the.com/byway
the road that refuses to be in a hurry, and is gloriously right about it
means A small, lesser-traveled side road or path, away from the main routes of traffic.
from A plain English compound, stitched together from 'by' and 'way.' Here 'by' carries its old sense of 'aside, secondary, off to the side' — the same 'by' that lurks in 'bystander,' 'bypath,' and 'bygone' — set against 'way,' an ancient Germanic word for a road or course of travel (a cousin of German 'Weg'). So a byway is literally a 'side-way': the road that stands a little apart from the great highways, minding its own quiet business.
- legal status
- In England, byways are public rights of way for vehicles
- slower truth
- Roman roads went straight; byways went sensible
- word roots
- From Old English meaning a side or out-of-the-way path
- survival
- Many predate the highways that bypassed them
- hidden value
- Often older and prettier than the route everyone takes
natchez trace parkway — 444-mile scenic drive from nashville to mississippi, established 1938
blue ridge parkway — 469-mile mountain road connecting north carolina and virginia, completed 1987
route 66 — legendary 2,448-mile highway from chicago to los angeles, operational 1926-1985