exterior

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ɪkˈstɪə.ri.ə/, US /ɪkˈstɪr.i.ɚ/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Middle French extérieur and directly Latin exterior (“outer, outward”),^[2][3][4][5] the comparative of exterus (“on the outside, foreign”), itself a comparative formation from ex (“out of”) (see ex-).^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

Earliest recorded meaning

Situated outside: 1528 in Barnhart and Merriam-Webster, the 1520s in Etymonline.^[2][5][3]

Semantic evolution

Foreign is a rare obsolete sense of 1540.^[7] The noun, the outer surface or aspect, is from 1591,^[2][5][7] and outward appearance or demeanour from 1695.^[7] An outdoor scene on stage, and later in film, is an exterior from 1872.^[7][8]

Timeline

• 1528 – exterior (adjective).^[2]
• 1540 – foreign (obsolete).^[7]
• 1591 – an exterior (noun).^[2][7]
• 1695 – outward demeanour.^[7]
• 1872 – an outdoor scene.^[7]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Outer; external.
2. Coming or acting from outside.
3. Suitable for use outside: exterior paint.

Noun

1. The outer part or surface of something.
2. Outward appearance or behaviour: a calm exterior.
3. An outdoor scene in a film or painting.

Word family

• exteriorly
• exteriority
• exteriorize
• exteriorise
• exterior angle

Related words

• interior
• external
• extreme
• extraneous

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins