Plural of 'by,' an archaic or dialectal term, or a shortened form in specialized contexts; rarely used in modern English.
Formed as a plural of the preposition or particle 'by,' though this pluralization is archaic and non-standard in contemporary English, surviving mainly in historical texts and dialectal speech.
Trying to pluralize a preposition is basically grammatical rebellion—it shows how English speakers have always bent rules to express exactly what they mean, even when it breaks the rulebook!
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