Etymologically
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exterior

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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

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