- outgrow (v.)
- 1590s, "to surpass in growth," from out + grow (v.). Meaning "to become too large or too mature for" is attested from 1660s. Related: Outgrowing; outgrown.
- outgrowth (n.)
- 1837, from out (adv.) + growth. Figurative sense "natural product" is earlier (1828).
- outgun (v.)
- 1690s, from out (adv.) + gun. Related: Outgunned; outgunning.
- outhouse (n.)
- early 14c., "shed, outbuilding," from out + house (n.). Sense of "a privy" (principally American English) is first attested 1819.
- outie (n.)
- in reference to navels, by 1972, from out (adv.) + -ie.
- outing (n.)
- late 14c., "action of going out;" mid-15c., "act of putting out;" verbal noun from out (v.). Meaning "airing, excursion, pleasure trip" is from 1821.
- outlander (n.)
- 1590s, "foreigner," from outland (see outlandish) + -er (1). Probably on model of Dutch uitlander, German ausländer. In South African English it had a specific sense of "not of Boer birth" (1892) and was a loan-translation of S.African Dutch uitlander.
- outlandish (adj.)
- Old English utlendisc "of a foreign country, not native," from utland "foreign land," literally "outland" (see out + land (n.)) + -ish. Sense of "unfamiliar, strange, odd, bizarre" (such as the customs of foreigners may seem to natives) is attested from 1590s.
- outlast (v.)
- "to last longer than," 1570s, from out (adv.) + last (v.). Related: Outlasted; outlasting.
- outlaw (n.)
- Old English utlaga "one put outside the law" (and thereby deprived of its benefits and protections), from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse utlagi (n.) "outlaw," from utlagr (adj.) "outlawed, banished," from ut "out" (see out (adv.)) + *lagu, plural of lag "law" (see law).
[G]if he man to deaðe gefylle, beo he þonne utlah ["Laws of Edward & Guthrum," c.924]
Meaning "one living a lawless life" is first recorded 1880. As an adjective from Old English.
- outlaw (v.)
- Old English utlagian "to outlaw, banish," from utlaga "an outlaw" (see outlaw (n.)). Related: Outlawed; outlawing.
- outlawry (n.)
- late 14c., from Anglo-French utlagerie, a hybrid from Old English utlaga (see outlaw (n.)) + -ary.
- outlay (n.)
- "act or fact of laying out (especially money) or expending," 1798, originally Scottish, from out (adv.) + lay (v.).
- outlet (n.)
- mid-13c., "a river mouth," from out + let (v.). Electrical wiring sense is attested from 1892. Meaning "a retail store" is attested from 1933. Figurative sense "means of relief or discharge" is from 1620s.
- outlier (n.)
- c. 1600, "stone quarried and removed but left unused," from out (adv.) + agent noun from lie (v.2). Transferred meaning "outsider" is recorded from 1680s; "anything detached from its main body" is from 1849; geological sense is from 1833.
- outline (n.)
- 1660s, "lines by which a figure is delineated," from out + line (v.). Meaning "rough draft in words" is from 1759.
- outline (v.)
- 1790, "to draw in outline," from outline (n.). Meaning "to describe in general terms" is from 1855. Related: Outlined; outlining.
- outlive (v.)
- "to live longer than," late 15c., from out (adv.) + live (v.). Related: Outlived; outliving.
- outlook (n.)
- "mental view or survey," 1742, from out (adv.) + look (v.). The meaning "prospect for the future" is attested from 1851. Earliest sense was "a look-out" (1660s). The literal sense of "vigilant watch, act or practice of looking out" (1815) is rare; look-out being used instead for this.
- outlying (adj.)
- "outside certain limits," 1660s, from out + present participle of lie (v.2). Meaning "remote from the center" is first recorded 1680s.
- outmoded (adj.)
- "no longer in fashion, out of date," 1894, from out + mode (q.v.); perhaps formed on model of French démoder.
- outness (n.)
- 1709, from out (adv.) + -ness.
- outnumber (v.)
- "to number more than," 1660s, from out + number (v.). Related: Outnumbered; outnumbering.
- outpatient (n.)
- also out-patient, 1715, "person who is treated at a hospital but not admitted," from out + patient (n.). The adjective is first recorded 1879.
- outperform (v.)
- 1960, from out (adv.) + perform. Related: Outperformed; outperforming.
- outpost (n.)
- 1757, "military position detached from the main body of troops," from out + post (n.2). Originally in George Washington's letters. Commercial sense of "trading settlement near a frontier" is from 1802. Phrase outpost of Empire (by 1895) in later use often echoes Kipling.
- outpouring (n.)
- mid-15c., "a pouring out," from out + infinitive of pour (v.). From 1757 as "action of pouring out," originally transferred, of things spiritual; sense of "that which is poured out" (again, usually transferred) is from 1827.
- output (n.)
- 1839, from out + put (v.). Till c. 1880, a technical term in the iron and coal trade [OED]. The verb is attested from mid-14c., originally "to expel;" meaning "to produce" is from 1858.
- outrage (n.)
- c. 1300, "evil deed, offense, crime; affront, indignity," from Old French outrage "harm, damage; insult; criminal behavior; presumption, insolence, overweening" (12c.), earlier oltrage (11c.), from Vulgar Latin *ultraticum "excess," from Latin ultra "beyond" (see ultra-). Etymologically, "the passing beyond reasonable bounds" in any sense; meaning narrowed in English toward violent excesses because of folk etymology from out + rage. Of injuries to feelings, principles, etc., from 1769.
- outrage (v.)
- c. 1300, "to go to excess, act immoderately," from outrage (n.). From 1580s with meaning "do violence to." Related: Outraged; outraging.
- outrageous (adj.)
- c. 1300, "excessive, extravagant," from Old French outrageus, outrajos "immoderate, excessive, violent, lawless" (Modern French outrageux), from outrage, oltrage (see outrage). Meaning "flagrantly evil" is late 14c.; modern teen slang usages of it unwittingly approach the original and etymological sense of outrage. Related: Outrageously; outrageousness.
- outrank (v.)
- 1829, from out (adv.) + rank. Related: Outranked; outranking.
- outre (adj.)
- "exaggerated, extravagant, eccentric," 1722, from French outré "exaggerated, excessive, extreme," past participle of outrer "to carry to excess, overdo, overstrain, exaggerate," from outre "beyond" (see outrage).
- outreach (n.)
- "an organization's involvement in the community," 1870, from out + reach (v.). The verb (c. 1400) tends to be used in literal senses.
- outrider (n.)
- mid-14c., from out (adv.) + rider.
- outrigger (n.)
- device used in Pacific and Indian oceans to stabilize canoes, 1748, altered (by influence of rig) from outligger (late 15c.) "a spar projecting from a vessel," probably from the same root as Dutch uitlegger, literally "out-lyer."
- outright (adv.)
- c. 1300, "completely, entirely; openly, directly; at once, without hesitation," from out (adv.) + right (adj.1)). Meaning "all at once" is attested from c. 1600. As an adjective, "direct, downright," from 1530s.
- outrun (v.)
- mid-14c., "to run out," from out (adv.) + run (v.). Sense of "to outstrip in running" is from 1520s; figurative use from 1650s. Related: Outran; outrunning.
- outscore (v.)
- 1921, from out (adv.) + score (v.). Related: Outscored; outscoring.
- outset (n.)
- "act of setting out on a journey, business, etc." 1759, from out + set (v.). The earlier word for this was outsetting (1670s).
- outshine (v.)
- 1590s, from out (adv.) + shine (v.). Perhaps coined by Spenser. Figurative sense of "to surpass in splendor or excellence" is from 1610s. Related: Outshone; outshining.
- outside (n.)
- c. 1500, "outer side," from out + side (n.). The adjective is attested from 1630s; the preposition from 1826; the adverb from 1813. Phrase outside of "with exception of" is from 1859.
- outsider (n.)
- 1800, from outside; figurative sense of "a person isolated from conventional society" is first recorded 1907. The sense of race horses "outside" the favorites is from 1836; hence outside chance (1909).
- outsized (adj.)
- "larger than average," 1880, from out (adv.) + size.
- outskirt (n.)
- "outer border," 1590s, from out + skirt (n.). Now only in plural, outskirts. Originally in Spenser.
- outsmart (v.)
- "to prove too clever for," 1926, from out + smart (adj.). Related: Outsmarted; outsmarting.
- outsource (v.)
- in reference to jobs going overseas, by 1981 (as outsourcing), from out + source (v.). Related: Outsourced.
- outspend (v.)
- mid-15c., "to consume totally, use up," from out (adv.) + spend (v.). Meaning "to spend more than another or others" is from 1840. Related: Outspent; outspending. Outspent is attested from 1650s as "exhausted."
- outspoken (adj.)
- "given to speaking freely," 1808, originally Scottish, from out (adv.) + -spoken. "The pa. pple. has here a resultant force, as in 'well spoken', 'well read'." [OED]. Related: Outspokenly; outspokenness.
- outstanding (adj.)
- 1610s, "projecting, prominent, detached," present participle adjective from outstand (v.) "endure successfully, hold out against," from out (adv.) + stand (v.). Figurative sense of "conspicuous, striking" is first recorded 1830. Meaning "unpaid, unsettled" is from 1797. Related: Outstandingly.