriage] was just fairly
by, Barr Poems (1861) 130. Ayr. As soon's the clockin-time is
by, Burns To J. Rankine; (J.F.) e.Lth. See ye come straucht
hame after it's by, Hunter J. Inwick (1895) 166. Edb. (J.M.)
Gall. The days of curses are by with, Crockett Grey Man (1896)
85. n.Ir. (A.J.I.) Nhb. When the new year's by we'll start fresh.
Wait till the rain's by (R.O.H.). Cum. For, lo, the winter is bye,
the rain is ower an' geane, Rayson Sng. Sol. (1859) ii. 11. Wm.
Ah wish it war by, Ah fair dreed it (B.K.). n.Yks. Very common
(R.H.H.). e.Yks. The winter is almost by (G.C.). n.Lin. Them
times is all by now (E.P.). War.3 e.Suf. The shower is almost
by (F.H.). Wil. (G.E.D.), Dor. (H.J.M.) Cor.3 That's all by.
5. Finished off, ‘done for,’ ruined, dead; esp. in phr.
to be by with it.
Sc. You're by with it, James More. You can never show your
face again, Stevenson Catriona (1892) xxx; The ancient old chiefs
that are all by with it lang syne, STEVENSON Catriona xii; He's a' pains, an' he
has an unco like hoast. I doot he's by wi't this time, Swan Gates
of Eden (1895) xiv. Per. I'm sair by wi't (G.W.). Fif. I'm aboot
by wi't, that's the truth, Robertson Provost (1894) 173. Ayr.
When the dykes are broken you're bye, ye ken, ─ Ou ay, fairly bye,
Service Notandums (1890) 34. Edb. He's about by with it (J.G.).
Gall. (A.W.)
6. Aside, on one side; out of the way; up.
Sc. Your bread's baken, ye may hing by your girdle, Ramsay
Prov. (1737); They'll haik ye up and settle ye bye, Scott Minstrelsy
(1802) III. 127, ed. 1848. Sh.I. Stand by, there! (K.I.) Per. Pack
by the eggs (G.W.). Ayr. (J.F.) Lnk. [To a dog:] Hist, awa bye,
Rover! Wardrop J. Mathison (1881) 9. Lth. Stand bye, and
let the wee things see, Ballantine Poems (1856) 312. n.Ir.
(A.J.I.) Nhb. Come by! what are ye croodin' aboot like that
for? Hadaway by [get out of the way] (R.O.H.). Cum. He wad
no'bbut shoot, ‘Hy the', git away by,’ as he does when he sends
him for the sheep, Richardson Talk (1886) 75; It slipt away by
and left us, Borrowdale Lett. (1787). n.Yks. Come by! A shepherd
sending out his dog round a flock cries ‘ger away by’ [i.e. get on
one side and turn them] (R.H.H.); (I.W.); n.Yks.1 He's brass
enew for owght: he'd ex t'Queen t'coom by, if ivver she war in's
road (s.v. Brass). e.Yks. Coom by, wi' ye! (R.S.) w.Yks. (J.T.)
s.Not. Hang 'em by (J.P.K.). Not.1 War.3 Stand by and let me
have a try at it. s.Wor. Ston' by, 'ool 'ee? (H.K.) se.Wor. Get
by, out of the road! (R.M.E.) e.Suf. (F.H.), w.Sus. (E.E.S.)
sw.Sus. Stand by! Common (G.A.W.). Wil. (G.E.D.), Dor.
(H.J.M.), e.Som. (G.S.), Cor.3
7. Back, back again.
n.Lin. In constant use. She lost it agean th' brigg, an' she
nivver could get it by agean. When he com'd by agean he'd grow'd
to be clear a man (E.P.); You mun let me 'eve it by agean (J.T.F.).
8. Comb. (1) By(e-begit, an illegitimate child; (2) By(e-bill,
a bill that is statute-run; anything that is out of date; (3)
By(e-bit, an extra bit, a ‘snack’ of food; (4) By(e-blow, see By(e-begit;
(5) By(e-body, one who procrastinates; (6) Bye-bootings (By-boltings),
the finest kind of bran; (7) By(e-chance, an accidental
or unexpected circumstance; (8) By(e-chap, an illegitimate
son; (9) By(e-child, (10) By(e-come, see By(e-begit; (11) By(e-coming,
passing or coming by; (12) By(e-courting, courting on the
sly; (13) By(e-dyke, a feeder or narrow stream for a mill-dam;
(14) By(e-end, a sinister end; a side issue; (15) By(e-farm, see
By(e-tack; (16) By(e-gang, (a) a byway; also fig. an underhand
proceeding; (b) in pl. bygones; (17) By(e-ganging, (18) By(e-going,
passing by; incidentally; (19) By(e-help, an aid in reserve;
(20) By(e-heppened, aided by things taking a fortunate turn;
(21) By(e-hours, extra time, odd hours; (22) By(e-leap, see By(e-begit;
(23) By(e-let, a river island; see below; (24) By(e-lope (By-loup, Bye-loup), see
By(e-begit; (25) By(e-market, an intermediate market; (26) By(e-near,
close by; almost; (27) By(e-neuk, an out-of-the-way corner;
(28) By(e-part, a secret place; (29) By(e-pass, an arrangement of
pipes and taps for lowering or raising gaslights, without
extinguishing them; (30) By(e-pit, a shaft sunk near the
engine-pit of a colliery; (31) By(e-place, see By(e-neuk; (32) By(e-put,
(By-pit, Bye-pit), (a) a temporary substitute; a pretence; (b) a slight
repast between meals; (c) one who procrastinates; (33)
By(e-putting (By-pittin', Bye-pittin'), procrastinating; (34) By(e-set, (a) anything
set aside until wanted; (b) a channel or gutter across a
road; (35) By(e-spot, a lonely place; (36) By(e-stead, (a) an out-of-the-way
place; (b) a byway, see below; (c) a meadow
or enclosure of land; (37) By(e-table, a side-table or sideboard;
(38) By(e-tack (By-tak, Bye-take), (a) a house or farm which is sublet;
(b) a farm, on which the tenant does not reside, taken in
addition to a larger holding; (39) By(e-tail, the right handle
of a plough, fastened to the ‘shell-board’; (40) By(e-time, see
By(e-hours; (41) By(e-vore, a by-furrow in ploughing; see below;
(42) By(e-wash, a weir or mill-race; a place by which excess
of water can run off; (43) By(e-watch, a reserve, ‘nest-egg’;
(44) By(e-way, a back entrance; (45) By(e-wipe, (a) an indirect
sarcasm, an insinuation; (b) see By(e-begit.
(1) n.Yks.3 (2) n.Lin.1 Some of the neighbours wanted to read
the Bible to her, but she said it was naught but a bye-bill, Thorpe
Surv. of Kirton-in-Lindsey (1616). (3) Sc. I had set that down for
a by bit between meals for mysell, Scott Bride of Lam. (1819) v.
(4) Cum.1, n.Yks.2, Chs.1, n.Lin.1, War.3, Shr.1 Shr.2, Hrf.2 (5) Per.
(G.W.) (6) N.Cy.1, Nhb.1 (7) n.Yks.2 Their coming was a
soort o' bychance. m.Yks.1 (8) N.I.1 (9) s.Ir. (A.J.I.) I.Ma.
You'd be hearing of the by-child, it's like? Caine Manxman
(1895) pt. iii. xvi. s.Stf. Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). (10)
e.Yks. (R.S.) (11) e.Fif. I geid a glower in at the hallan-winnock
i' the bye-comin', Latto Tam Bodkin (1894) v. (12) Gall. Bitterly
did I regret I had done my by courtings so near home, Crockett
Grey Man (1896) 230. (13) w.Yks.2 (14) Sc. They are all for
by-ends, Stevenson Catriona (1892) xviii. (15) s.Wor. (H.K.)
(16, a) n.Yks.1; n.Yks.2 We'll hae neea by-gangs an that mak o'
wark. m.Yks.1 (b) n.Yks. Let by-gangs be by-gangs (T.S.).
(17) Sc. Ye caredna to face the tenants where your beasts had
been taking a rug of their moorland grass in the by-ganging, Scott
Rob Roy (1817) xxxv. (18) Sc. King George came in for a few
digs in the by-going, Stevenson Catriona (1892) xvii. Abd. Ca'
on's freen's at Clinkstyle i' the byegaein, Alexander Johnny
Gibb (1871) xxxviii. (19) n.Yks.2 (20) n.Yks.2 All was varry mitch
by-heppen'd. (21) n.Lin.1, Nhp.1, Hnt. (T.P.F.) (22) nw.Der.1
(23) Shr.1 [Applied to] land between the natural course of a brook
and the mill-stream, or ‘flem.’ ‘The second annual exhibition
[Bridgnorth Horticult. Soc.] was held on the Bylet yesterday,’
Eddowes' Shrews. Jrn. (Sept. 9, 1874). Mtg. Bits of land on the
banks of the Severn, where osiers are grown for basket-making
(E.R.M.). (24) n.Yks.2, Der.2, nw.Der.1 (25) w.Sus. (E.E.S.)
(26) n.Yks.2 (27) Per. Ye live in a by-neuk o' the parish (G.W.).
(28) e.Dev. Yeue, mai dove, that abāid'th in... th' bai-pāārts o' th'
stairs, Pulman Sng. Sol. (1860) ii. 14. (29) [Term used at railway
stations (B.K.).] (30) w.Yks. Often the drawing pit by which the
coal is drawn (S.J.C.). (31) ne.Lan.1 [(K.)] (32, a) Sc. (Jam.
Suppl.), Or.I. (J.G.), Bnff.1 Per. Nane o' yer by-pits here (G.W.).
(b) Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) (c) Bnff.1 (33) Bnff.1 (34, a) Cum.1
(b) w.Yks.2 w.Yks.3, Der.2, nw.Der.1 (35) Cum. (J.P.) (36, a) n.Yks.2 (b)
m.Yks.1 Usually applied to a distinctively-featured byway, as one
which is paved, used by vehicles, or flanked at intervals by some
kind of structure. (c) Wm. We'll start ta mow t'bye-steeds first
(B.K.). (37) Sc. Monthly Mag. (1798) II. 436; Scoticisms (1787) 12.
(38, a) n.Lin.1 Shr. His father had the farmhouse to live in,
12s. a week, the use of a cow, had two labourers under him,
and was responsible for the working of the farm of 150 acres,
which was thus a ‘by-tag farm’ (K.B.). Dev. It was a sort of
by-tack; that is, a farm sublet by the tenant, Reports Provinc.
(1891). (b) n.Lin.1 He hed th' cliff farm as a by-tak, he alus liv'd
beloä th' hill. w.Wor.1, s.Wor. (H.K.) Shr. They madden up
thar minds to goo an live at a bytack a good way off, an' try an'
o'erget the bŏŏgies, Burne Flk-Lore (1883) vi; Shr.1 Theer'll be
a bundation o' housen to be 'ad, for one 'afe o' the farms bin let
bytack. Hrf. Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863); Hrf.1 Hrf.2 (39) Shr.1 The
left handle is called the ‘master-tail,’ and is fastened to the foot of the
plough; Shr.2 (40) Sc. I've aye a book for by-time. At a by-time,
now and then, occasionally (Jam. Suppl.). Lan. They still met at
by-times, Waugh Tufts of Heather 221. n.Lin.1 He couldn't write
when he was thoty year ohd, bud he toht his sen at by-times. (41)
w.Som.1 In ploughing a field, one half of the furrows are turned in
one direction, and the other in the opposite. A freshly-ploughed
field has the appearance of alternate strips of furrows, thus lying
in opposite directions. These strips meet alternately in a buy·-voa·ur
and ‘a all-vore’ ─ the former where the last furrow of one
is turned towards the first of the next strip; and the latter, when
these two are turned away from each other, leaving a trench
between. ‘In gatherin, you know, they've a-got vor to make a
by-vore, and in drowin abroad they makes a all-vore.’ Dev. Reports
Provinc. (1884) 14. nw.Dev.1 (42) n.Yks. (I.W.) w.Yks. (S.K.C.);
Also termed ‘th' dam-stones’ (J.T.). Lan. N. & Q. (1852) 1st
S. v. 250. (43) n.Yks. We'll seeave this for a by-watch (I.W.).
(44) Wm. Ther's a bye-way ta t'public-house (B.K.). (45, a)
Cum. I mak' no doobt he thought it was a bye-wipe, Caine Hagar
(1887) III. 2. Wm.1 Nin o thi by-wipes! n.Yks.2, w.Yks.1,
n.Lin.1 (b) n.Lin.1
9. In phr. (1) Bye attour, moreover; (2) to lay by, to
finish work; (3) to put a person by, to interrupt, disconcert,
put out.
