Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

beside oneself

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.46 in modern English

Syllables: beside one-self
IPA

19

Scrabble Score

13

Letters

2

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

prep_phrase

Overcome; consumed by an emotion.

Example Sentences

"His widow was beside herself with grief."
"[...] he contemplated it most calmly. Comparatively, all other men, North and South, were beside themselves."

Etymology

Possibly derived from Ancient Greek παράνοια (paránoia, “madness”), from παράνοος (paránoos, “demented”), from παρά (pará, “beyond, beside”) + νόος (nóos, “mind, spirit”), with "beside mind" evolving into "beside oneself".

Inflected Forms

besides oneself (alternative, Early)

Questions

What does beside oneself mean?: Overcome; consumed by an emotion.
Where does beside oneself come from?: Possibly derived from Ancient Greek παράνοια (paránoia, “madness”), from παράνοος (paránoos, “demented”), from παρά (pará, “beyond, beside”) + νόος (nóos, “mind, spirit”), with "beside mind" evolving into "beside oneself".

How to pronounce beside oneself

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