outlet (n.)

"place or opening by which anything is let out or escapes," mid-13c., "a river mouth," from out- + let (v.). Electrical wiring sense, "socket that connects a device to an electricity supply," is attested from 1892. The commercial sense of "a market for the sale of any product" is by 1889; that of "a retail store disposing of a manufacturer's products" is attested by 1933. Figurative sense "means of relief or discharge" is from 1620s.