From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Day \Day\ (d[=a]), n. [OE. day, dai, dei, AS. d[ae]g; akin to
OS., D., Dan., & Sw. dag, G. tag, Icel. dagr, Goth. dags; cf.
Skr. dah (for dhagh ?) to burn. [root]69. Cf. {Dawn}.]
1. The time of light, or interval between one night and the
next; the time between sunrise and sunset, or from dawn to
darkness; hence, the light; sunshine; -- also called
{daytime}.
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2. The period of the earth's revolution on its axis. --
ordinarily divided into twenty-four hours. It is measured
by the interval between two successive transits of a
celestial body over the same meridian, and takes a
specific name from that of the body. Thus, if this is the
sun, the day (the interval between two successive transits
of the sun's center over the same meridian) is called a
{solar day}; if it is a star, a {sidereal day}; if it is
the moon, a {lunar day}. See {Civil day}, {Sidereal day},
below.
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3. Those hours, or the daily recurring period, allotted by
usage or law for work.
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4. A specified time or period; time, considered with
reference to the existence or prominence of a person or
thing; age; time.
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A man who was great among the Hellenes of his day.
--Jowett
(Thucyd. )
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If my debtors do not keep their day, . . .
I must with patience all the terms attend. --Dryden.
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5. (Preceded by the) Some day in particular, as some day of
contest, some anniversary, etc.
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The field of Agincourt,
Fought on the day of Crispin Crispianus. --Shak.
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His name struck fear, his conduct won the day.
--Roscommon.
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Note: Day is much used in self-explaining compounds; as,
daybreak, daylight, workday, etc.
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{Anniversary day}. See {Anniversary}, n.
{Astronomical day}, a period equal to the mean solar day, but
beginning at noon instead of at midnight, its twenty-four
hours being numbered from 1 to 24; also, the sidereal day,
as that most used by astronomers.
{Born days}. See under {Born}.
{Canicular days}. See {Dog day}.
{Civil day}, the mean solar day, used in the ordinary
reckoning of time, and among most modern nations beginning
at mean midnight; its hours are usually numbered in two
series, each from 1 to 12. This is the period recognized
by courts as constituting a day. The Babylonians and
Hindoos began their day at sunrise, the Athenians and Jews
at sunset, the ancient Egyptians and Romans at midnight.
{Day blindness}. (Med.) See {Nyctalopia}.
{Day by day}, or {Day after day}, daily; every day;
continually; without intermission of a day. See under
{By}. "Day by day we magnify thee." --Book of Common
Prayer.
{Days in bank} (Eng. Law), certain stated days for the return
of writs and the appearance of parties; -- so called
because originally peculiar to the Court of Common Bench,
or Bench (bank) as it was formerly termed. --Burrill.
{Day in court}, a day for the appearance of parties in a
suit.
{Days of devotion} (R. C. Ch.), certain festivals on which
devotion leads the faithful to attend mass. --Shipley.
{Days of grace}. See {Grace}.
{Days of obligation} (R. C. Ch.), festival days when it is
obligatory on the faithful to attend Mass. --Shipley.
{Day owl}, (Zool.), an owl that flies by day. See {Hawk owl}.
{Day rule} (Eng. Law), an order of court (now abolished)
allowing a prisoner, under certain circumstances, to go
beyond the prison limits for a single day.
{Day school}, one which the pupils attend only in daytime, in
distinction from a boarding school.
{Day sight}. (Med.) See {Hemeralopia}.
{Day's work} (Naut.), the account or reckoning of a ship's
course for twenty-four hours, from noon to noon.
{From day to day}, as time passes; in the course of time; as,
he improves from day to day.
{Jewish day}, the time between sunset and sunset.
{Mean solar day} (Astron.), the mean or average of all the
apparent solar days of the year.
{One day}, {One of these days}, at an uncertain time, usually
of the future, rarely of the past; sooner or later. "Well,
niece, I hope to see you one day fitted with a husband."
--Shak.
{Only from day to day}, without certainty of continuance;
temporarily. --Bacon.
{Sidereal day}, the interval between two successive transits
of the first point of Aries over the same meridian. The
Sidereal day is 23 h. 56 m. 4.09 s. of mean solar time.
{To win the day}, to gain the victory, to be successful. --S.
Butler.
{Week day}, any day of the week except Sunday; a working day.
{Working day}.
(a) A day when work may be legally done, in distinction
from Sundays and legal holidays.
