Etymology

beside

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Today it means: Next to; at the side of. Full definition →

Middle English beside ← Old English be sīdan
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The story

  1. Old English · inherited frombe sīdan
  2. Middle English · inherited frombeside
  3. English todaybeside

From Middle English beside, besiden, bisyde (also besides > besides), from Old English be sīdan, bī sīdan (“by the side (of), on the side (of)”). Compare Saterland Frisian biesiede (“aside”), German Low German bisied (“aside”), German beiseite (“aside, to one side”). Compare also Dutch terzijde (“aside”). By surface analysis, be- + side.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.