*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of out-

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *úd Proto-Germanic *ūt Proto-Germanic *ūt- Old English ūt- Middle English ut- English out- From Middle English ut-, from Old English ūt- (“out, without, outside”) (also as ūta-, ūtan- (

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
prefix

External to, on the outside of · Toward the outside of, away from · Forms verbs with the sense of surpassing or exceeding the prefixed word. This construction is productive. · Greater than

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *úd Proto-Germanic *ūt Proto-Germanic *ūt- Old English ūt- Middle English ut- English out- From Middle English ut-, from Old English ūt- (“out, without, outside”) (also as ūta-, ūtan- (“from or on the outside, without”), as in ūtanweard (“outward, external”)), from Proto-Germanic *ūt- (“out-”). Cognate with Dutch uit-, German aus-, Swedish ut-, Icelandic út-. More at out.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionut-enm
  • Inherited-form mentionūt-ang
  • Inherited-form mention*ūt-gem-pro
  • Cognate mentionuit-nl
  • Cognate mentionaus-de
  • Cognate mentionut-sv
  • Cognate mentionút-is

This page abbreviates 2 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:ut-<ety:inh<ang:ūt->>",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *úd\nProto-Germanic *ūt\nProto-Germanic *ūt-\nOld English ūt-\nMiddle English ut-\nEnglish out-\n[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*ūt\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*ūt-\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"ūt-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"ut-\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"out-\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"out-\">"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "ut-"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English ut-"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "ūt-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "out, without, outside"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English ūt- (“out, without, outside”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
        "3": "*ūt-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "out-"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *ūt- (“out-”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "nl",
        "2": "uit-"
      },
      "expansion": "Dutch uit-"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "aus-"
      },
      "expansion": "German aus-"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "ut-"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish ut-"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "út-"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic út-"
    },
    {
      "name": "etymon",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":inh",
        "3": "enm:ut-<ety:inh<ang:ūt->>",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nProto-Indo-European *úd\nProto-Germanic *ūt\nProto-Germanic *ūt-\nOld English ūt-\nMiddle English ut-\nEnglish out-"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "*úd",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/úd"
    ],
    [
      "*ūt",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/ūt"
    ],
    [
      "*ūt-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/ūt-"
    ],
    [
      "ūt-",
      "ut-#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "ut-",
      "ut-#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ut-",
      "ut-#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ūt-",
      "ut-#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "ūta-",
      "uta-#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "ūtan-",
      "utan-#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "ūtanweard",
      "utanweard#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*ūt-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/ūt-"
    ],
    [
      "uit-",
      "uit-#Dutch"
    ],
    [
      "aus-",
      "aus-#German"
    ],
    [
      "ut-",
      "ut-#Swedish"
    ],
    [
      "út-",
      "út-#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "out",
      "out#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "prefix",
      "glosses": [
        "External to, on the outside of",
        "Toward the outside of, away from",
        "Forms verbs with the sense of surpassing or exceeding the prefixed word. This construction is productive.",
        "Greater than"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ],
      "recordId": "342ccf59f08f2db39e7e531d8e33b4bae1a59e0f10df18a257a8079ad886d149",
      "rawRecordSha256": "6008dccd72828277ef9165797c00ce5a37de718f95e39b34d7e42480df7ba4ea",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 179428
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 2,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for out- →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-b3V0LQ