(b) The number of hours, determined by law or custom,
during which a workman, hired at a stated price per
day, must work to be entitled to a day's pay.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
By \By\ (b[imac]), prep. [OE. bi, AS. b[imac], big, near to, by,
of, from, after, according to; akin to OS. & OFries. bi, be,
D. bij, OHG. b[imac], G. bei, Goth. bi, and perh. Gr. 'amfi`.
E. prefix be- is orig. the same word. [root]203. See pref.
{Be-}.]
1. In the neighborhood of; near or next to; not far from;
close to; along with; as, come and sit by me.
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By foundation or by shady rivulet
He sought them both. --Milton.
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2. On; along; in traversing. Compare 5.
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Long labors both by sea and land he bore. --Dryden.
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By land, by water, they renew the charge. --Pope.
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3. Near to, while passing; hence, from one to the other side
of; past; as, to go by a church.
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4. Used in specifying adjacent dimensions; as, a cabin twenty
feet by forty.
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5. Against. [Obs.] --Tyndale [1. Cor. iv. 4].
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6. With, as means, way, process, etc.; through means of; with
aid of; through; through the act or agency of; as, a city
is destroyed by fire; profit is made by commerce; to take
by force.
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Note: To the meaning of by, as denoting means or agency,
belong, more or less closely, most of the following
uses of the word:
(a) It points out the author and producer; as, "Waverley",
a novel by Sir W.Scott; a statue by Canova; a sonata
by Beethoven.
(b) In an oath or adjuration, it indicates the being or
thing appealed to as sanction; as, I affirm to you by
all that is sacred; he swears by his faith as a
Christian; no, by Heaven.
(c) According to; by direction, authority, or example of;
after; -- in such phrases as, it appears by his
account; ten o'clock by my watch; to live by rule; a
model to build by.
(d) At the rate of; according to the ratio or proportion
of; in the measure or quantity of; as, to sell cloth
by the yard, milk by the quart, eggs by the dozen,
meat by the pound; to board by the year.
(e) In comparison, it denotes the measure of excess or
deficiency; when anything is increased or diminished,
it indicates the measure of increase or diminution;
as, larger by a half; older by five years; to lessen
by a third.
(f) It expresses continuance or duration; during the
course of; within the period of; as, by day, by night.
(g) As soon as; not later than; near or at; -- used in
expressions of time; as, by this time the sun had
risen; he will be here by two o'clock.
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Note: In boxing the compass, by indicates a pint nearer to,
or towards, the next cardinal point; as, north by east,
i.e., a point towards the east from the north;
northeast by east, i.e., on point nearer the east than
northeast is.
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Note: With is used instead of by before the instrument with
which anything is done; as, to beat one with a stick;
the board was fastened by the carpenter with nails. But
there are many words which may be regarded as means or
processes, or, figuratively, as instruments; and
whether with or by shall be used with them is a matter
of arbitrary, and often, of unsettled usage; as, to a
reduce a town by famine; to consume stubble with fire;
he gained his purpose by flattery; he entertained them
with a story; he distressed us with or by a recital of
his sufferings. see {With}.
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{By all means}, most assuredly; without fail; certainly.
{By and by}.
(a) Close together (of place). [Obs.] "Two yonge knightes
liggyng [lying] by and by." --Chaucer.
(b) Immediately; at once. [Obs.] "When . . . persecution
ariseth because of the word, by and by he is
offended." --Matt. xiii. 21.
(c) Presently; pretty soon; before long.
Note: In this phrase, by seems to be used in the sense of
nearness in time, and to be repeated for the sake of
emphasis, and thus to be equivalent to "soon, and
soon," that is instantly; hence, -- less emphatically,
-- pretty soon, presently.
{By one's self}, with only one's self near; alone; solitary.
{By the bye}. See under {Bye}.
{By the head} (Naut.), having the bows lower than the stern;
-- said of a vessel when her head is lower in the water
than her stern. If her stern is lower, she is by the
stern.
{By the lee}, the situation of a vessel, going free, when she
has fallen off so much as to bring the wind round her
stern, and to take her sails aback on the other side.
{By the run}, to let go by the run, to let go altogether,
instead of slacking off.
{By the way}, by the bye; -- used to introduce an incidental
or secondary remark or subject.
{Day by day}, {One by one}, {Piece by piece}, etc., each day,
each one, each piece, etc., by itself singly or
separately; each severally.
{To come by}, to get possession of; to obtain.
{To do by}, to treat, to behave toward.
{To set by}, to value, to esteem.
{To stand by}, to aid, to support.
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Note: The common phrase good-by is equivalent to farewell,
and would be better written good-bye, as it is a
corruption of God be with you (b'w'ye).
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From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
day by day
adv 1: gradually and progressively; "his health weakened day by
day" [syn: {day by day}, {daily}]
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