by-blow
/ˈbʌɪbləʊ/
"by-blow" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“by-blow” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 7
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A blow struck to the side or from the side, as in swordplay; a secondary or incidental strike of any sort.
Corpus desk
Index EN-by-blow · by-blow · English
by-blow · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 7 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "B" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | by-blow |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈbʌɪbləʊ/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “by-blow” in English
Rare enough to double-check
by-blow is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈbʌɪbləʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for by-blow, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From by- + blow. The correct English form is by-blow, spelled B-Y---B-L-O-W.
Definition
- 1A blow struck to the side or from the side, as in swordplay; a secondary or incidental strike of any sort.
- 2An illegitimate child; a child of an unknown or unmarried father.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how by-blow appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Either commander took speedy advantage of it—Hopton to make a swift diversion into Sussex and capture Arundel Castle (which was but a by-blow, for in a few weeks he had lost it again).
As a by-blow in the course of his relentless campaigns against Louis, Willem gained the three thrones of Britain in 1699 – but what a by-blow this proved!
Etymology
From by- + blow.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.