By, prepos., close to, at the side of, with: “by Venus' side,” Ven. 180. “by her side,” Ven. 180 “and by my side wear steel,” Wiv. I, 3, 84. “close by the Thames side,” III, 3, 16. “in a rock by the sea-side,” Tp. II, 2, 138. “dost thou wear thy wit by thy side,” Ado V, 1, 126. “sitting by a brook,” Pilgr. 43. Pilgr. 43 Shr. Ind. 2, 52. “by fountain clear,” Mids. II, 1, 29. “by a country fire,” Wiv. V, 5, 256. H4B II, 1, 95. “when icicles hang by the wall,” LLL V, 2, 922. “picture-like to hang by the wall,” Cor. I, 3, 12. Cymb. III, 4, 54. “lying by the violet in the sun,” Meas. II, 2, 166. “I live by the church,” Tw. III, 1, 3. Tw. III, 1, 3 Tw. III, 1, 3 “I dwell by the Capitol,” Caes. III, 3, 27. “to lie discoloured by this place of peace,” Rom. V, 3, 143. in a bloody field by Shrewsbury, H4B Ind. Rom. V, 3, 143 “when you ran away by Gad's hill,” II, 4, 333. “in the field by Tewksbury,” R3 I, 4, 56. II, 1, 111 (Ff. at). Used before persons: “here friend by friend in bloody channel lies,” Lucr. 1487. “except I be by Silvia,” Gentl. III, 1, 178. “you must walk by us on our other hand,” Meas. V, 17. “kneel by me,” Meas. V, 17 “stand by me,” Err. V, 185. “to sleep by hate,” Mids. IV, 1, 150. “as many as could well live one by another,” Merch. III, 5, 25. “she bid me stay by her a week,” Shr. II, 179. “'twas a commodity lay fretting by you,” Shr. II, 179 “stay you by this gentleman,” Tw. III, 4, 282. “an I were now by this rascal,” H4A II, 3, 24. “watch here by the king,” H4B IV, 5, 20. “that you be by her aloft,” H6B I, 4, 10. “if thou be found by me,” III, 2, 387. “to die by thee,” III, 2, 387 “stay by me,” H6C I, 1, 31. “stay and lodge by me this night,” H6C I, 1, 31 “will you stand by us,” IV, 1, 145 (cf. “to stand by honour,” Troil. II, 2, 68. “you stayed well by't,” Ant. II, 2, 179; see stand and stay). “the goodliest woman that ever lay by man,” H8 IV, 1, 70. “an he had stayed by him,” Cor. II, 1, 143. “let them have cushions by you,” III, 1, 101. “here by Caesar,” Caes. III, 1, 162. “she shall be buried by her Antony,” Ant. V, 2, 361. “your being by me cannot amend me,” Cymb. IV, 2, 11.
Hence, denoting motion, == along the side of, past: “to seize the souls that wander by him,” Lucr. 882. “this music crept by me upon the waters,” Tp. I, 2, 391. “go on, out at the postern by the abbey-wall,” Gentl. V, 1, 9. “I love to walk by the Counter-gate,” Wiv. III, 3, 85. “to walk by this Herne's oak,” IV, 4, 40. “have for long run by the hideous law as mice by lions,” Meas. I, 4, 63. “as they fly by them,” Merch. I, 1, 14. “stray about by holy crosses,” V, 31. “jumps along by him,” As II, 1, 53. “creep like shadows by him,” Wint. II, 3, 34. “that gentleman that rode by Travers,” H4B I, 1, 55. “as I halt by them,” R3 I, 1, 23. to come by him where he stands, Cor. 2, 3, 2, 3 2, 3 “came they not by you?” Mcb. IV, 1, 137. “goes slow and stately by them,” Hml. I, 2, 202. -- Hence used to indicate the stages of a way: “and so by many winding nooks he strays,” Gentl. II, 7, 31. “I will bring the doctor about by the fields,” Wiv. II, 3, 81. “he can come no other way but by this hedgecorner,” All's IV, 1, 2. “sent me over by Berkeley,” R2 II, 3, 33. “go along by him,” Caes. II, 1, 218 (i. e. call at his house in going home). “the enemy marching along by them,” IV, 3, 207.