(1) Ayr. Bye attour, my gutcher has A hich house and a laigh
ane, Burns Gat ye me. (2) w.Yks. (S.K.C.); Ah s'l lay by a bit
sooiner to-neet, as Ah want to get home (J.T.). (3) Lei. I forget
what I meant to say, you've put me by (C.E.).

BY, BYE, adj. and adv. Var. dial. uses in Sc. Irel. and
Eng. [bai.]
1. adj. Of places: lonely, desolate; retired, away from
the main road.
Sc. In the forenoon they came into a bye fell, Scott Minstrelsy
(1802) II. 105, ed. 1848. Or.I. (J.G.) Lakel. A bye place,
Ellwood (1895). Wm. It's a by dowly auld hoose, an' maks yan's
teeth jadder ta gang in (B.K.). n.Yks. I' the clefts o' the rock in
the bye spots o' the stairs, Robinson Whitby Sng. Sol. (1860) ii.
14; The house is down a bye land (R.H.H.). Wor. (W.B.) Glo.
It's a lonely road to Northwood, but Tranch Lane is a deal byer.
nw.Dev. Not common (R.P.C.). Cor.1 Our house is rather bye;
Cor.2; Cor.3 Comparative form not known, but positive is used.
2. adv. Used with a prep. or adv. denoting place, to form
adv. phr., with the suggestion of proximity.
Sc. Huw yr ye aa doon-bye? Cum yn-bye an' gie's yeir cràks
[come in this way and tell us your news]. An oot-bye wurker
[an out-of-doors servant], Murray Dial. (1873) 227; Gang in by,
and be a better bairn another time, Scott Midlothian (1818) iv.
Sh.I. (K.I.), Inv. (H.E.F.) Abd. Inveetin' the coachman an'
gamekeeper up bye, Alexander Johnny Gibb (1871) xix; Exceedingly
common usage (W.M.). Per. Very commonly used with
up, down, in, out, owre. It is there or there by. Sit out by from
the fire (G.W.); As for the fouks doon bye, ye can get naething
oot o' them, Ian Maclaren Auld Lang Syne (1895) 121. Fif.
They'll no keep her up-bye, Meldrum Margrédel (1894) 147. Rnf.
Found them in an outbye stable, Webster Rhymes (1835) 182.
Ayr. (J.F.); The millman doon by has a dochter in service,
Johnston Kilmallie (1891) I. 157. Lnk. The Hoose wi' sic confusion,
Hold their Parliament oot by, Wardrop J. Mathison (1881)
109. e.Lth. The pairty up by roun' the hill-fits, Hunter J. Inwick
(1895) 136. Edb. (J.M.) Slk. Ye had better come in by, Hogg
Tales (1838) 362, ed. 1866. Gall. (A.W.) n.Ir. Put that dog out-by.
He is out-by feeding the cows (A.J.I.). Nhb. He hasn't much
to say to them owerby. Ye'll find his shop just through by. When
ye come ti the church it's just up by (R.O.H.); Nhb.1 Inby is
further in, or inside; in a pit it is in from the shaft. Ootby is just
outside, or in a pit it is the direction towards the shaft or exit.
Owerby is just across; Backby just behind; Upby is just up the
street or road; and Doonby is just down the way. In all these,
close neighbourhood is suggested. Nhb., Dur. The ventilation had
not been damaged any further out-bie by the shock of the explosion,
and encouraged them to hope that they might still be able to save
the lives of some of the people at the in-bie end of the horizontal
stone drift, Buddle Trans. Nat. Hist. Soc. Nhb. and Dur. (1830)
I. 192. Wm. Ur ye yen o' the doon by priests [a clergyman
belonging to this locality]? (T.E.) Glo. I come down thur bye,
Buckman Darke's Sojourn (1890) x. nw.Dev. Where was a to,
then? ─ Why, home by [close at hand]. The nest was home by
the gate-poss (R.P.C.). [See Home.]
3. Used redundantly with adv. of place.
s.Wel. In the Swansea valley and adjacent districts by is used
redundantly before here and there. Put it by here. I met him by
there [i.e. at that very spot] (E.S.H.); In constant use. Come by
here (D.M.R.). s.Pem. I put'n up by there (W.M.M.).
