external

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ɪkˈstɜː.nəl/, US /ɪkˈstɝː.nəl/^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin externus (“outside, outward”) and the suffix -al,^[2][3][4] partly also from Middle French externe.^[3] Latin externus is from exter, exterus “outward”,^[3][5] the source of exterior.^[3] It won out over a parallel Middle English word exterial, which became obsolete after 1550.^[3][2] It is related to extreme.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Overt: probably before 1425 in Barnhart, in a translation of Higden's Polychronicon,^[3] the early 15th century in Etymonline.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Pertaining to the outward or bodily form, as opposed to inner nature, is from 1556.^[7][3] Situated outside, the basic modern sense, is from 1591, the 1590s in Etymonline.^[7][2] Foreign, belonging to other countries, is from 1577–1587,^[7] still used in external affairs.^[8] Coming from outside is from 1651,^[7] and in philosophy, existing outside the mind, from 1667.^[7] Of medicines, applied to the outside of the body, it is from 1706.^[7] The plural noun externals, outward appearances, is from 1635.^[3][5]

Timeline

• a. 1425 – overt.^[3]
• 1556 – outward, bodily.^[7][3]
• 1577–87 – foreign.^[7]
• 1591 – situated outside.^[7]
• 1635 – noun, externals.^[3]
• 1651 – acting from outside.^[7]
• 1706 – of remedies, applied outside.^[7]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Of, on or for the outside: external walls.
2. Coming from outside a person, organization or system: external pressure.
3. Relating to foreign countries: external affairs.
4. Existing outside the mind.
5. Of an examiner or student, from or studying outside a university.

Noun

1. (externals) Outward features or appearances.

Word family

• externally
• externalization
• semiexternal
• externalize
• externalism
• externality
• nonexternal
• external auditory canal

Related words

• exterior
• internal
• extreme
• extra

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
8. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin