sidelyadv.
/ˈsʌɪdli/, U.S. /ˈsaɪdli/ rare.
By, at, or towards the side; obliquely. Formerly also: †in an indirect manner, indirectly (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > hiding, concealing from view > keeping from knowledge > indirect action or process > [adverb]
sidelya1425
through the sides of?1560
collaterally1610
by the waya1616
sidewise1654
secretly1656
slantinglya1677
ambagiously1678
circuitously1797
sideways1876
in-circle1883
a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1869) I. 324 Sydely [a1425 Bodl. Ȝif a man aȝenstondiþ God and doiþ aȝens his wille, ȝit Goddis wille is fillid asideli by punishinge of þis man].
a1475 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Godstow Nunnery (1906) ii. 475 Iohn fitz Raaf..graunted..that lond..the whiche is..beside the lond of Iordan Cariour, with the encresyng of that parte liyng to sydelich in the endis, the which he had of the behalf of Gounylde his wyf.
1800 M. Wilson Glasse's Compl. Confectioner (rev. ed.) 341 The third and last [kind of distillation] called per latus, that is to say, sidely or by the side, is never practised but by chymists.
1806 Johnson's Dict. Eng. Lang. in Miniature (ed. 17) 152/2 Ogling, a viewing sidely [1796 slily] or obliquely.
1957 H. Selby in Black Mountain Rev. Autumn 169 Leering sidely while seeking protection behind a carefully guarded guise of virility.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adv.a1425