4. Past, gone by, finished, over.
Sh.I. (K.I.) Inv. Very common (H.E.F.). Abd. Oor denner's
by (W.M.). Frf. When the buryin' was bye, an' relations a' gane,
Laing Wayside Flrs. (1846) 20. Per. The meeting was by before
ten o'clock (G.W.). Rnf. I wish it [her marriage] was just fairly
by, Barr Poems (1861) 130. Ayr. As soon's the clockin-time is
by, Burns To J. Rankine; (J.F.) e.Lth. See ye come straucht
hame after it's by, Hunter J. Inwick (1895) 166. Edb. (J.M.)
Gall. The days of curses are by with, Crockett Grey Man (1896)
85. n.Ir. (A.J.I.) Nhb. When the new year's by we'll start fresh.
Wait till the rain's by (R.O.H.). Cum. For, lo, the winter is bye,
the rain is ower an' geane, Rayson Sng. Sol. (1859) ii. 11. Wm.
Ah wish it war by, Ah fair dreed it (B.K.). n.Yks. Very common
(R.H.H.). e.Yks. The winter is almost by (G.C.). n.Lin. Them
times is all by now (E.P.). War.3 e.Suf. The shower is almost
by (F.H.). Wil. (G.E.D.), Dor. (H.J.M.) Cor.3 That's all by.
5. Finished off, ‘done for,’ ruined, dead; esp. in phr.
to be by with it.
Sc. You're by with it, James More. You can never show your
face again, Stevenson Catriona (1892) xxx; The ancient old chiefs
that are all by with it lang syne, STEVENSON Catriona xii; He's a' pains, an' he
has an unco like hoast. I doot he's by wi't this time, Swan Gates
of Eden (1895) xiv. Per. I'm sair by wi't (G.W.). Fif. I'm aboot
by wi't, that's the truth, Robertson Provost (1894) 173. Ayr.
When the dykes are broken you're bye, ye ken, ─ Ou ay, fairly bye,
Service Notandums (1890) 34. Edb. He's about by with it (J.G.).
Gall. (A.W.)
6. Aside, on one side; out of the way; up.
Sc. Your bread's baken, ye may hing by your girdle, Ramsay
Prov. (1737); They'll haik ye up and settle ye bye, Scott Minstrelsy
(1802) III. 127, ed. 1848. Sh.I. Stand by, there! (K.I.) Per. Pack
by the eggs (G.W.). Ayr. (J.F.) Lnk. [To a dog:] Hist, awa bye,
Rover! Wardrop J. Mathison (1881) 9. Lth. Stand bye, and
let the wee things see, Ballantine Poems (1856) 312. n.Ir.
(A.J.I.) Nhb. Come by! what are ye croodin' aboot like that
for? Hadaway by [get out of the way] (R.O.H.). Cum. He wad
no'bbut shoot, ‘Hy the', git away by,’ as he does when he sends
him for the sheep, Richardson Talk (1886) 75; It slipt away by
and left us, Borrowdale Lett. (1787). n.Yks. Come by! A shepherd
sending out his dog round a flock cries ‘ger away by’ [i.e. get on
one side and turn them] (R.H.H.); (I.W.); n.Yks.1 He's brass
enew for owght: he'd ex t'Queen t'coom by, if ivver she war in's
road (s.v. Brass). e.Yks. Coom by, wi' ye! (R.S.) w.Yks. (J.T.)
s.Not. Hang 'em by (J.P.K.). Not.1 War.3 Stand by and let me
have a try at it. s.Wor. Ston' by, 'ool 'ee? (H.K.) se.Wor. Get
by, out of the road! (R.M.E.) e.Suf. (F.H.), w.Sus. (E.E.S.)
sw.Sus. Stand by! Common (G.A.W.). Wil. (G.E.D.), Dor.
(H.J.M.), e.Som. (G.S.), Cor.3
7. Back, back again.
n.Lin. In constant use. She lost it agean th' brigg, an' she
nivver could get it by agean. When he com'd by agean he'd grow'd
to be clear a man (E.P.); You mun let me 'eve it by agean (J.T.F.).
