Side

How to spell side

4 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce side

What does side mean?

1. nounOne of the surfaces, edges, or halves of an object, or the area next to something.
2. verbTo support one person or group in a dispute or contest.

Side in a sentence

• noun

  A small crack ran down the left side of the vase.

• verb

  The committee chose to side with the neighbours over the parking plan.

• noun

  She parked the car on the far side of the street.

• verb

  He refused to side with either colleague during the argument.

Where does side come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a thoroughly native English word, descending from the Old English 'side', which meant a flank of the body or the long edge of a surface. It traces back to a Proto-Germanic root '*sido', and close cousins survive in other Germanic languages, such as Dutch 'zijde' and German 'Seite'. Interestingly, the original sense leaned toward the idea of something long or broad, and an older English adjective 'side' actually meant 'long' or 'hanging down', as in a long garment. Over the centuries the noun broadened from the human flank to mean any of the bordering surfaces, edges, or directions of a thing, and then the figurative 'side' of an argument or dispute. The spelling has stayed pleasingly simple, with the long 'i' carried by the silent final 'e'.

How the word is built

• side (a single, complete native English root; no affixes)