See Also:

but(2) (iou)



but preposition, adverb, conjunction, & rel. pronoun.
[Old English butan (beutan, buton, buta) = Old Saxon biutan, butan, Old High German biuan (Middle High German buen), from West Germanic, formed as BY preposition & adverb + OUT adverb.]
A. preposition.
Outside of; without, lacking. Long obsolete exc. Scot. & north. OE.
Oxford English Dictionary Gang but the house and see who is there.
Leaving out, barring, with the exception of. (No longer clearly distinguishable from the conjunction: see below.) OE.
b. adverb. (Not always distinguishable from the conjunction.)
Without, outside; spec. in or into the outer part of a house (orig. the kitchen of a two-roomed house, into which the only outer door opened). Cf. BEN adverb. Long obsolete exc. Scot. & north. OE.
Only, no more than. ME.
F. Norris They agreed to charge but two-fifty, and they've got to stick to it. L. Lerner Those airs But fascinate the sight; No true delight is hers. P. Redgrove Is there but one spider in all this spacious room?
C. conjunction & neg. rel. pronoun.
In a simple sentence, introducing a word, phr., or (rarely) clause: without, with the exception of, except, save; if not, unless; ellipt. anything else than, other(wise) than. OE.
Shakespeare Tempest I should sin To think but nobly of my grandmother. Steele There needed no more but to advance one step. M. Edgeworth He wants nothing but a little common sense. T. Jefferson I cannot but be gratified by the assurance. F. D. Hemans The boy stood on the burning deck, Whence all but he had fled. W. C. Smith You have no choice but marry Doris now. Oxford English Dictionary Why have they come but to annoy us? Will Rogers I got all my feet through but one. R. Lowell Who but my girl-friend set the town on fire?
In a complex sentence, introducing a subord. clause (also (arch.) but that):
a. Except that, if it were not that, short of the condition that. OE.
Southey I too should be content to dwell in peace..But that my country calls. H. Matthews Nothing would please him but I must try on his mitres.
b. If not, unless, except; rather than..shall prove untrue; even though the preceding were necessary. OE.
Defoe I'd burn the house down but I'd find it. C. M. Yonge Ten to one but the police have got them.
c. (With neg. & interrog.) That..not; ellipt. not to say that..not; without; arch. that, before, than. Also (colloq.) but what. LME.
Robert Burton How is it possible but that we should be discontent? Henry Fielding No sooner acquainted my brother, but he immediately wanted to propose it. A. Trollope Nor am I yet so old but what I can rough it still. J. Ruskin I do not doubt but that you are surprised. Oxford English Dictionary Not but that I should have gone if I had had the chance. J. Freeman There's not a bird singing upon this bough But sings the sweeter in our English ears. Proverb: It never rains but it pours.
In a compound sentence, connecting the two parts (the second of which may be greatly contracted), or introducing a separate but related sentence:
a. On the contrary. OE.
J. Healey Monkeyes, and Babiounes, were not men but beasts. M. Hamburger He must not sleep, but leans against the boards. D. Attenborough You might be excused for thinking..that the lamprey is a true fish. But it is not.
b. Nevertheless, yet, however; on the other hand, despite this; moreover. ME.
G. Puttenham It is not only allowable, but also necessary. J. Wilson Fare ye well. But list! sweet youths..beware. B. Jowett They not only tell lies but bad lies. N. Coward Had she my talent for organisation?..No, but she hadn't your mother either. H. Nemerov He cries a little but is brave. A. Price 'Did you have a brilliant idea?'..'Not exactly brilliant, but an idea.'
c. As an intensive, freq. after an exclamation, or introducing an emphatic repetition. M19.
Oxford English Dictionary Excuse me! but your coat is dusty. M. Corelli 'I believe you would do it if I asked you!'..'But, of course!' D. H. Lawrence And about everything I talked to her: but everything. I. Fleming I'm goin' fix that man, but good.
Phrases: anything but: see ANYTHING pronoun. but and (obsolete exc. Scot.) and also. but for except for, were it not for. but one, but two, etc., if one, two, etc., were excluded from the count (with ordinals etc.). but that, but what: see sense C.2 above. but then: see THEN adverb etc.. but too only too .