The spelling of the word "passed by" can be explained through its IPA phonetic transcription /pæst baɪ/. The first part of the word is pronounced with a short "a" sound, followed by the "s" and "t" sounds. The second part of the word has a long "a" sound, followed by the "b" and "ai" sounds. The use of the letter "a" in both parts of the word distinguishes it from the word "past", which is pronounced with a long "a" sound in the first part of the word.
Passed by is a phrasal verb that is commonly used to describe the act of moving past or going beyond a particular place, person, or object. It implies a physical movement in a forward direction, indicating that the person or object being passed has been left behind.
When used in a literal sense, passed by refers to physically moving past something or someone. For example, if one says "I passed by the grocery store on my way home," it means that they walked or drove past the grocery store without stopping or entering.
Additionally, passed by can also be used metaphorically to describe the act of missing an opportunity or disregarding something or someone. In this context, it suggests that a person or opportunity was overlooked or ignored. For instance, if one says "He passed by a great job opportunity," it means that he did not take advantage of or consider the potential employment opportunity.
In summary, passed by implies physically moving past a person or object in a literal sense, or ignoring or missing an opportunity metaphorically. The term conveys the action of going beyond or leaving something or someone behind in a direct or figurative sense.
The phrase "passed by" is derived from the combination of two distinct words: "passed" and "by".
The word "passed" is the past tense of the verb "pass", which originated in Middle English from the Old French word "passer". The Old French word itself comes from the Latin word "passare", meaning "to step, traverse, or pass over". The Latin root can be traced back to the Proto-Indo-European root "*pete-" which means "to rush or fly".
The word "by" has various origins depending on its usage. In this context, "by" is a preposition indicating that something or someone moved near or beyond a particular point. The word can be traced back to the Old English word "bi", which comes from the Proto-Germanic "*bi-", meaning "near, with, or at".