side

Reading level: easy

Estimated CEFR level: A1 — Beginner

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a place within a region identified relative to a center or reference location
  2. noun one of two or more contesting groups
  3. noun either the left or right half of a body

Etymology

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 and Norwegian 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.

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