By the way, 1) == on the way: Meas. V, 458. Err. V, 235. Mids. IV, 1, 204. Merch. III, 2, 231. 2) == by the by: Shr. IV, 2, 115 (cf. way).
The notion of beside also perceptible in the following phrases: day by day, == every day, Sonn. 75, 13. 117, 4. Tp. V, 163. All's III, 1, 18. Tit. V, 2, 58. “drop by drop,” Wiv. IV, 5, 100. “joint by joint,” Meas. V, 314. Troil. IV, 5, 233. Rom. V, 3, 35. “limb by limb,” Troil. IV, 5, 238. “man by man,” Mids. I, 2, 3. “man by man, boy by boy, servant by servant,” H4A III, 3, 65. “night by night,” H6B III, 1, 111. Rom. I, 4, 70. “name by name,” Troil. IV, 5, 160. “one by one,” Ven. 518. Compl. 38. Wint. V, 1, 13. H6B I, 3, 102. Caes. II, 1, 112. “piece by piece,” H4A V, 3, 27. “point by point,” H6C II, 5, 24. H8 I, 2, 7. Per. V, 1, 227. “step by step,” Tp. III, 3, 78. “wave by wave,” Tit. III, 1, 95.
No less in the phrase 'by one's self' == alone, without company: “the king's son have I landed by himself,” Tp. I, 2, 221. “withdraw into a chamber by yourselves,” Ado V, 4, 11. “practise by myself,” Shr. I, 1, 83. “court her by herself,” I, 2, 137. “we'll have this song out by ourselves,” Wint. IV, 4, 315. “let him have a table by himself,” Tim. I, 2, 30. “Britain is a world by itself,” Cymb. III, 1, 13.
Likewise in the phrase 'to come by sth.' (originally == to come beside, to come up with, and then to obtain, to get possession of sth.): Tp. II, 1, 292. Gentl. III, 1, 125. V, 4, 96. Ado II, 1, 338. LLL III, 43. Merch. I, 1, 3. I, 2, 9 (cf. come).
The idea of 'way, direction' still discernible in cases, where it seems to denote simple locality: “by land,” Tp. V, 220. Ant. II, 6, 90. “by water,” II, 6, 89. “by sea and land,” Shr. V, 2, 149. “by flood and field,” Oth. I, 3, 135. “by east,” LLL I, 1, 248. “by east, west, north and south,” V, 2, 566. “by the west,” Mids. II, 1, 158. “by south and east,” H4A III, 1, 75. The idea of way, direction, acting together with that of instrumentality: “she takes him by the hand,” Ven. 361. Ven. 361 “hanging by his neck,” Ven. 361 “catch her by the neck,” Ven. 361 cf. Lucr. 253. Tp. II, 2, 108. Wiv. I, 1, 308. IV, 6, 44. V, 5, 155. Meas. I, 3, 29. III, 1, 109. IV, 1, 55. V, 343. Ado V, 1, 90. Ado V, 1, 90 LLL IV, 1, 114. As I, 2, 224. II, 7, 199. IV, 3, 163. Tw. I, 3, 70. H6C V, 4, 69. Oth. III, 3, 423. By the hand == at hand, near: “till we had his assistance by the hand,” H4B I, 3, 21.
