Antonyms for by and by

Grammar : Adj, adv, noun

Spell : bahy-uh n-bahy

Phonetic Transcription : ˌbaɪ ənˈbaɪ

Definition of by and by

Origin : Old English be- (unstressed) or bi (stressed) "near, in, by, during, about," from Proto-Germanic *bi "around, about" (cf. Old Saxon and Old Frisian bi "by near," Middle Dutch bie, Dutch bij, German bei "by, at, near," Gothic bi "about"), from *umbi (cognate with second element in PIE *ambhi "around," cf. Sanskrit abhi "toward, to," Greek amphi- "around, about;" see ambi-).
Originally an adverbial particle of place, in which sense it is retained in place names (Whitby, Grimsby, etc.). Elliptical use for "secondary course" (opposed to main; e.g. byway, also cf. by-blow "illegitimate child," 1590s) was in Old English. This also is the sense of the second by in the phrase by the by (1610s). By the way literally means "in passing by" (mid-14c.); used figuratively to introduce a tangential observation by 1540s.
Phrase by and by (early 14c.) originally meant "one by one," modern sense is from 1520s. By and large (1660s) originally was nautical, "sailing to the wind and off it," hence "in one direction then another."

As in following : adj happening, being next or after
As in later : adv happening after
As in next : adv immediately after in time, space, order
As in presently : adv in a short while
As in shortly : adv right away
As in soon : adv in the near future
As in subsequently : adv afterward
As in ultimately : adv eventually
As in ulteriorly : adv later
As in afterward/afterwards : adv following a time, event
As in again : adv another time; repeated
As in by-and-by : noun future
As in future : noun time to come
As in hereafter : noun life after death

Synonyms for by and by

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019