by Copy link Outline I. Of place (i.)1. ăd (with acc.)2. ăpŭd (with acc.)3. sĕcundum (alongII. Of time1. ăd (with acc.)2. sŭb (i. e. just upon3. intrā (strictly within4. the abl. is often used to express this sense, and also when "by" is equivalent, or nearly so, to "duringIII. Of other relations1. pĕr (with acc.)2. Usu. expr. by the simple abl.1. ē or ex (with abl.2. expr. by the abl. alone1. per (with acc.)2. prō or proh (prop. an interj. • by: Prep.: I. Of place (i.): Near: 1. ăd (with acc.): the dun is standing by the door, flagitator astat ad ostium, Pl.: you have gardens by the Tiber, habes hortos ad Tiberim, Cic. 2. ăpŭd (with acc.): to stay by a town, apud oppidum morari, Caes.: to pass a night by the water, apud aquam noctem agitare, Sall.: Sulpicius was sitting by Crassus, Sulpicius apud Crassum sedebat, Cic. 3. sĕcundum (along: with acc.): he had his camp by the sea, castra s. mare habebat, Caes.: centaurion grows by springs, centaurion s. fontes nascitur, Plin.: v. near, at. (ii.) past, along: q. v. (chiefly in combination with verbs; as, to sail or ride by, flow by, etc.: usu. expr. by means of a prep. in composition; as, praetervehor, praeterfluo, etc.). (iii.) on: usu. expr. by the abl.: he prepares for war by land and sea, bellum terra et mari (terra marique) comparat, Cic.: that journey is usually performed by land, illud iter pedibus fere confici solet, Cic.: whether we pursue the Parthians by land or the Britons by sea, seu pedibus Parthos sequimur seu classe Britannos, Prop. Phr.: to travel by sea, in navi vehi, Cic.: he attacked the town by the way, oppidum ex itinere oppugnavit, Caes.: Africanus used to say that he was never less alone than when he was by himself, Africanus solitus est dicere se nunquam minus solum esse quam cum solus esset, Cic.: journeys by land, pedestria itinera, Cic.. v. on foot. II. Of time: at, within, not later than. 1. ăd (with acc.): I will write by what days I shall return, ad quos dies rediturus sim scribam, Cic.: all things were done by the (appointed) day, omnia ad diem facta sunt., Caes.: to return by the Ides of April, ad Idus Aprilis reverti, Caes. 2. sŭb (i. e. just upon: with acc.): the client knocks at (the lawyer's) door by cock-crow, sub galli cantum consultor ostia pulsat, Hor. 3. intrā (strictly within: with acc.): the judge will deliver judgment by the Calends, judex intra Calendas pronuntiat, Gell. 4. the abl. is often used to express this sense, and also when "by" is equivalent, or nearly so, to "during:" by early dawn the messenger came to Ameria, primo diluculo nuntius Ameriam venit, Cic.: Themistocles used to walk about by night, noctu ambulabat Themistocles, Cic.: sometimes by day, oftener by night, nonnunquam interdiu, saepius noctu, Caes. Phr.: by and by, jam, mox, brevi tempore: v. soon, presently. III. Of other relations: as to denote the agent, instrument, or cause; measure of excess or defect; distribution, etc.: (i.) of the agent, after a passive verb. ā or ăb (with abl.): Caes.: Cic. (passim). Note.--This construction is confined to the case of a personal agent. We also find, instead of the prep. and abl., the dative, esp. after the gerundive participle; as, wisdom should be enjoyed by us, sapientia nobis (not a nobis) fruenda est, Cic. After the gerund, indeed, the prep. is only used to avoid occasional ambiguity: thus, we should say for these men must be resisted by you, a te (not tibi) his hominibus resistendum est. The dative after other forms of the passive, and the ablative without a preposition, belong to the poets: as, nor is she seen by any, neque cernitur ulli, Virg.: thou shalt be celebrated by Varius, a swan of Homeric tune, scriberis Vario, Maeonii