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but

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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See also: Appendix:Variations of "but"

Translingual

Etymology

Clipping of English Bungain with t as a placeholder.

Symbol

but

  1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Bungain.

See also

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology

From Middle English but, buten, boute, bouten, from Old English būtan (“without, outside of, except, only”), from Proto-West Germanic *biūtan, *biūtini, equivalent to be- +‎ out. Cognate with Scots but, bot (“outside, without, but”), Saterland Frisian buute (“without”), West Frisian bûten (“outside of, apart from, other than, except, but”), Dutch buiten (“outside”), Dutch Low Saxon buten (“outside”), German Low German buuten, buute (“outside”), obsolete German baußen (“outside”), Luxembourgish baussen. Compare bin, about.

Pronunciation

Preposition

but

  2. Apart from, except (for), excluding.
    Synonyms: barring, except for, save for; see also Thesaurus:except
    Everyone but Father left early.
    I like everything but that.
    Nobody answered the door when I knocked, so I had no choice but to leave.
    • 2011 October 23, Becky Ashton, “QPR 1-0 Chelsea”, in BBC Sport:
      Luiz struggled with the movement of Helguson in the box, as he collected a long ball and the Spaniard barged him over, leaving referee Chris Foy little option but to point to the spot.
  3. (obsolete outside Scotland) Outside of.
    Away but the hoose and tell me whae's there.

Adverb

but (not comparable)

  1. (chiefly literary or poetic) Merely, only, just, no more than
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:merely
    Christmas comes but once a year, so we can but wait till then.
  2. (Australia, Geordie, conjunctive) Though, however.
    Synonyms: even so, nevertheless, notwithstanding, yet; see also Thesaurus:nevertheless
    I'll have to go home early but.
    • 1906, "Steele Rudd", Back At Our Selection, page 161:
      "Supposin' the chap ain't dead, but?" Regan persisted.
    • 1982, Paul Radley, My Blue-Checker Corker and Me, Sydney: Fontana/Collins, page 16:
      ‘I didn’t like that sheila that tried to latch onto him, but.’

