beyond prep, adv Pronc-sp beyon
Std senses, var forms.
a beyend. NEng, NY obs Cf yender (at yonder adv A2)
1808 Bingham Child’s Companion 74 NEng, Improprieties in Pronunciation, common among the people of New-England. . . beyond [not] beyend. 1818 Fessenden Ladies Monitor 171 NEng, [In a list of provincialisms to be avoided:] Beyend for beyond. [1867 Lowell Biglow xxxi “Upcountry” MA, Pecock writes also biyende, and the authors of “Jack Jugler” and “Gammer Gurton” yender.] 1881 Good Company 6.546 nME, In them days we was livin’, as you might say, on the edge of the world. There did n’t seem to be nothin’ beyend us. 1891 DN 1.125 cNY, [bɪˈjɛnd] . . ‘beyond’.
b beyant, beyont, rarely biyent. [The first two of these forms are found in Scots, Ir, and nEngl dial; for the last, see quot 1891] chiefly Sth, S Midl, PA
1837 Leslie Pencil Sketches (3d ser) 145 PA [Black], I had the whole house carted off, all that was good of it, and put it up on the road-side, just beyont here. 1837 Sherwood Gaz. GA 69, [In a list of provincialisms to be avoided:] Beyant, for beyond. 1859 Taliaferro Fisher’s R. 54 nwNC, I’d run clean beyant my house. 1865 Atlantic Mth. 16.622 PA, “He always goes beyant,” said my landlord, a firm friend of his. 1891 PMLA 6.164 WV, For nent (fornenst, pr. frnent [=[fɚnɛnt]) may have led to the pronunciation of (bijent)[= [bɪjɛnt]]. 1893 Shands MS Speech 19, Beyant [bijɑnt]. A common form, used by illiterate whites for beyond. 1898 Deland Old Chester 166 PA, My wife wants to see you. She’s in beyont. 1931 Scribner’s Mag. 89.453/2 FL, Iffen they do float, they’ll dreeft on beyant where we could ketch ’em at. 1933 AmSp 8.1.23 Appalachians, Beyant or beyont is used to the south; in Kentucky and southern West Virginia it is either beyon or beyont. In central and northern West Virginia the word is generally just beyon. 1945 Hench Coll. cVA, Just beyant this hill was Mr. Shiflett’s farm. 1967–68 DARE (Qu. MM4, . . A short distance past . . “The mail box is just _____ the pine tree.”) Infs MD17, NC41, [bɪˈjænt]; MA5, Beyant—Irish Molly; TN12, Beyont—country people; VA15, Beyont.
c beyon(d)st, less freq beyanst. [Prob by analogy with amidst, amongst (beside amid, among), against, betwixt] chiefly Sth, S Midl
1888 Frank Leslie’s Pop. Mth. 26.22 VA, I kin tek you up the branch, capting, till we get ter the road, en them ar picket-standers beyondst won’t know no better. 1892 Overland Mth. (2d ser) 19.179 WV, Tek the bit o’ rope, Rachie; you ’ll want hit beyondst them runted cedars. 1901 Pickett Ebil Eye 36 VA [Black], Granny wuked me beyonst my strenkf. 1916 DN 4.347 nTX (as of 1896), Beyonst. . . Beyond. 1963 Mt. Life 39.2.53 sAppalachians, The offender may expect to be “gut-shot” at some public gathering place by a sharp-tongued matriarch whose sense of propriety compels her to take the offender “daown a peg or two fer a-tryin’ to get beyanst her raisin’.” 1969 Kantor MO Bittersweet 240 cMO, I’d be more doubtful about them crossings beyondst. 1970 DARE (Qu. MM4, . . A short distance past . . “The mail box is just _____ the pine tree.”) Inf TX97, Beyonst.