carminis alite, Hor. (ii.) of the means or instrument, after active and passive verbs: 1. pĕr (with acc.): I did not hesitate to ask you for that by letter, non dubitavi id a te per literas petere, Cic.: to march through a province by force, iter per provinciam per vim facere, Caes.: Caesar ascertained this by the scouts, id per exploratores Caesar cognovit, Caes.: he has by himself, without any helper, mustered the forces, per se, nullo adjuvante, copias confecit, Cic. 2. Usu. expr. by the simple abl.: to excite the feelings of the mob by the mere name and recollection of his father, nomine ipso et memoria patris animos multitudinis concitare, Cic.: by a law they fix the departure for the third year, in tertium annum profectionem lege confirmant, Caes. Phr.: by your leave, bona tua venia dixerim, Cic.: v. leave: by themselves they were unable to prevail upon the Sequani, Sequanis sua sponte persuadere non poterant, Caes. (iii.) of the cause, means, or mode: 1. ē or ex (with abl.: rare, and only of that out of which something arises): she is pregnant by Pamphilus, gravida e Pamphilo est, Ter.: led into hope of victory by the advantage of the position, in spem victoriae adductus ex opportunitate loci, Sall. 2. expr. by the abl. alone: a place suitable by nature, locus natura idoneus, Caes.: this has been occasioned more by easiness than by any other fault of mine, magis id facilitate quam ulla alia culpa mea contigit, Cic.: the consul himself, holding Lentulus by the hand, leads him into the senate, consul Lentulum, ipse manu tenens, in senatum perducit, Sall.: pepper is bought by weight, piper pondere emitur, Plin. Phr.. he ran by stealth into the plain, furtim in campum currebat, Cic.: Thisbe saw the lioness by the rays of the moon, leaenam ad lunae radios Thisbe vidit, Ov.: by fair means, recte, Hor.: "by hook or by crook," quocunque modo, Hor. (iv.) with words of measurement, to denote excess or defect: this is gen. expr. by the abl. of the words denoting the excess or defect: he is taller than you by a foot and a half, sesquipede est quam te longior, Pl.: Ireland is less by a half than Britain, Hibernia dimidio minor est quam Britannia, Caes. (v.) to denote the separate succession of a number of items: this sense is usu. expr. by adverbs or distributive numerals: sometimes also by in and acc.: the number of the enemy is increasing day by day, crescit in dies singulos hostium numerus, Cic.: the siege was more severe day by day, erat in dies gravior oppugnatio, Caes.: to buy pepper by the pound, piper in libras emere, Plin.: they began by degrees to leave the camp, paulatim ex castris discedere coeperunt, Caes, the waggons were drawn one by one, singuli carri ducebantur, Caes.: to engage a servant by the year, *annua mercede famulum conducere: v. the respective substantives. (vi.) in adjurations: 1. per (with acc.): by gods and men, per deos atque homines, Cic.: I beseech you by your friendship and love, te per amicitiam et per amorem obsecro, Ter. sometimes per stands at the beginning of the adjuration without an acc., the object appealed to being defined by the clause following cf. Virg. A. 2, 142: Ov. 2. prō or proh (prop. an interj.: v. AH! also sometimes followed by the acc.): by the faith of gods and men! p. deum atque hominum fidem! Cic.: by Jupiter! pro Jupiter! Ter. (but in a formal oath it would be per). Phr.. by Hercules! mehercŭles! mehercŭle! mehercle! hercules! hercule! hercle! Cic.: Ter.: of the same import is medius fidius, i. e. me dius s. deus fidius (juvet), by the god of faith! (Hercules)! by Castor! mēcastor, ēcastor! Pl.: Ter. (rarely used except by women): by Pollux! ĕdĕpol! Pl.: by Ceres! eccĕrĕ or ĕcĕrĕ: Pl.: Ter.