bystander

English

Alternative forms

• bye-stander, by-stander (obsolete)

Etymology

From by- +‎ stander. Compare passerby.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbaɪˌstænd.ə(ɹ)/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

bystander (plural bystanders)

1. A person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer, witness, or spectator.

   Synonym: onlooker

   • 1867, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, chapter II, in The Gambler, translated by C. J. Hogarth‎:

     If he wins, he will be at liberty, perhaps, to give vent to a laugh, or to pass a remark on the circumstance to a bystander, or to stake again, or to double his stake; but, even this he must do solely out of curiosity, and for the pleasure of watching the play of chances and of calculations, and not because of any vulgar desire to win.

Derived terms

• bystander effect
• bystanderish
• bystandership
• innocent bystander

Translations

a person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer or spectator

Arabic: مُتَفَرِّج m (mutafarrij) Burmese: ဘေးလူ (my) (bhe:lu) Chinese: Mandarin: 旁觀者 / 旁观者 (zh) (pángguānzhě) Dutch: omstander (nl) m Finnish: sivullinen (fi), sivustakatsoja (fi) French: passant (fr) m, badaud (fr) m Georgian: დამკვირვებელი (damḳvirvebeli), მოწმე (moc̣me), მაყურებელი (maq̇urebeli) German: Zuschauer (de) m, Schaulustiger (de) m Hungarian: bámészkodó (hu), nézelődő (hu) Italian: astante (it) m, convenuto (it) m Old English: ymbstandend m, ætstandend m Polish: naoczny świadek m Portuguese: espectador (pt) m Russian: свиде́тель (ru) m (svidételʹ) (witness), наблюда́тель (ru) m (nabljudátelʹ) (observer), очеви́дец (ru) m (očevídec) Spanish: mirón (es) m, mirona (es) f, transeúnte (es) m or f, espectador (es) m, curioso (es) m, cotilla (es) Swedish: åskådare (sv) c

See also

• rubberneck
• upstander

Anagrams

• stander by, stander-by