Conjunction

but

  1. However, although, nevertheless, on the other hand (introducing a clause contrary to prior belief or in contrast with the preceding clause or sentence).
    She is very old but still attractive.
    She’s welcomed them but been rude to us.
    You told me I could do that, but she said that I could not.
  2. On the contrary, rather (as a regular adversative conjunction, introducing a word or clause in contrast or contradiction with the preceding negative clause or sentence).
    I am not rich but [I am] poor.  Not John but Peter went there.
    It’s not so much that we don’t wanna go, but I just haven’t time.
  3. (colloquial) Used at the beginning of a sentence to express opposition to a remark.
    But I never said you could do that!
    • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume IV, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book X:
      In reality, I apprehend every amorous widow on the stage would run the hazard of being condemned as a servile imitation of Dido, but that happily very few of our play-house critics understand enough of Latin to read Virgil.
    • 2013 July 19, Ian Sample, “Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 34:
      Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits.
      Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found.
    • 2013 June 29, “Travels and travails”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, page 55:
      Even without hovering drones, a lurking assassin, a thumping score and a denouement, the real-life story of Edward Snowden, a rogue spy on the run, could be straight out of the cinema. But, as with Hollywood, the subplots and exotic locations may distract from the real message: America’s discomfort and its foes’ glee.
  4. Except that (introducing a subordinate clause which qualifies a negative statement); also, (archaic) with omission of the subject of the subordinate clause, acting as a negative relative, "except one that", "except such that".
    I cannot but feel offended.
    My kid does nothing but watch TV all day.
  5. (colloquial) Used to link an interjection to the following remark as an intensifier.
    Wow! But that's amazing!
    • 1958 March 31, Chuck Berry, “Johnny B. Goode”, performed by Chuck Berry:
      Oh, the engineers would see him sitting in the shade / Strumming with the rhythm that the drivers made / People passing by, they would stop and say / "Oh, my, but that little country boy could play"
    • 1974 February 4, “Bennie and the Jets”, in Elton John (lyrics), Bernie Taupin (music), Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, performed by Elton John, Davey Johnstone, Dee Murray, Nigel Olsson, track 3:
      Say, Candy and Ronnie, have you seen them yet? / Ooh, but they're so spaced out / B-B-B-Bennie and the Jets / Oh, but they're weird and they're wonderful / Oh, Bennie, she's really keen
    • 2013, Nora Roberts, Irish Thoroughbred‎, Little, Brown, →ISBN, page 25:
      "Jakers, but we worked." With a long breath she shut her eyes. "But it was too much for one woman and a half-grown girl […] "
  6. (archaic) Without it also being the case that; unless that (introducing a necessary concomitant).
    It never rains but it pours
    I never hear this song but I think of you.
  7. (obsolete) Except with; unless with; without.
    • 1639, Thomas Fuller, “Unseasonable Discords betwixt King Baldwine and His Mother; Her Strength in Yeelding to Her Sonne”, in The Historie of the Holy Warre, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Thomas Buck, one of the printers to the Universitie of Cambridge [and sold by John Williams, London], →OCLC, book II, page 84:
      This man unable to manage his own happineſſe, grew ſo inſolent that he could not go, but either ſpurning his equals, or trampling on his inferiours.
  8. (obsolete) Only; solely; merely.
  9. (obsolete) Until.
  10. (obsolete, following a negated expression of improbability) That. [16th–19th c.]
    • 1784, Joshua Reynolds, edited by John Ingamells and John Edgcumbe, The Letters of Sir Joshua Reynolds, Yale, published 2000, page 131:
      It is not impossible but next year I may have the honour of waiting on your Lordship at St. Asaph, If I go to Ireland I certainly will go that way.
    • 1789, John Moore, Zeluco, Valancourt, published 2008, page 132:
      “I am convinced, if you were to press this matter earnestly upon her, she would consent.”
      “It is not impossible but she might,” said Madame de Seidlits […] .
    • 1813 July, Journal of Natural Philosophy:
      It is not improbable but future observations will add Pliny's Well to the class of irregular reciprocators.

Usage notes

It is generally considered colloquial to use but at the beginning of a sentence:
“But the tool has its uses!”
Other conjunctions, such as however or nevertheless, are considered more proper for that end, and are thus preferred in formal writing:
“However, the tool still has its uses.”
“Nevertheless, the instrument could still be used for its raison d'être.”

Synonyms

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Noun

but (plural buts)

  1. An instance of using the word "but"; an objection or caveat.
    It has to be done—no ifs, ands, or buts.
    But—and this is a big but—you have to come home by sundown.
    • 1922 March 4, “Fed on Fear Too Much”, in The Pathfinder, volume 29, number 1470, Washington, D.C.: Pathfinder Publishing Company, page 33:
      The children are taught to be afraid of winter, of war, of death, of hard times, of disease, of examtinations. Perhaps that is one of the reasons that children so seldom find the conversation of their elders uplifting. It is full of don’ts, buts and nots.
    • 2016 December 28, Concepcion de Leon, “5 Things Well-Meaning People Say to Me That Are Actually Really Offensive”, in Glamour‎, Greenwich, C.T.;  […]: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 8 February 2023:
      "I support you/understand where you're coming from, but..." ¶ No. No "buts" when it comes to other people's survival.
    • 2018 September 17, Catriona Harvey-Jenner, “8 foods you should never eat before a workout”, in Cosmopolitan‎, New York, N.Y.: Hearst Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 28 January 2023:
      But - and this is a pretty important but - it's just as bad to eat the wrong thing before a workout as it is to eat nothing at all.
  2. (Scotland) The outer room of a small two-room cottage.
  3. A limit; a boundary.
  4. The end; especially the larger or thicker end, or the blunt, in distinction from the sharp, end; the butt.

Derived terms

Verb

but (third-person singular simple present buts, present participle butting, simple past and past participle butted)

  1. (archaic) Use the word "but".
    But me no buts.

