but

but
\ \ [OE] But originally meant ‘outside’. It was a compound word formed in prehistoric West Germanic from *be (source of English by) and *ūtana (related to English out). This gave Old English būtan, which quickly developed in meaning from ‘outside’ to ‘without, except’, as in ‘all but me’ (the sense ‘outside’ survived longer in Scotland than elsewhere). The modern conjunctive use of but did not develop until the late 13th century.
\ \ Cf.BY, OUT

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • but — but …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • but — [ by(t) ] n. m. • 1245; probablt frq. °but « souche, billot » 1 ♦ Point visé, objectif. ⇒ 2. blanc, cible. Viser le but. Atteindre, toucher le but (cf. Faire mouche, mettre dans le mille). Manquer le but. Spécialt (Boules) Cochonnet. Pointer une… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • but — 1. general. But is a preposition and conjunction, and is used contrastively: (preposition) Everyone seems to know but me / (conjunction) Everyone seems to know but I don t. In more modern usage, as the OED and Fowler (1926) have both recognized,… …   Modern English usage

  • But — (b[u^]t), prep., adv. & conj. [OE. bute, buten, AS. b[=u]tan, without, on the outside, except, besides; pref. be + [=u]tan outward, without, fr. [=u]t out. Primarily, b[=u]tan, as well as [=u]t, is an adverb. [root]198. See {By}, {Out}; cf.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • But if — But But (b[u^]t), prep., adv. & conj. [OE. bute, buten, AS. b[=u]tan, without, on the outside, except, besides; pref. be + [=u]tan outward, without, fr. [=u]t out. Primarily, b[=u]tan, as well as [=u]t, is an adverb. [root]198. See {By}, {Out};… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • but — but·ler; but·ler·age; but·ler·ite; but·lery; but·ter·bump; but·ter·bur; but·ter·i·ness; but·ter·is; but·ter·less; but·ter·man; but·tle; but·ton·er; but·ton·less; but·tony; but·tress·less; but·ty; hack·but; hack·but·eer; hal·i·but; hal·i·but·er;… …   English syllables

  • but — BUT. s. m. L endroit où l on vise. Viser au but. frapper le but. mettre sur le but. atteindre, toucher le but. donner au but. Il sig. fig. La fin que l on se propose. Je n ay autre but en cela, que &c. c est mon but. se proposer un but. On dit… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • but — but1 [but; ] unstressed [ bət] prep. [ME < OE butan, buton, without, outside; WGmc comp. < * be , *bi ,BY + * utana, from without: see OUT] 1. with the exception of; excepting; save [nobody came but me ]: earlier, and still sometimes,… …   English World dictionary

  • But.fr — BUT Pour les articles homonymes, voir BUT (homonymie). Logo de BUT Création 1972 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • But ! — But ! Pays  France Langue Français Périodicité Hebdomadaire Genre Presse sportive Date de fondation …   Wikipédia en Français

  • But! — But !  But ! {{{nomorigine}}} Pays …   Wikipédia en Français

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