Aside

adv., prep., adj., sb. Forms: 4 on syd, 5–6 on syde, on side; 4–6 a-syde, a syde, asyde, 5 acyde, 6 assyde, 5– aside. [orig. a phrase, on side: see A prep.¹ (Used in U.S. in various expressions where apart is used in England.)]

  A.  adv. I. Of motion.

  1.  To one side; out of the way, away.

c. 1380.  Sir Ferumb., 2297. Þe coupes of gold were treden a-syde; al with mannis fet.

a. 1450.  York Myst., Capmakers, O vj. This stone … remove and sette on syde.

1596.  Shaks., Merch. V., II. viii. 1. Draw aside the curtaines.

1694.  Luttrell, Brief Rel., III. 292. The agent … is gone aside, and hath carried with him 2000l. in money belonging to the troop.

1790.  Burke, Fr. Rev., 245. To evade and slip aside from difficulty.

1810.  Scott, Lady of L., V. xv. Whose brazen studs and tough bull hide Had death so often dash’d aside.

  2.  Away from the general throng or main body, into seclusion or privacy, apart.

c. 1450.  Lonelich, Grail, lii. 925. Kyng Orkaws took he asyde.

1602.  Shaks., Ham., V. i. 240. But soft, aside; heere comes the King.

1697.  Dryden, Virg. Georg., III. 249. When she has calved, then set the Dam aside.

1866.  Geo. Eliot, F. Holt, xlvii. 407. One gentleman drew another aside to speak in an under-tone about Scotch bullocks.

  3.  Away from one’s person; off, down.

1596.  Spenser, F. Q., I. iii. 4. Her fillet she vndight, And laid her stole aside.

1611.  Bible, Hebr. xii. 1. Let us lay aside every weight.

1697.  Dryden, Virg. Georg., III. 664. A Snake … has cast his Slough aside.

1859.  Tennyson, Enid, 1443. Each … cast his lance aside And doffed his helm.

  4.  Away from consideration or employment, out of thought or use; esp. in To lay or set aside: (fig.) to put away, give up, dismiss, reject.

c. 1440.  Partonope, 5039. Hereth yt and than ley hyt asyde.

1535.  Coverdale, Amos ii. 4. He hath cast asyde the lawe of the Lorde.

1598.  Shaks., Merry W., II. ii. 110. Setting the attraction of my good parts aside. Ibid. (1607), Cor., I. iii. 75. Come, lay aside your stitchery.

1798.  Ferriar, Illustr. Sterne, iii. 56. He often laid aside decorum.

1876.  Green, Short Hist., i. § 5 (1882), 45. He set aside all dreams of the recovery of the West-Saxon overlordship. Ibid., vi. § 4. 298. To fling aside traditional dogmas.

  5.  Law. To set aside (a verdict, judgment, etc.): to declare it of no authority; to quash.

1844.  Ld. Brougham, Brit. Const. (1862), App. iii. 428. Whose decisions it could set aside for error in law.

1883.  Sir J. Mathew, in Law Rep. Queen’s B., XI. 591. A rule was subsequently obtained … to set that non-suit aside.

  II.  Of direction.

  6.  Towards one side, off from the direct line.

1398.  Trevisa, Barth. De P. R., VIII. xxx. (1495), 342. A lyghte beme is broke or shufte asyde.

1535.  Coverdale, 2 Sam. vi. 6. For the oxen wente out asyde.

1611.  Bible, Ps. xiv. 3. They are all gone aside, they are together become filthy.

1815.  Byron, Parisina, xiv. As bowstrings, when relax’d by rain, The erring arrow launch aside.

  7.  Sidewise, obliquely.

c. 1369.  Chaucer, Bk. Duchesse, 558. With that he loked on me asyde, As who sayth nay, that wol not be.

c. 1440.  Promp. Parv., 6. Acyde, oblique.

c. 1505.  Dunbar, Golden Terge, xxv. 9. On syde scho lukat with a fremit fare.

1711.  Pope, Rape Lock, IV. 33. Practis’d to lisp, and hang the head aside.

1775.  Johnson, in Boswell, li. (1848), 463/1. We saw the Queen mount … Brown habit: rode aside.

  III.  Of position.

  † 8.  On one side, away, off. Obs.