Local presence leading over to the idea of time: “by moonshine,” Tp. V, 37. “by moonlight,” Mids. I, 1, 30. “run from her by her own light,” Err. III, 2, 99. “by his light did all the chivalry of England move,” H4B II, 3, 19. I may read by them (the exhalations) Caes. II, 1, 45. “by that music let us all embrace,” H4A V, 2, 99. Hence: “by day,” Gentl. III, 1, 109. H6B I, 1, 26. “by night,” Gentl. III, 1, 110. III, 2, 83. H6B I, 1, 26. “by day and night,” Tp. I, 2, 336. “by night and day,” Err. IV, 2, 60 (see day and night). And in general == at a certain point of time, but always meaning: when it has come, or will come to that time: “by the next moon prepare to die,” Mids. I, 1, 83. “to con them by to-morrow night,” I, 2, 103. “by day's approach look to be visited,” III, 2, 430. “meet me all by break of day,” V, 429. cf. Ado V, 1, 261. V, 4, 13. Merch. II, 6, 59. Shr. IV, 3, 190. All's I, 3, 255. III, 6, 82. John II, 219. R2 I, 3, 194. H4A II, 4, 564. Lr. V, 3, 114. Oth. IV, 1, 225. “by seven o'clock,” Gentl. III, 1, 226. Meas. II, 1, 34. IV, 2, 67. IV, 2, 67 Merch. II, 2, 122. As IV, 1, 184. H4A I, 2, 139. H5 III, 7, 168. Troil. III, 3, 296. “by the second hour,” R3 V, 3, 31. Troil. II, 1, 134. Caes. II, 1, 213. By this == by this time: “by this the love-sick queen began to sweat,” Ven. 175 (== when it had come to this). Ven. 175 Ven. 175 Ven. 175 Ven. 175 Lucr. 1079. Lucr. 1079 Lucr. 1079 Wiv. IV, 1, 3. V, 5, 185. Err. III, 1, 115. V, 118. Ado I, 1, 3. III, 2, 79. Shr. IV, 1, 120. All's V, 3, 134. H6C IV, 3, 2. V, 1, 3. V, 5, 90. Troil. V, 2, 183. Tit. III, 1, 109. IV, 3, 66. Caes. I, 3, 125. Lr. IV, 6, 45.
As it is used, like with, to denote nearness or company, so also to indicate the person subject to an activity: “I would thou hadst done so by Claudio,” Meas. V, 473 (== with Claudio, or rather in the case of Claudio). “though my mocks come home by me, I will now be merry,” LLL V, 2, 637. “I would they would forget me, like the virtues which our divines lose by em,” Cor. II, 3, 64. “so disguise shall, by the disguised, pay with falsehood false exacting,” Meas. III, 2, 294; i. e. disguise shall be allowed to pay with falsehood the demands of one who is himself a disguised hypocrite. (cf. the modern use of to deal; see also to set in such phrases as “to set little by sth.,” Gentl. I, 2, 82). -- Thus, after the verbs of speaking and thinking, by sometimes comes to be == of: “virtuous in any thing that I do know by her,” Ado V, 1, 312 (originally == with her, in her, about her). that 'many' may be meant “by the fool multitude,” Merch. II, 9, 26. “how say you by the French lord?” I, 2, 58. “I would not have him know so much by me,” LLL IV, 3, 150. “thus I conceive by him,” Shr. V, 2, 22 (a quibble). “by him and by this woman here what know you?” All's V, 3, 237. “speak the truth by her,” Gentl. II, 4, 151. “but by bad courses may be understood that their events can never fall out good,” R2 II, 1, 213. “how think you by that?” H6B II, 1, 16. “how say you by this change?” Oth. I, 3, 17. “to speak . . . not by your own instruction, nor by the matter which your heart prompts you,” Cor. III, 2, 54.
Nearly related to the idea of a way is that of a means or instrument: “by your art,” Tp. I, 2, 1. “by foul play,” Tp. I, 2, 1 “by telling of it,” Tp. I, 2, 1 “by providence divine,” Tp. I, 2, 1 Tp. I, 2, 1 Tp. I, 2, 1 Tp. I, 2, 1 Tp. I, 2, 1 II, 2, 38. III, 2, 49. V, 40 etc. etc. “they live by your bare words,” Gentl. II, 4, 46. “I live by food,” As II, 7, 14. Frequently after to appear, to know, to mean, and similar words: I can (remember); “by what? by any other house or person?” Tp. I, 2, 42. “I know it by thy trembling,” II, 2, 83. “I know her by her gait,” IV, 102. “it appears by their bare liveries,” Gentl. II, 4, 45. IV, 2, 89. “what mean you by that saying?” V, 4, 167. Wiv. III, 1, 73. III, 5, 12. V, 2, 7. V, 2, 7 V, 5, 208. “I thought by your readiness in the office . . .,” Meas. II, 1, 275. V, 330. V, 330 “gather the sequel by that went before,” Err. I, 1, 96 (cf. H6A II, 3, 69). “I guess it stood in her chin, by the salt rheum,” III, 2, 131. IV, 4, 96. LLL II, 229. “to choose love by another's eyes,” Mids. I, 1, 140. “the mazed world, by their increase, now knows not which is which,” II, 1, 114. II, 1, 114 III, 2, 236. III, 2, 236 V, 257. As IV, 3, 8. H6A III, 1, 124. “you seem to understand me, by each at once her chappy fingers laying upon her skinny lips,” Mcb. I, 3, 44. -- After the verbs of measuring: that (thy mind) “they measure by thy deeds;” Sonn. 69, 10. “He would have weighed thy brother by himself,” Meas. V, 111. “I measure him by my own spirit,” Ado II, 3, 149. “we measure them by weary steps,” LLL V, 2, 194. -- Peculiar expressions: “she is dead, and by strange manner,” Caes. IV, 3, 189. “his solicitings, as they fell out by time, by means and place,” Hml. II, 2, 127. “to part by the teeth the unowed interest of proud-swelling state,” John IV, 3, 146. “either send the chain or send me by some token,” Err. IV, 1, 56 (i. e. so that I may prove the legitimacy of my commission by a token). “say, by this token, I desire his company,” Meas. IV, 3, 144. “go, by this token,” R3 IV, 2, 80. -- By heart, by leave, patience, pardon, see the resp. words.
To the same source must be traced its use in denoting the sum of difference between things: “too much by one,” Gentl. V, 4, 52. “ere the ships could meet by twice five leagues,” Err. I, 1, 101. one (child) “too much by thee,” Ado IV, 1, 131. “too long by half a mile,” LLL V, 2, 54. LLL V, 2, 54 Mids. V, 63. Tw. V, 139. Wint. IV, 4, 724. V, 3, 29. H4A III, 2, 73. H8 I, 2, 208. Cor. III, 1, 103. Hml. II, 2, 466. Similarly: “by many a year before,” H8 II, 4, 49. “not to come near our person by ten mile,” H4B V, 5, 69. -- By how much . . . . by so much == the more, the more: “by how much defence is better than no skill, by so much is a horn more precious than to want,” As III, 3, 62. “by how much unexpected, by so much we must awake endeavour,” John II, 80. “and so much less of shame in me remains, by how much of me their reproach contains,” Compl. 189. “you are the better at proverbs, by how much a fool's bolt is soon shot,” H5 III, 7, 131. “by how much she strives to do him good, she shall undo her credit with the Moor,” Oth. II, 3, 364. “by so much is the wonder in extremes,” H6C III, 2, 115 (== the more).
Equally, in expressing the measure, by which an action is regulated, especially the stages of a successive action: “make him by inch-meal a disease,” Tp. II, 2, 3. “which you shall find by every syllable a faithful verity,” Meas. IV, 3, 131. “sell by gross,” LLL V, 2, 319. “loves her by the foot; he may not by the yard,” LLL V, 2, 319 “'tis purchased by the weight,” Merch. III, 2, 89. “utters it by great swarths,” Tw. II, 3, 162. “buy maidenheads by the hundreds,” H4A II, 4, 398. “by the dozens,” H8 V, 4, 33. “by ones, by twos, and by threes,” Cor. II, 3, 47. “he's to make his requests by particulars,” Cor. II, 3, 47 “will bear the knave by the volume,” III, 3, 33. “they'll give him death by inches,” V, 4, 42. “peruse him by items,” Cymb. I, 4, 7. “I will believe you by the syllable,” Per. V, 1, 169. Similarly: “compound with him by the year,” Meas. IV, 2, 25. “two thousand ducats by the year,” Shr. II, 371. “a thousand pounds by the year,” H5 I, 1, 19. “O that I knew he were but in by the week,” LLL V, 2, 61. “what expense by the hour seems to flow from him,” H8 III, 2, 108. “how Diomed, a whole week by days, did haunt you,” Troil. IV, 1, 9. “for quick accumulation of renown, which he achieved by the minute,” Ant. III, 1, 20, i. e. every minute; cf. “should by the minute feed on life and lingering by inches waste you,” Cymb. V, 5, 51. Strangely, but intelligibly: “this was but as a fly by an eagle,” Ant. II, 2, 186, i. e. as a fly for every one to feed on in a company of eagles.
