Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Language: Old English
Origin: be sidan 'at or to the side'

beside

 preposition
     
be‧side S3 W2
1 next to or very close to the side of someone or something:
Wendy came up and sat beside me.
the table beside the bed
I was standing right beside her at the time.
! Do not confuse beside (=next to) and besides (=in addition to): He sat down beside Mary. | Who was there besides you?
2 in comparison with something or someone:
This year's sales figures don't look very good beside last year's results.
The children seemed tiny beside him.
3

be beside yourself

to be feeling so angry, excited etc that you find it difficult to control yourself:
The poor girl was almost beside herself.
be beside yourself with anger/excitement/rage etc
Mom and Dad will be beside themselves with worry.
4

be beside the point

to not be directly connected with the main subject or problem that you are talking about:
He's very charming, but that's beside the point.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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