incidentally

(ĭn'sĭ-dĕn'tl-ē)
adv.

1. As a minor or subordinate matter: by profession a lawyer and incidentally a musician.
2. (also -dĕnt'lē) Apart from the main subject; parenthetically.

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is spelt this way and not (as the pronunciation in rapid speech might suggest) incidently. Its usual role is as a sentence adverb marking a new stage in speech (or sometimes writing) and it does not always carry its full weight of meaning 'as an unconnected remark', the following matter often being a continuation of what went before:

Incidentally, thanks to Tommy Hands, I nearly became a landlord myself—A. J. P. Taylor, 1983

Words commonly used in the Dales just two generations ago were now a mystery to many young people. Attercop, which, incidentally, translates as 'spider', and blashy, which means 'wet weather', have evidently long gone—Independent, 2007.

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adv

Definition: by chance
Antonyms: purposely

IN BRIEF: By the way.

Happiness, in this world, if it comes at all, comes incidentally. Make it the object of pursuit, and it leads us on a wild-goose chase, and it is never attained. — Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), American novelist & short story writer.

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For a list of words related to incidentally, see:

• Reflections and References

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Common misspelling(s) of incidentally

• incidently

Dansk (Danish)
adv. - for resten, i øvrigt, tilfældigvis, lejlighedsvis

Nederlands (Dutch)
overigens, terloops

Français (French)
adv. - à propos, par la même occasion

Deutsch (German)
adv. - nebenbei, übrigens

Ελληνική (Greek)
adv. - παρεμπιπτόντως

Italiano (Italian)
incidentalmente

Português (Portuguese)
adv. - incidentemente

Русский (Russian)
случайно, между прочим

Español (Spanish)
adv. - a propósito, dicho sea de paso, incidentalmente, accidentalmente, por incidencia

Svenska (Swedish)
adv. - tillfälligtvis, i förbigående, (helt) apropå, för övrigt, förresten

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
附带地, 不经意地, 偶然地, 顺便提一句

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adv. - 附帶地, 不經意地, 偶然地, 順便提一句

한국어 (Korean)
adv. - 부수적으로, 말이 난 김에, 우연히

日本語 (Japanese)
adv. - ついでながら, 偶発的に, 偶然に, 付随的に

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(ظرف) بشكل عارض أو طارئ‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adv. - ‮אגב, בדרך אגב, כהערת אגב‬

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