Idioms for come

Origin of come

before 900; Middle English comen, Old English cuman; cognate with Dutch komen, German kommen, Gothic qiman, Old Norse koma, Latin venīre (see avenue), Greek baínein (see basis), Sanskrit gácchati (he) goes

British Dictionary definitions for come by (1 of 2)

come by

verb

(intr, preposition) to find or obtain (a thing), esp accidentally do you ever come by any old books?

British Dictionary definitions for come by (2 of 2)

come
/ (kʌm) /

verb comes, coming, came or come (mainly intr)

interjection

an exclamation expressing annoyance, irritation, etc come now!; come come!

noun taboo, slang

semen

Word Origin for come

Old English cuman; related to Old Norse koma, Gothic qiman, Old High German queman to come, Sanskrit gámati he goes

Idioms and Phrases with come by (1 of 2)

come by

1

Acquire, obtain, as in A good assistant is hard to come by. This usage, dating from about 1600, superseded the earlier sense of acquiring something with considerable effort. A variant is come by honestly, meaning “to obtain in some honorable or logical way.” For example, I'm sure she didn't come by that large bonus honestly or He does have an unusual gait but he came by it honestly; his father's is the same.

2

Stop in, visit, as in Please come by whenever you're in the neighborhood. [Late 1800s]

Idioms and Phrases with come by (2 of 2)

come