Aisle (īl), n.

n. [Fr. aile, O. Fr. aisle, Cotgr., wing, L. Lat. ala, aisle, Lat. ala, wing, wing of a building.] (Arch.) (a.) The wing of a building. (b.) In Gothic cathedrals and churches, one of the lateral divisions of a building separated from the middle of the nave by two rows of piers. (c.) Any one of the passages in a church into which the pews or seats open.

☞ Mr. E. J. Willson, in his glossary attached to Pugin's Specimens, observes, that “middle aisle seems improper, though commonly used; side aisle sounds like tautology.” Yet this usage is common both in England and America.