1375.  Barbour, Bruce, VII. 111. Thai saw on syde thre men cumand.

1610.  Holland, Camden’s Brit. (1637), 681 (D.). The twentieth legion … abode at Chester, scarce sixe miles aside from hence.

  9.  Apart from the general company; in privacy. To speak aside, i.e., apart, so as to be inaudible to the general company. Used as a stage direction in plays, to indicate that certain words are to be spoken out of the hearing of other characters on the stage.

c. 1400.  Beryn, 619. The Pardonere stood a-syde.

1535.  Coverdale, 1 Chron. xiii. 1. He was yet kepte asyde because of Saul.

1596.  Shaks., Tam. Shr., V. i. 63. Let’s stand aside, and see the end of this controuersie.

1814.  Scott, Ld. Isles, II. vii. Then lords and ladies spake aside.

  10.  = APART 5. (? Only in U.S.)

1860.  Marsh, Eng. Lang., 640. Leaving the question of competency aside.

1865.  R. G. White, Mem. Shaks., 31. But, aside from question of the kind of training. Ibid. (1871), Words & Uses, 21. But, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, and ‘auxiliary’ verbs aside, it [Chaucer’s English] is a mixture [etc.].

  11.  By the side, alongside (obs.). Aside of: by the side of, alongside of. arch. and dial.

1375.  Barbour, Bruce, VII. 60. He ran on fut [v.r. sid, side] alwayis hym by.

1630.  Wadsworth, Sp. Pilgr., iv. 33. A shippe … which tooke his course aside of vs.

1808.  Scott, Marm., III. iii. Brown ale … From ancient vessels ranged aside.

1856.  Kane, Arctic Exp., II. i. 24. We … are mere carpet-knights aside of these indomitable savages.

  12.  ? On each side. rare.

1859.  Tennyson, Elaine, 47. A crown Of diamonds, one in front, and four aside.

  IV.  Comb. † aside half, † aside-hand, † aside slips, on or to one side.

1398.  Trevisa, Barth. De P. R., V. xxxv. (1495), 148. The lounge … byclippyth asyde halfe the substaunce of the herte.

1471.  Arriv. Edw. IV. (1838), 18. Turned asyde-hand, and went to Bristowe.

1577.  Holinshed, Chron., III. 312. He incamped somewhat aside slips of them.

  B.  prep. [by omission of of.]

  1.  At the side of, beside. (Still in Sc.)

1615.  Chapman, Odyss., VII. 215. And in the ashes sat, Aside the fire.

1743.  Wesley, Wks. (1872), XIII. 175. The shop that was aside the house.

1807.  Tannahill, Poems, 153. Since, Maggie, I am in aside ye.

  † 2.  Past, beyond. Obs.

1592.  Shaks., Rom. & Jul., III. iii. 26. The kind Prince, Taking thy part, hath rusht aside the Law.

1663.  Flagellum, or O. Cromwell (1672), 22. Which resolution he had taken up before … and was put aside it, by the amplitude of that Fortune.

  C.  adj. [The adv. used attrib.]

1882.  J. Hawthorne, Fort. Fool, I. xl. ‘It’s extraordinary’ … observed Sinclair, in an aside tone. [U.S.]

  D.  sb. [the adv. used absol.; cf. A 9.]

  1.  Words spoken aside or in an undertone, so as to be inaudible to some person present; words spoken by an actor, which the other performers on the stage are supposed not to hear.

1727–51.  Chambers, Cycl., s.v., An Aside, seorsim, is something which an actor speaks apart, or, as it were, to himself.

1834.  Macaulay, Chatham, Ess. (1854), I. 293/2. Every tone from the impassioned cry to the thrilling aside.

a. 1845.  Hood, (title of verses), Domestic Asides.

  2.  An indirect effort, a side effort.

1877.  A. Cave, Script. Doctr. Sacrifice, 349. The asides of many writers possess a more lasting and attractive influence than their deliberate and darling labours.

1883.  Times, 23 Jan., 3/3. The solar energy is there directed not towards the earth, but at a right angle or thereabouts with her direction; and we can hardly wonder if she does not respond to these solar asides.

  ¶  Aside, a-side, formerly written for a side.