English
external
External comes from Medieval Latin externus ‘outward, external’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰsteros.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁eǵʰsterosreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*eksterosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexter‘outward’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500externus‘outward’
- Englishearliest quotation 1591external
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁eǵʰsterosreconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*eksterosreconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEexter‘outward’
- Medieval Latinc. 600–1500externus‘outward’
- Englishearliest quotation 1591external
Earliest quotation: 1591, William Shakespeare, The First Part of Henry the Sixt: “Her virtues graced with external gifts.”
Linked words
through Proto-Italic *eksteros
through Latin exter ‘outward, on the outside’
Today it means
adj Outside of something; on the exterior.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₁eǵʰsteros / external