English
out
Out comes from Middle English out, from a combination of Old English ūt ‘out’ and ūte ‘outside’, both ultimately from PIE *úd ‘upwards, away’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*úd‘upwards, away’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ūt‘out’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*ūt‘out’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150ūt‘out’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500out
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598out
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*úd‘upwards, away’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ūt‘out’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*ūt‘out’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150ūt‘out’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500out
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1596–1598out
Earliest quotation: c. 1596–1598, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice: “Truth will out.”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *úd ‘upwards, away’
awaken, amaze, uterus, hubris, uterine, aghast, hysteresis, 6 more
through Proto-Germanic *ūt
through Proto-West Germanic *ūt ‘out, outward’
through Old English ūt
Today it means
adv Away from the inside or centre.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *úd / out