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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

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English

but

/ˈbʌt/
Apart from, except (for), excluding.

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    Origin

    From Middle English but, buten, boute, bouten, from Old English būtan (“without, outside of, except, only”), from Proto-West Germanic *biūtan, *biūtini, equivalent to be- + out. Cognate with Scots but, bot (“outside, without, but”), Saterland Frisian buute (“without”), West Frisian bûten (“outside of, apart from, other than, except, but”), Dutch buiten (“outside”), Dutch Low Saxon buten (“outside”), German Low German buuten, buute (“outside”), obsolete German baußen (“outside”), Luxembourgish baussen. Compare bin, about.

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishbut
      • inheritedOld Englishbūtan “without, outside of, except, only”
        • inheritedProto-West Germanic*biūtan
          • partProto-West Germanic*bi- “be-”
          • partProto-West Germanic*ūtan
    • prefixEnglishbe- “By, near, next to, around, close to.”
      • inheritedMiddle Englishbi-
        • inheritedOld Englishbe- “be-”
        • derivedOld Englishbī- “by, near, around”
    • surface analysisEnglishout “Away from the inside or centre.”

    Related: Scots but, Saterland Frisian buute, West Frisian bûten, Dutch buiten, Dutch Low Saxon buten, German Low German buuten, German baußen, Luxembourgish baussen

    Meanings

    prep
    1. Apart from, except (for), excluding.
    2. Outside of.
    adv
    1. Merely, only, just, no more than.
    2. Though, however.
    3. Used to repeat an adverb for emphasis; simply; just; absolutely.
    conj
    1. However, although, nevertheless, on the other hand (introducing a clause contrary to prior belief or in contrast with the preceding clause or sentence).
    2. On the contrary, rather (as a regular adversative conjunction, introducing a word or clause in contrast or contradiction with the preceding negative clause or sentence).
    3. Used at the beginning of a sentence to express opposition to a remark.
    4. Except that (introducing a subordinate clause which qualifies a negative statement); also, (archaic) with omission of the subject of the subordinate clause, acting as a negative relative, "except one that", "except such that".
    5. Used to link an interjection to the following remark as an intensifier.
    6. Without it also being the case that; unless that (introducing a necessary concomitant).
    noun
    1. An instance of using the word "but"; an objection or caveat.
    2. The outer room of a small two-room cottage.
    3. A limit; a boundary.
    4. The end; especially the larger or thicker end, or the blunt, in distinction from the sharp, end; the butt.

    Sources

    • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Wiktionary: but