by the way

== English == === Alternative forms === BTW, btw (initialism) === Etymology === First appeared in the 10th century with literal meaning "by the side of the road", from Old English weġ (which became "way") meaning "road". Soon afterward (circa 1000) it came to mean "during one's journey". The figurative meaning developed in the mid-16th century, with the first instance of the modern meaning being from 1614. === Pronunciation === === Prepositional phrase === by the way (conjunctive, idiomatic) Incidentally; used in referencing a parenthetical statement not timely, central, or crucial to the topic at hand; foregone, passed by, something that has already happened. Synonyms: apropos, BTW, by the by, incidentally 1853, Herman Melville, Bartleby, the Scrivener, in Billy Budd, Sailor and Other Stories, New York: Penguin Books, 1968; reprint 1995 as Bartleby, ISBN 0 14 60.0012 9, p.2: […] I had counted on a life-lease of the profits, whereas I only received those of a few short years. But this is by the way. ==== Translations ==== === Adverb === by the way (not comparable) (UK, idiomatic) Irrelevantly, off-topic.(Can we add an example for this sense?) === References === == Spanish == === Etymology === Borrowed from English by the way. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˌbai de ˈwei/ [ˌbai̯ ð̞e ˈwei̯] Syllabification: by the way === Adverb === by the way (Puerto Rico, colloquial) by the way