Time preposition 'by'

Question

'By the middle of the 19th century, rapid industrialisation deeply affected every life in Europe.'

I have learnt that the preposition 'by' means 'at or before; not later' unlike the preosition 'until' meaning continuation up to a certain moment
Then, does the above sentence (from a history book) suggest that after the middle of the 19th century, the situation was changed, that is, in that time the influence of industrialization began to weakend?

JohnParis · Accepted Answer

'by' means 'at or before; not later'
At the middle of the 19th century, rapid industrialisation deeply affected every life in Europe.'

JohnParis · Answer

You correctly state that 'by' means 'at or before; not later'.
I have replaced "by" with "at" in your sentence because "by" means "at".

Then, does the above sentence (from a history book) suggest that after the middle of the 19th century, the situation was changed, that is, in that time the influence of industrialization began to weakend? No, not at all. It simply means that at the time of the mid-19th century everyone was affected by industrialization. The sentence does not address what came before or after the mid-19th century and there is no indication that anything began to weaken.

Get it?

JohnParis · Answer

You can distinguish by the context of the article. If the article is about industrialization, would there be any sense in writing a sentence like: Before the mid-19th century everyone was affected by industrialization? Of course not. Historically it makes no sense and your common sense should tell you the same.

CalifJim · Answer

<.....18th century................><..........19th century..........><.....20th century......>
.......industrialization..............continued industrialization ..............
......some effect.......greater effects.....deep effects .......................
.....on some lives.......on more lives.....on every life........................
...............................................................^.[no information about later time].

As time went on, the process of industrialization affected people's lives more and more.
By the time the middle of the 19th century arrived, industrialization affected everybody's life.
No information is given about what happened after the middle of the 19th century.

CJ

Time preposition 'by'

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