Alongside
prepositionNext to something, or working together with someone.
How to spell alongside
9 letters · 3 syllables
How to pronounce alongside
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does alongside mean?
- prepositionNext to something, or working together with someone.
Alongside in a sentence
-
The new car park sits alongside the railway station.
-
She trained the apprentice alongside her own daily work.
Where does alongside come from?
Language of origin: Germanic
Alongside is a transparent English compound that grew out of the older phrase 'along the side', and it can be traced to the native Old English roots that built it. The first part comes from 'along', from Old English 'andlang', made of 'and-' meaning 'opposite' or 'facing' and 'lang' meaning 'long', so the literal idea was running the full length of something. The second element is plain 'side', from Old English 'side', the flank or edge of a body or object. The combined adverb appeared in the 1700s, especially in nautical use, where one ship would lie 'alongside' another with their lengths touching. From that seafaring picture the word broadened into the everyday sense of being next to, or working together with, someone or something.
How the word is built
- a- (on/in the direction of)
- long
- side (the edge or flank); originally 'along the side of'
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