Derived terms

Terms derived from the preposition, adverb, conjunction, or noun but

References

Anagrams

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Danish

Etymology

From Middle Low German butt.

Adjective

but

  1. (rare) blunt

Inflection

More information positive, comparative ...

1 When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite,
the corresponding "indefinite" form is used.
2 The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively.

Synonyms

Antonyms

French

Etymology 1

From Middle French but (“mark, goal”), from Old French but (“aim, goal, end, target”), from Old French butte (“mound, knoll, target”), from Frankish *but (“stump, log”), or from Old Norse bútr (“log, stump, butt”); both from Proto-Germanic *buttaz (“end, piece”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewd- (“to beat, push”).

Cognate with Old English butt (“tree stump”); see butt. The semantic development from "mound" to "target" is likely from martial training practice. The final /t/ is from the old pausal and liaison pronunciation; its (partial) restoration as the basic form may have been reinforced by related butte.

Pronunciation

Noun

but m (plural buts)

  1. aim
  2. goal (result one is attempting to achieve)
  3. (sports) goal (in the place, act, or point sense)
Synonyms
Derived terms

Etymology 2

From boire.

Pronunciation

Verb

but

  1. third-person singular past historic of boire

Further reading

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Iban

Adjective

but

  1. stinky

Indonesian

Noun

but (plural but-but)

  1. (computing) bootstrap (process by which the operating system of a computer is loaded into its memory)

References

Maltese

More information Root ...

Etymology

Probably from Arabic بُوطَة (būṭa).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /buːt/
  • Rhymes: -uːt

Noun

but m (plural bwiet, diminutive bwejjet or buta or bwejta)

  1. pocket
  2. (figuratively) money

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English būtan, from Proto-West Germanic *biūtan, *biūtini, equivalent to be- +‎ out.

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Conjunction

but

  1. but
Descendants
  • English: but
  • Scots: but
  • Yola: mot
References

Etymology 2

Noun

but

  1. (Northern) alternative form of bote (“boot”)
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Old Polish

Pronunciation

Noun

but m inan

  1. alternative form of bot

Polish

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl

Alternative forms

Etymology

    Etymology tree
    Proto-Indo-European *bʰewd-der.
    Proto-Germanic *bautaną
    Frankish *bautander.?
    Old French botebor.
    Old Czech botbor.
    Old Polish bot
    Polish but

    Inherited from Old Polish bot, which see for more on the change in the vowel.

    Pronunciation

     

    Noun

    but m inan or m animal (diminutive bucik or butek, augmentative bucior or bucisko)

    1. shoe
      1. boot (heavy shoe that covers part of the leg)
    2. (Chełmno, unit of measure) synonym of stopa
    3. (construction, sailing) keel block (wooden base on which the support that holds the ship's hull during rests for construction)
    4. pile shoe (metal tip to a pole that is to be driven into the ground)
    5. (Chełmno, Suwałki, unit of measure) synonym of stopa
    6. (obsolete, humorous, in the plural) seventy seven (the number 77 is a game of chance)
    7. (Middle Polish) boot (horse leg protector, worn for therapeutic purposes)

    Declension

    Declension of but
    More information singular, plural ...

    Derived terms

    adverbs
    interjections
    • takie buty
    nouns
    particles
      phrases
      prepositions
      • pod butem
      proverbs
      verbs
      • kiwać palcem w bucie impf
      • uszyć buty pf, szyć buty impf
      • wejść w buty pf, wchodzić w buty impf
      • wejść z butami pf, wchodzić z butami impf
      • wyrwać z butów pf, wyrywać z butów impf

      Further reading

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      Pumpokol

      Alternative forms

      Etymology

      Inherited from Proto-Yeniseian *bes (“rabbit”).

      Noun

      but (W.)

      1. (zoology) hare

      Further reading

      • Werner, Heinrich (2005), Die Jenissej-Sprachen des 18. Jahrhunderts, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, →ISBN, page 180

      Romani

      Romanian

      Scots

      Serbo-Croatian

      Turkish

      Volapük

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