BESI'DE, preposition [be and side, by the side.] 1. At the side of a person or thing; near; as, sit down beside me, or beside the stream. 2. Over and above; distinct from. Beside all this, between us and you, there is a great gulf fixed. Luke 16:26. 3. On one side; out of the regular course or order; not according to, but not contrary. It is beside my present business to enlarge upon this speculation. 4. Out of; in a state deviating from; as, to put one beside his patience. Hence, 5. With the reciprocal pronoun, beside one's self is out of the wits or senses; out of the order of reason, or of rational beings. Paul, thou are beside thyself. Acts 26:24.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI