\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.
Note: [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}.
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.
             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.
Note: See {Moreover}.