Please tell me the exact meaning of "from within" and "from without" in the following. Do "from inside" and "from outside" mean the same?
1. Then she reached the gates and the car door opened from within.
2. The door suddenly opened from without, almost throwing me to the ground.
3. As I arose to depart the door suddenly opened from without.
Cagey
post mod (English Only / Latin)
English - US
From within means that the was opened by someone or something on the inside.
From without means that the door was opened by someone or something on the outside.
Hi,the WR dictionary lists it as archaic. Would you use it in daily life?
pwmeek
Senior Member
English - American
As an AE speaker I would use from within in this context (also to mean from within oneself) but from without does seem antiquated.
As an AE speaker I would use from within in this context (also to mean from within oneself) but from without does seem antiquated.
Thanks for your answer, pwmeek. Do you mean "from outside" would be more common than "from without" in AE?
JulianStuart
Senior Member
English (UK then US)
Thanks for your answer, pwmeek. Do you mean "from outside" would be more common than "from without" in AE?
Not just AE - using without to mean outside is archaic in general.
The most likely place people have seen the word is in a popular hymn which has a line
"there is a green hill ... without a city wall" - this means the specific hill is outside a city wall.
it may have become arrchaic because of the confusion with the current meaning of "lacking".
pwmeek
Senior Member
English - American
Thanks for your answer, pwmeek. Do you mean "from outside" would be more common than "from without" in AE?
I do. Even from the outside.
The most likely place people have seen the word is in a popular hymn which has a line
"there is a green hill ... without a city wall" - this means the specific hill is outside a city wall.
Another place they might have seen it is in the lyrics to Bob Dylan's "Mighty Quinn":
Oh come all without, come all within
You'll not see nothing like the mighty Quinn
As an AE speaker I would use from within in this context (also to mean from within oneself) but from without does seem antiquated.
Yes, the phrase 'from without' is antiquated - simply means people usually do not use it for the sense. However, the expression 'from within or (from) without' is a good acceptable (contemporary) English - with no confusion as to what it means. I like rhythm of the phrase.
