forby

American

[fawr-bahy] / fɔrˈbaɪ /

Or forbye

preposition

Chiefly Scot.

close by; near.
besides.

forby British

/ fərˈbaɪ, fɔːˈbaɪ /

preposition

besides; in addition (to)
obsolete near; nearby

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of forby

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English forbi “past in space or time,” from for- “fore-” + by; fore ¹, by

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"Pirtas an' broth!" said I. "Yer blinked, ye cabbage head, we've got two yards ov thripe forby!"

From My Lady of the Chimney Corner by Irvine, Alexander

In my day I have been soldier, sailor, reiver, hunter and hunted, doctor and patient, forby a wheen mair.

From A Daughter of Raasay A Tale of the '45 by Travis, Stuart

What, man! you'll never manish it—and you as weak as watter forby.

From A Son of Hagar A Romance of Our Time by Caine, Hall, Sir

I'm nae slave, an' forby, I dinna believe they are weel-aff.

From The Underworld The Story of Robert Sinclair, Miner by Welsh, James C.

We’ve dug forty thousand dollars—eight thousand pounds—out o’ that same hole in the tint; forby sprainin’ the ankles, and well-nigh breakin’ the legs, o’ eight or tin miners.

From The Golden Dream Adventures in the Far West by Ballantyne, R. M. (Robert Michael)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023