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.
2. Aside from; out of the regular course or order
of; in a state of deviation from; out of.
[You] have done enough
To put him quite beside his patience.
Shak.
3. Over and above; distinct from; in addition
to. [In this use besides is now commoner.]
Wise and learned men beside those whose names are in
the Christian records.
Addison.
To be beside one's self, to be out of one's wits
or senses.
Paul, thou art beside thyself.
Acts
xxvi. 24.
Syn. -- Beside, Besides. 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.
Only be patient till we have appeased
The multitude, beside themselves with fear.
Shak.
It is beside my present business to enlarge on this
speculation.
Locke.
Besides this, there are persons in certain situations
who are expected to be charitable.
Bp. Porteus.
And, besides, the Moor
May unfold me to him; there stand I in much peril.
Shak.
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.
See Moreover.
{ Be*sides" (&?;), Be*side" (&?;), }
adv. [OE. Same as beside, prep.; the ending -
s is an adverbial one, prop. a genitive sign.] 1.
On one side. [Obs.] Chaucer. Shak.
2. More than that; over and above; not included in
the number, or in what has been mentioned; moreover; in addition.
The men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides
?
Gen. xix. 12.
To all beside, as much an empty shade,
An Eugene living, as a Cæsar dead.
Pope.
&fist; These sentences may be considered as elliptical.
