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definitions

by-blow

[bahy-bloh]
See more synonyms for by-blow on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. an incidental or accidental blow.
  2. Also bye-blow. an illegitimate child; bastard.

Origin of by-blow

First recorded in 1585–95; by- + blow1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for by-blow

bastard, by-blow, whoreson, bastardy

Examples from the Web for by-blow

Historical Examples of by-blow

  • Tush, a by-blow for mirth, we must have better purchase, we want a fourth for another project that I have ripen'd.

  • Nature had meant him for a butcher, but, being a by-blow of a great house, a discerning patron had diverted him bishopward.

    The Yeoman Adventurer

    George W. Gough

British Dictionary definitions for by-blow

by-blow

noun
  1. a passing or incidental blow
  2. an archaic word for a bastard
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