8. Comb. (1) By(e-begit, an illegitimate child; (2) By(e-bill,
a bill that is statute-run; anything that is out of date; (3)
By(e-bit, an extra bit, a ‘snack’ of food; (4) By(e-blow, see By(e-begit;
(5) By(e-body, one who procrastinates; (6) Bye-bootings (By-boltings),
the finest kind of bran; (7) By(e-chance, an accidental
or unexpected circumstance; (8) By(e-chap, an illegitimate
son; (9) By(e-child, (10) By(e-come, see By(e-begit; (11) By(e-coming,
passing or coming by; (12) By(e-courting, courting on the
sly; (13) By(e-dyke, a feeder or narrow stream for a mill-dam;
(14) By(e-end, a sinister end; a side issue; (15) By(e-farm, see
By(e-tack; (16) By(e-gang, (a) a byway; also fig. an underhand
proceeding; (b) in pl. bygones; (17) By(e-ganging, (18) By(e-going,
passing by; incidentally; (19) By(e-help, an aid in reserve;
(20) By(e-heppened, aided by things taking a fortunate turn;
(21) By(e-hours, extra time, odd hours; (22) By(e-leap, see By(e-begit;
(23) By(e-let, a river island; see below; (24) By(e-lope (By-loup, Bye-loup), see
By(e-begit; (25) By(e-market, an intermediate market; (26) By(e-near,
close by; almost; (27) By(e-neuk, an out-of-the-way corner;
(28) By(e-part, a secret place; (29) By(e-pass, an arrangement of
pipes and taps for lowering or raising gaslights, without
extinguishing them; (30) By(e-pit, a shaft sunk near the
engine-pit of a colliery; (31) By(e-place, see By(e-neuk; (32) By(e-put,
(By-pit, Bye-pit), (a) a temporary substitute; a pretence; (b) a slight
repast between meals; (c) one who procrastinates; (33)
By(e-putting (By-pittin', Bye-pittin'), procrastinating; (34) By(e-set, (a) anything
set aside until wanted; (b) a channel or gutter across a
road; (35) By(e-spot, a lonely place; (36) By(e-stead, (a) an out-of-the-way
place; (b) a byway, see below; (c) a meadow
or enclosure of land; (37) By(e-table, a side-table or sideboard;
(38) By(e-tack (By-tak, Bye-take), (a) a house or farm which is sublet;
(b) a farm, on which the tenant does not reside, taken in
addition to a larger holding; (39) By(e-tail, the right handle
of a plough, fastened to the ‘shell-board’; (40) By(e-time, see
By(e-hours; (41) By(e-vore, a by-furrow in ploughing; see below;
(42) By(e-wash, a weir or mill-race; a place by which excess
of water can run off; (43) By(e-watch, a reserve, ‘nest-egg’;
(44) By(e-way, a back entrance; (45) By(e-wipe, (a) an indirect
sarcasm, an insinuation; (b) see By(e-begit.
(1) n.Yks.3 (2) n.Lin.1 Some of the neighbours wanted to read
the Bible to her, but she said it was naught but a bye-bill, Thorpe
Surv. of Kirton-in-Lindsey (1616). (3) Sc. I had set that down for
a by bit between meals for mysell, Scott Bride of Lam. (1819) v.
(4) Cum.1, n.Yks.2, Chs.1, n.Lin.1, War.3, Shr.1 Shr.2, Hrf.2 (5) Per.
(G.W.) (6) N.Cy.1, Nhb.1 (7) n.Yks.2 Their coming was a
soort o' bychance. m.Yks.1 (8) N.I.1 (9) s.Ir. (A.J.I.) I.Ma.
You'd be hearing of the by-child, it's like? Caine Manxman
(1895) pt. iii. xvi. s.Stf. Pinnock Blk. Cy. Ann. (1895). (10)
e.Yks. (R.S.) (11) e.Fif. I geid a glower in at the hallan-winnock
i' the bye-comin', Latto Tam Bodkin (1894) v. (12) Gall. Bitterly
did I regret I had done my by courtings so near home, Crockett
Grey Man (1896) 230. (13) w.Yks.2 (14) Sc. They are all for
by-ends, Stevenson Catriona (1892) xviii. (15) s.Wor. (H.K.)
(16, a) n.Yks.1; n.Yks.2 We'll hae neea by-gangs an that mak o'
wark. m.Yks.1 (b) n.Yks. Let by-gangs be by-gangs (T.S.).
(17) Sc. Ye caredna to face the tenants where your beasts had
been taking a rug of their moorland grass in the by-ganging, Scott
Rob Roy (1817) xxxv. (18) Sc. King George came in for a few
digs in the by-going, Stevenson Catriona (1892) xvii. Abd. Ca'
on's freen's at Clinkstyle i' the byegaein, Alexander Johnny
Gibb (1871) xxxviii. (19) n.Yks.2 (20) n.Yks.2 All was varry mitch
by-heppen'd. (21) n.Lin.1, Nhp.1, Hnt. (T.P.F.) (22) nw.Der.1
(23) Shr.1 [Applied to] land between the natural course of a brook
and the mill-stream, or ‘flem.’ ‘The second annual exhibition
[Bridgnorth Horticult. Soc.] was held on the Bylet yesterday,’
Eddowes' Shrews. Jrn. (Sept. 9, 1874). Mtg. Bits of land on the
banks of the Severn, where osiers are grown for basket-making
(E.R.M.). (24) n.Yks.2, Der.2, nw.Der.1 (25) w.Sus. (E.E.S.)
(26) n.Yks.2 (27) Per. Ye live in a by-neuk o' the parish (G.W.).
(28) e.Dev. Yeue, mai dove, that abāid'th in... th' bai-pāārts o' th'
stairs, Pulman Sng. Sol. (1860) ii. 14. (29) [Term used at railway
stations (B.K.).] (30) w.Yks. Often the drawing pit by which the
coal is drawn (S.J.C.). (31) ne.Lan.1 [(K.)] (32, a) Sc. (Jam.
Suppl.), Or.I. (J.G.), Bnff.1 Per. Nane o' yer by-pits here (G.W.).
(b) Sc. (Jam. Suppl.) (c) Bnff.1 (33) Bnff.1 (34, a) Cum.1
(b) w.Yks.2 w.Yks.3, Der.2, nw.Der.1 (35) Cum. (J.P.) (36, a) n.Yks.2 (b)
m.Yks.1 Usually applied to a distinctively-featured byway, as one
which is paved, used by vehicles, or flanked at intervals by some
kind of structure. (c) Wm. We'll start ta mow t'bye-steeds first
(B.K.). (37) Sc. Monthly Mag. (1798) II. 436; Scoticisms (1787) 12.
(38, a) n.Lin.1 Shr. His father had the farmhouse to live in,
12s. a week, the use of a cow, had two labourers under him,
and was responsible for the working of the farm of 150 acres,
which was thus a ‘by-tag farm’ (K.B.). Dev. It was a sort of
by-tack; that is, a farm sublet by the tenant, Reports Provinc.
(1891). (b) n.Lin.1 He hed th' cliff farm as a by-tak, he alus liv'd
beloä th' hill. w.Wor.1, s.Wor. (H.K.) Shr. They madden up
thar minds to goo an live at a bytack a good way off, an' try an'
o'erget the bŏŏgies, Burne Flk-Lore (1883) vi; Shr.1 Theer'll be
a bundation o' housen to be 'ad, for one 'afe o' the farms bin let
bytack. Hrf. Morton Cyclo. Agric. (1863); Hrf.1 Hrf.2 (39) Shr.1 The
left handle is called the ‘master-tail,’ and is fastened to the foot of the
plough; Shr.2 (40) Sc. I've aye a book for by-time. At a by-time,
now and then, occasionally (Jam. Suppl.). Lan. They still met at
by-times, Waugh Tufts of Heather 221. n.Lin.1 He couldn't write
when he was thoty year ohd, bud he toht his sen at by-times. (41)
w.Som.1 In ploughing a field, one half of the furrows are turned in
one direction, and the other in the opposite. A freshly-ploughed
field has the appearance of alternate strips of furrows, thus lying
in opposite directions. These strips meet alternately in a buy·-voa·ur
and ‘a all-vore’ ─ the former where the last furrow of one
is turned towards the first of the next strip; and the latter, when
these two are turned away from each other, leaving a trench
between. ‘In gatherin, you know, they've a-got vor to make a
by-vore, and in drowin abroad they makes a all-vore.’ Dev. Reports
Provinc. (1884) 14. nw.Dev.1 (42) n.Yks. (I.W.) w.Yks. (S.K.C.);
Also termed ‘th' dam-stones’ (J.T.). Lan. N. & Q. (1852) 1st
S. v. 250. (43) n.Yks. We'll seeave this for a by-watch (I.W.).
(44) Wm. Ther's a bye-way ta t'public-house (B.K.). (45, a)
Cum. I mak' no doobt he thought it was a bye-wipe, Caine Hagar
(1887) III. 2. Wm.1 Nin o thi by-wipes! n.Yks.2, w.Yks.1,
n.Lin.1 (b) n.Lin.1
9. In phr. (1) Bye attour, moreover; (2) to lay by, to
finish work; (3) to put a person by, to interrupt, disconcert,
put out.
(1) Ayr. Bye attour, my gutcher has A hich house and a laigh
ane, Burns Gat ye me. (2) w.Yks. (S.K.C.); Ah s'l lay by a bit
sooiner to-neet, as Ah want to get home (J.T.). (3) Lei. I forget
what I meant to say, you've put me by (C.E.).

BY, prep. and conj. Sc. Irel. Wm. Yks. Lan. Oxf.
1. prep. In phr. (1) by ocht, by any conceivable quantity;
(2) by one's time, at the time fixed; (3) by random, at random;
(4) by that, thereabouts; (5) by the day, by natural time;
(6) by the half, half as much again; (7) by when, by the
time that.
(1) Sc. (A.W.) (2) Wm.1 Mind thou's herebi thi time. (3, 4)
Sc. (A.W.) (5) s.Lan.1 It's hawve-past two bi eawr clock, bu'
it's nobbut a quarter-past bi th' day. (6) w.Yks. ‘Did ta goa as
far as t'bridge?’‘ Ay, ah went farther bi t'hauf’ (J.H.W.). (7)
Oxf.1 MS. add.
2. Used in oaths or expletives.
Ayr. ‘Be-go, laddie!’ quo' she,‘ an' thou's nane blate for thy
years,’ Service Notandums (1890) 109. Lnk. Graham Writings
(1883) II. 51. n.Yks. By Jings (I.W.). s.Lan.1
3. With regard to. Ant. (S.A.B.) 4. Of time: during,
in the space of. S.A.B. 5. conj. Nevertheless, S.A.B.

‡BY, v. e.Lan.1, Stf.1 Also written bey e.Lan.1 To
hush to sleep.

‡BY, prep. Nhb.1 In form bin before vowels.

BY, BYE, adj. and adv. Sc. Pem. 1. adj. and adv. In
comb. (1) By-blow, an illegitimate child; (2) By-board, a-side-table
; (3) By-hours, time not allotted to regular work; over
time; (4) By-passing, in passing by; (5) By-set, a substitute;
(6) By-stand, a stand-by.
(1) Sc. Wha now will our by-blows provide, Pennecuik Coll.
(1756) 44, ed. 1787. (2) Abd. The Kirk is taking the armed-chair
and the table-head in Scotland, and God is set down at the by-board,
Cobban Angel of Covt. (1898) 139. (3) Sc. (Jam.), Cai.1 (4)
s.Pem. He telt it me now just, by-passing. Call me by-passing,
will you? (M.S.C.) (5) Ayr. (Jam.) (6) Sc. (A.W.)
2. adv. In phr. to lay by, to finish work. Sc. (A.W.)

BY, BYE, adj. and adv. Sc. Pem. 1. adj. and adv. In
comb. (1) By-blow, an illegitimate child; (2) By-board, a-side-table
; (3) By-hours, time not allotted to regular work; over
time; (4) By-passing, in passing by; (5) By-set, a substitute;
(6) By-stand, a stand-by.
(1) Sc. Wha now will our by-blows provide, Pennecuik Coll.
(1756) 44, ed. 1787. (2) Abd. The Kirk is taking the armed-chair
and the table-head in Scotland, and God is set down at the by-board,
Cobban Angel of Covt. (1898) 139. (3) Sc. (Jam.), Cai.1 (4)
s.Pem. He telt it me now just, by-passing. Call me by-passing,
will you? (M.S.C.) (5) Ayr. (Jam.) (6) Sc. (A.W.)
2. adv. In phr. to lay by, to finish work. Sc. (A.W.)

English Dialect Dictionary - by
English Dialect Dictionary - by

English Dialect Dictionary - by
English Dialect Dictionary - by

English Dialect Dictionary - by
English Dialect Dictionary - by

English Dialect Dictionary - by
English Dialect Dictionary - by

English Dialect Dictionary - by
English Dialect Dictionary - by

Source : Century Dictionary ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_Dictionary )