Beside

Beside
Beside Be*side", prep. [OE. biside, bisiden, bisides, prep. and adv., beside, besides; pref. be- by + side. Cf. Besides, and see {Side}, n.] 1. At the side of; on one side of. ``Beside him hung his bow.'' --Milton. [1913 Webster]

2. Aside from; out of the regular course or order of; in a state of deviation from; out of. [1913 Webster]

[You] have done enough To put him quite beside his patience. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

3. Over and above; distinct from; in addition to.

Note: [In this use besides is now commoner.] [1913 Webster]

Wise and learned men beside those whose names are in the Christian records. --Addison. [1913 Webster]

{To be beside one's self}, to be out of one's wits or senses. [1913 Webster]

Paul, thou art beside thyself. --Acts xxvi. 24. [1913 Webster]

Syn: {Beside}, {Besides}.

Usage: These words, whether used as prepositions or adverbs, have been considered strictly synonymous, from an early period of our literature, and have been freely interchanged by our best writers. There is, however, a tendency, in present usage, to make the following distinction between them: 1. That beside be used only and always as a preposition, with the original meaning ``by the side of; '' as, to sit beside a fountain; or with the closely allied meaning ``aside from'', ``apart from'', or ``out of''; as, this is beside our present purpose; to be beside one's self with joy. The adverbial sense to be wholly transferred to the cognate word. 2. That besides, as a preposition, take the remaining sense ``in addition to'', as, besides all this; besides the considerations here offered. ``There was a famine in the land besides the first famine.'' --Gen. xxvi. 1. And that it also take the adverbial sense of ``moreover'', ``beyond'', etc., which had been divided between the words; as, besides, there are other considerations which belong to this case. The following passages may serve to illustrate this use of the words:

Lovely Thais sits beside thee. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]

Only be patient till we have appeased The multitude, beside themselves with fear. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

It is beside my present business to enlarge on this speculation. --Locke. [1913 Webster]

Besides this, there are persons in certain situations who are expected to be charitable. --Bp. Porteus. [1913 Webster]

And, besides, the Moor May unfold me to him; there stand I in much peril. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

That man that does not know those things which are of necessity for him to know is but an ignorant man, whatever he may know besides. --Tillotson. [1913 Webster]

Note: See {Moreover}. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • beside — beside, besides Beside is only used as a preposition meaning ‘next to’ • (He heard Lee come up beside him A. Hassall, 1989) whereas besides is both an adverb meaning ‘also, moreover’ • (Besides, it was not the first disappointment S. Studd, 1981) …   Modern English usage

  • beside — beside, besides are occasionally interchangeable. More often beside is employed as a preposition in a local sense, meaning by the side of {he stood beside her} {the house beside the river} On the other hand, besides has almost entirely replaced… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • beside — [bē sīd′, bisīd′] prep. [ME < OE bi sidan (dat. of side): see BY & SIDE] 1. by or at the side of; alongside; near 2. in comparison with [beside yours my share seems small] 3. BESIDES 4. not pertinent to …   English World dictionary

  • beside — ► PREPOSITION 1) at the side of; next to. 2) compared with. 3) in addition to; apart from. ● beside oneself Cf. ↑beside oneself …   English terms dictionary

  • beside — O.E. be sidan by the side of (only as two words), from BE (Cf. be ) + sidan dative of SIDE (Cf. side) (n.). By 1200, formed as one word and used as both adverb and preposition. The alternative M.E. meaning outside led to the sense preserved in… …   Etymology dictionary

  • beside — (yourself) extremely upset or excited. My mother was beside herself with curiosity …   New idioms dictionary

  • beside — index adjacent, contiguous Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • beside — [adv/prep] next to abreast of, adjacent to, adjoining, alongside, aside, a step from, at one’s elbow, at the edge of, at the side of, bordering on, by, cheek by jowl*, close at hand, close to, close upon, connected with, contiguous to, fornent,… …   New thesaurus

  • beside — be|side W2S3 [bıˈsaıd] prep [: Old English; Origin: be sidan at or to the side ] 1.) next to or very close to the side of someone or something ▪ Wendy came up and sat beside me. ▪ the table beside the bed ▪ I was standing right beside her at the… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • beside — be|side [ bı saıd ] preposition *** 1. ) at the side of someone or something and close to them: Who s that standing beside Jeff? I knelt down beside the bed. We found a picnic area down beside the river. 2. ) used for comparing two people or… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

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