What did the word without originally mean?
It meant without. The Old English word for with was mid.The old word with was used to mean against, or toward, in the sense we still use in phrases like to fight with someone, to be angry with someone; or it could mean apart from, separated, that is to say - not with! OE withutan (without) strengthened the sense of apartness by adding the second element, out. As the opposite of within, it is still used to mean outside, as in the Christmas carol "There is a green hill far away, without a city wall"