Serving also to denote the instrumentality of persons: “and do pronounce by me,” Tp. III, 3, 76. “send him by your two men to Datchet-mead,” Wiv. III, 3, 141. “she sent for you by Dromio home to dinner,” Err. II, 2, 156. “ourselves we do remember by you,” V, 292 (by seeing you bound). “I see by you I am a sweet-faced youth,” V, 292 “or else by him my love deny,” As IV, 3, 62. “send for your daughter by your servant here,” Shr. IV, 4, 58. “I sent to her by this same coxcomb tokens and letters,” All's III, 6, 122. “you'll nothing to my lord by me?” Tw. III, 1, 148. “Bohemia greets you by me,” Wint. V, 1, 181. “the king by me requests your presence,” John IV, 3, 22. “send him word by me,” V, 3, 7. “the countess by me entreats,” H6A II, 2, 40. “the commons send you word by me,” H6B III, 2, 243. “by her he had two children,” IV, 2, 147. “send to her by the man that slew her brothers a pair of bleeding hearts,” R3 IV, 4, 271. H8 IV, 2, 117. Tit. I, 181. IV, 2, 10. “and by him do my duties to the senate,” Oth. III, 2, 2. “forborne the getting of a lawful race, and by a gem of women,” Ant. III, 13, 108. “she soon shall know of us, by some of ours,” V, 1, 57. “the Roman emperor's letters, sent by a consul to me,” Cymb. IV, 2, 385. Similarly: “but we do learn by those,” Meas. I, 4, 53 (== we are informed). “this you might have heard of here by me or by some other,” Cymb. II, 4, 77. “had his titles by Tenantius whom he served with glory,” I, 1, 31. cf. “this island's mine by Sycorax my mother,” Tp. I, 2, 331. “by her I claim the kingdom,” H6B II, 2, 47. “by my mother I derived am from Lionel Duke of Clarence,” H6A II, 5, 74. “you are damned both by father and mother,” Merch. III, 5, 18. so (virtuous uncles) “hath this both by the father and mother,” R3 II, 3, 22. “better it were they all came by the father, or by the father there were none at all,” R3 II, 3, 22 cf. “by the mother's side,” John I, 163. Ant. II, 2, 120 (see side).
The idea of instrumentality prevails also in the phrase 'by the name of': “call us by our names,” Err. II, 2, 168. IV, 3, 3. “I have wooed Margaret by the name of Hero,” Ado III, 3, 155. “by that name as oft as Lancaster doth speak of you, his cheek looks pale,” H4A III, 1, 8. “crowned by the name of Henry the Fourth,” H6B II, 2, 23. “that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” Rom. II, 2, 44. “this diamond he greets your wife withal by the name of most kind hostess,” Mcb. II, 1, 16. Hence the following expression: “if thou takest up the princess by that forced baseness which he has put upon't,” Wint. II, 3, 78 (i. e. as if she were a bastard, which name he falsely gives her).
It is the same after the verbs to conjure and to swear; and in adjurations without a verb preceding“: she conjures him by high almighty Jove,” Lucr. 568. “swear by this bottle,” Tp. II, 2, 125. “I charge you by the law,” Merch. IV, 1, 138. “to break an oath by him,” R3 IV, 4, 381. “by all above,” Sonn. 110, 6. Tp. II, 2, 127. Tp. II, 2, 127 III, 1, 53. III, 2, 17. III, 2, 17 III, 3, 1. IV, 226. Gentl. I, 2, 41. II, 5, 1. III, 1, 166. IV, 1, 36. IV, 2, 100. V, 4, 139. Wiv. I, 1, 88. Wiv. I, 1, 88 Wiv. I, 1, 88 Wiv. I, 1, 88 Wiv. I, 1, 88 II, 1, 14 (by me) etc. etc.
