Was 'without' always the opposite of 'with'?
It seems that the word without was constructed as the opposite of within (or vice versa, but either way, they're a pair). However, we also use the word to mean the opposite of with, and that poses a question: Is there any evidence of the existence of an antonym of with that was not without? Or, was there an English word closer to withless that we no longer use?
Entry for without from etymonline (link):
Old English wiðutan "outside of, from outside," literally "against the outside" (opposite of within), see with + out (adv.). As a word expressing lack or want of something (opposite of with), attested from c. 1200
Top Answer/Comment:
Without used to mean "outside of, from outside" in Old English, and it was the antonym of within, and can be seen in phrases such as "from within and without". However, such a meaning for without is now considered archaic, literary or poetic, because the modern meaning for the word is "lacking, destitute of" as the opposite of with.
You can find other questions similar to your own such as in this link: Is the opposite of 'within', 'without'?
Now, about your main question, I doubt that there used to be an opposite of with that was close to withless at all, because surprisingly, the word with didn't mean "together/with" in Old English but instead "against, opposite, from". It's related to withstand or withhold — all preserving that original adversarial sense. The word used to carry the meaning of "together with" back then was mid, which used to be a preposition that meant "in conjunction with, in company with, together with". In a sense, mid could have been the opposite of with in Old English, but even then I doubt that they were an antonym pair and more like two prepositions doing separate jobs.
But if you still want a word in Old English that had similar meaning to without in Modern English today and could be an antonym of the modern with preposition, then I think the word you're looking for is būtan, which meant "without; except; except for", according to Old English Aerobics.
Sources:
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