Standard Lemma guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
adj
Uncommon; out of the ordinary; extraordinary; superior.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Northern-England, Scotland, UK, archaic, dialectal
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adv
Past; by; beyond.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Northern-England, Scotland, UK, archaic, dialectal
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
adv
Uncommonly; exceptionally.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Northern-England, Scotland, UK, archaic, dialectal
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
name
A surname.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
prep
Beyond; past; more than; greater than; over and above; moreover.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Northern-England, Scotland, UK, archaic, dialectal
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
prep
Past; gone by; over.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Northern-England, Scotland, UK, archaic, dialectal
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
prep
Near; beside; by, close to.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Northern-England, Scotland, UK, archaic, dialectal
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
prep
On one side; out of the way.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Northern-England, Scotland, UK, archaic, dialectal
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
prep
Besides; in addition to; as well as; not to mention.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Northern-England, Scotland, UK, archaic, dialectal
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
prep
With the exception of; not taking into account.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Northern-England, Scotland, UK, archaic, dialectal
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
From Middle English forby, forbi, of Middle Low German or North Germanic origin, equivalent to fore- + by. Compare Saterland Frisian foarbie (“beyond, past”), West Frisian foarby (“over, beyond, past”), Dutch voorbij (“beyond, past”), Low German vörbi, vörbie (“over, up, gone, finished, past”), German vorbei (“over, gone, past”), Danish forbi, Swedish förbi. More at fore, by.
