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Etymology data from Wiktionary via Wiktextract (CC BY-SA 4.0). Chinese character data from the 說文解字, the Taiwan MOE 國語辭典簡編本 (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW) and HSK/TOCFL lists.

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English

side

/ˈsaɪ̯d/
A bounding straight edge of a two-dimensional shape.

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    Origin

    Etymology 1

    From Middle English side, from Old English sīde (“side, flank”), from Proto-Germanic *sīdǭ (“side, flank, edge, shore”), derived from *sīdaz, probably from Proto-Indo-European *seh₁- (“long, lasting”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Siede (“side”), West Frisian side (“side”), Dutch zijde, zij (“side”), German Low German Sied (“side”), German Seite (“side”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, and Norwegian Nynorsk side (“side”), Swedish sida (“side”).

    The LGBTQ slang sense was coined by sex therapist and author Joe Kort in 2010 and popularized in 2013. The sense was coined by analogy with top and bottom and based on the metaphor of a box which has a top, bottom, and sides.

    Etymology 2

    From Middle English side, syde, syd, from Old English sīd (“wide, broad, spacious, ample, extensive, vast, far-reaching”), from Proto-West Germanic *sīd, from Proto-Germanic *sīdaz (“drooping, hanging, low, excessive, extra”), from Proto-Indo-European *sēy- (“to send, throw, drop, sow, deposit”). Cognate with obsolete Dutch zijd (“wide, vast”), Low German sied (“low”), Swedish sid (“long, hanging down”), Icelandic síður (“low hanging, long”).

    From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

    Lineage

    • inheritedMiddle Englishside
      • inheritedOld Englishsīd “wide, broad, spacious, ample, extensive, vast, far-reaching”
        • inheritedProto-West Germanic*sīd
          • inheritedProto-Germanic*sīdaz “drooping, hanging, low, excessive, extra”
            • derivedProto-Indo-European*sēy- “to send, throw, drop, sow, deposit”

    Related: Saterland Frisian Siede, West Frisian side, Dutch zijde, German Low German Sied, German Seite, da,nb,nn side, Swedish sida, Dutch zijd, Low German sied, Swedish sid, Icelandic síður

    Words built on it: -side, outside

    Meanings

    noun
    1. A bounding straight edge of a two-dimensional shape.
    2. A flat surface of a three-dimensional object; a face.
    3. One half (left or right, top or bottom, front or back, etc.) of something or someone.
    4. A region in a specified position with respect to something.
    5. The portion of the human torso usually covered by the arms when they are not raised; the areas on the left and right between the belly or chest and the back.
    6. One surface of a sheet of paper (used instead of "page", which can mean one or both surfaces.)
    adj
    1. Being on the left or right, or toward the left or right; lateral.
    2. Indirect; oblique; incidental.
    verb
    1. To ally oneself, be in an alliance, usually with "with" or rarely "in with"
    2. To lean on one side.
    3. To be or stand at the side of; to be on the side toward.
    4. To suit; to pair; to match.
    5. To work (a timber or rib) to a certain thickness by trimming the sides.
    6. To furnish with a siding.
    adv
    1. Widely; wide; far.

    Sources

    • Wiktionary (via Wiktextract / kaikki.org) — CC BY-SA 4.0
    • Wiktionary: side