English edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

From Middle English forby, forbi, of Middle Low German or North Germanic origin, equivalent to fore- +‎ by. Compare Saterland Frisian foarbie (beyond, past), Dutch voorbij (past), Low German vörbi, German vorbei (gone, past), Danish forbi, Swedish förbi. More at fore, by.

Pronunciation edit

Adjective edit

forby (comparative more forby, superlative most forby)

  1. (UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland, archaic) Uncommon; out of the ordinary; extraordinary; superior.
    He's a forbye man.

Adverb edit

forby (comparative more forby, superlative most forby)

  1. (UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland, archaic) Past; by; beyond.
    • 1899, Richard Garnett, Alois Leonhard Brandl, The universal anthology:
      To see the world and folk that went forby, []
  2. (UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland, archaic) Uncommonly; exceptionally.
    He was forby kind.

Preposition edit

forby

  1. (UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland, archaic) Beyond; past; more than; greater than; over and above; moreover.
  2. (UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland, archaic, of time) Past; gone by; over.
  3. (UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland, archaic) Near; beside; by, close to.
  4. (UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland, archaic) On one side; out of the way.
  5. (UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland, archaic) Besides; in addition to; as well as; not to mention.
    There was other six forby me.
    • 1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 173:
      "Put on your dress, ye shameless witch, standin' there in your pelt I'll take a strap to, for havin' the conceit out of you, forby your idling had lost me the sup of gin to keep the breath of life in me."
  6. (UK dialectal, Northern England, Scotland, archaic) With the exception of; not taking into account.

Synonyms edit

Norwegian Bokmål edit

Etymology edit

From Old Norse fyrirbjóða.

Verb edit

forby (imperative forby, present tense forbyr, passive forbys, simple past forbød or forbøy or forbydde, past participle forbudt or forbydd)

  1. to ban
  2. to forbid
  3. to prohibit

Related terms edit

References edit

Norwegian Nynorsk edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

From Old Norse fyrirbjóða.

Verb edit

forby (present tense forbyr, past tense forbaud or forbydde, past participle forbode or forbydd or forbydt, passive infinitive forbyast, present participle forbyande, imperative forby)

  1. to ban, forbid, prohibit

Related terms edit

References edit