*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of outer

From Middle English outre, outer, outter, uttre, from Old English ūtre, ūtera, ūterra (“outer”), equivalent to out + -er. Compare German äußere (“outer”), Danish ydre (“outer”), Swedish yttre (“outer”), Icelandic ytri (“

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 3 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.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

An outer part. · An uncovered section of the seating at a stadium or sportsground. · The fourth circle on a target, outside the inner and magpie. · A shot which strikes the outer of a target.

adj

Outside; external. · Farther from the centre of the inside.

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

From Middle English outre, outer, outter, uttre, from Old English ūtre, ūtera, ūterra (“outer”), equivalent to out + -er. Compare German äußere (“outer”), Danish ydre (“outer”), Swedish yttre (“outer”), Icelandic ytri (“outer”). Piecewise doublet of utter.

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Inherited-form mentionoutreenm
  • Inherited-form mentionūtreang
  • Word-formation componentouten
  • Word-formation component-eren
  • Cognate mentionäußerede · outer
  • Cognate mentionydreda · outer
  • Cognate mentionyttresv · outer
  • Cognate mentionytriis · outer

This page abbreviates 1 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.

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      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "outre"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English outre"
    },
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ang",
        "3": "ūtre"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English ūtre"
    },
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      "name": "af",
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "out",
        "3": "-er",
        "nocat": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "out + -er"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "äußere",
        "t": "outer"
      },
      "expansion": "German äußere (“outer”)"
    },
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        "2": "ydre",
        "t": "outer"
      },
      "expansion": "Danish ydre (“outer”)"
    },
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      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "yttre",
        "t": "outer"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish yttre (“outer”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "is",
        "2": "ytri",
        "t": "outer"
      },
      "expansion": "Icelandic ytri (“outer”)"
    },
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      "name": "piecewise doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "utter"
      },
      "expansion": "Piecewise doublet of utter"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "outre",
      "outre#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "outer",
      "outer#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "outter",
      "outter#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "uttre",
      "uttre#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "ūtre",
      "utre#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "ūtera",
      "utera#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "ūterra",
      "uterra#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "out",
      "out#English"
    ],
    [
      "-er",
      "-er#English"
    ],
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      "äußere",
      "äußere#German"
    ],
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      "ydre",
      "ydre#Danish"
    ],
    [
      "yttre",
      "yttre#Swedish"
    ],
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      "ytri",
      "ytri#Icelandic"
    ],
    [
      "utter",
      "utter#English"
    ]
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        "An uncovered section of the seating at a stadium or sportsground.",
        "The fourth circle on a target, outside the inner and magpie.",
        "A shot which strikes the outer of a target."
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        "Outside; external.",
        "Farther from the centre of the inside."
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

Someone who admits to something publicly. · Someone who outs another. · One who puts out, ousts, or expels. · An ouster; dispossession.

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

out (verb) + -er (“agent suffix”)

Relationships mentioned by the source

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

  • Word-formation componentouten
  • Word-formation component-eren · agent suffix

This page abbreviates 1 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.

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      "name": "etymid",
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "outverb"
      },
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    },
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      "name": "affix",
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        "1": "en",
        "2": "out",
        "3": "-er",
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        "t2": "agent suffix"
      },
      "expansion": "out (verb) + -er (“agent suffix”)"
    }
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  "links": [
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      "out (verb)",
      "out#English"
    ],
    [
      "-er",
      "-er#English"
    ]
  ],
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  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
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        "Someone who admits to something publicly.",
        "Someone who outs another.",
        "One who puts out, ousts, or expels.",
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}

Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗
adj

comparative form of out (“(more) open about one's sexuality, etc”): more out

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

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *úd Proto-Germanic *ūt Proto-West Germanic *ūt Old English ūt ▲ Proto-Germanic *ūt Proto-Germanic *-ai Proto-Germanic *ūtai Proto-West Germanic *ūtē Old English ūte Middle English oute English out (adjective) Proto-Indo-European *-yōs Proto-Germanic *-izô Proto-West Germanic *-iʀō Proto-Germanic *-ōzô Proto-West Germanic *-ōʀō Old English -ra Middle English -ere English -er English outer From out (adjective) + -er (“comparative suffix”).

Inspect preserved source fields

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

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    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":af",
        "3": "out<alt:out (adjective)>",
        "4": "-er<id:comparative><t:comparative suffix>",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
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    },
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        "1": "en",
        "2": ":af",
        "3": "out<alt:out (adjective)>",
        "4": "-er<id:comparative><t:comparative suffix>",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
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    }
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    [
      "*úd",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/úd"
    ],
    [
      "*ūt",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/ūt"
    ],
    [
      "*ūt",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/ūt"
    ],
    [
      "ūt",
      "ut#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "*ūt",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/ūt"
    ],
    [
      "*-ai",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-ai"
    ],
    [
      "*ūtai",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/ūtai"
    ],
    [
      "*ūtē",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/ūtē"
    ],
    [
      "ūte",
      "ute#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "oute",
      "oute#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "out (adjective)",
      "out#English"
    ],
    [
      "*-yōs",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/-yōs"
    ],
    [
      "*-izô",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-izô"
    ],
    [
      "*-iʀō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/-iʀō"
    ],
    [
      "*-ōzô",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/-ōzô"
    ],
    [
      "*-ōʀō",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/-ōʀō"
    ],
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      "-ra",
      "-ra#Old_English:_comparative"
    ],
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      "-ere#Middle_English:_comparative"
    ],
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    ],
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    ]
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        "comparative form of out (“(more) open about one's sexuality, etc”): more out"
      ],
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        "form-of"
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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 outer →

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-b3V0ZXI