The idea of instrumentality passing into that of causality: “the remembrance of my former love is by a newer object quite forgotten,” Gentl. II, 4, 195. “by his master's command,” IV, 2, 79. “as school-maids change their names by vain, though apt affection,” Meas. I, 4, 48. “I do it . . . from Lord Angelo by special charge,” I, 2, 123. “he would not, but by gift of my chaste body, release my brother,” V, 97. “might have ta'en revenge, by so receiving a dishonoured life,” IV, 4, 34. “howsoever it seems not in him, by some large jests he will make,” Ado II, 3, 205. “challenge me by these deserts,” LLL V, 2, 815. “feared by their breed and famous by their birth,” R2 II, 1, 52. “boiling choler . . . by sight of these our enemies,” H6A V, 4, 122. “whereby his suit was granted,” H8 I, 1, 186. and by those (ways of honour) “claim their greatness, not by blood,” V, 5, 39. “all good seeming, by thy revolt, shall be thought put on for villany,” Cymb. III, 4, 57.
And hence == according to: “men will kiss even by their own direction,” Ven. 216. “that posterity which by the rights of time thou needs must have,” Ven. 216 “by consent,” Tp. II, 1, 203. “of a better nature than he appears by speech,” I, 2, 497. “and by your own report a linguist,” Gentl. IV, 1, 56. “which served me as fit by all men's judgments,” IV, 4, 167. “goes to them by his note,” Wiv. IV, 2, 64. “I durst have denied that . . . by what rule?” Err. II, 2, 69. “there is no more sailing by the star,” Ado III, 4, 58. “that she were a maid by these exterior shows,” IV, 1, 41. “call forth your actors by the scroll,” Mids. I, 2, 16. “choose by show,” Merch. II, 9, 26. “what should his sufferance be by Christian example,” III, 1, 73. “an hour by his dial,” As II, 7, 33. “we quarrel in print, by the book,” V, 4, 94 (Rom. I, 5, 112). “the property by what it is should go, not by the title,” All's II, 3, 137. “that the great figure of a council frames by self-unable motion,” III, 1, 13. “an it be not four by the day,” H4A II, 1, 1. “fought a long hour by Shrewsbury clock,” V, 4, 151. “I stay too long by thee,” H4B IV, 5, 94 (i. e. in thy opinion). “Talbot means no goodness by his looks,” H6A III, 2, 72. “censure me by what you were,” V, 5, 97. “so that, by this, you would not have him die,” H6B III, 1, 243. “I will go by thy direction,” R3 II, 2, 153. “by the book he should have braved the east an hour ago,” V, 3, 278. “I'll go along by your prescription,” H8 I, 1, 151. “to speak . . . not by your own instruction,” Cor. III, 2, 53. “a catalogue of all the voices set down by the poll,” III, 3, 10. “things of like value differing in the owners are prized by their masters,” Tim. I, 1, 171 (according to the worth of their masters). “a recompense more fruitful than their offence can weigh down by the dram,” V, 1, 154. “by the rule of that philosophy by which I did blame Cato,” Caes. V, 1, 101. “by the clock 'tis day,” Mcb. II, 4, 6. “by the verities on thee made good, may they not be my oracles as well?” III, 1, 8. “I will make questions and by them answer,” Oth. III, 4, 17. “that ebb and flow by the moon,” Lr. V, 3, 19. “those that make their looks by his,” Ant. I, 5, 56. “by him this creature is no such thing,” III, 3, 43 (according to his account). “by all likelihood,” Cymb. I, 4, 54. “having proceeded but by both your wills,” II, 4, 56. “there's no going but by their consent,” Per. IV, 6, 208.
Lastly, nine times out of ten, denoting the agent of something done: “cheated of our lives by drunkards,” Tp. I, 1, 59. I, 2, 241. I, 2, 241 319 etc. etc.