outfield

Etymology

It is formed from English out- + field.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

Earliest recorded meaning

The outlying land of a farm, in Scotland and northern England especially the land that was unenclosed moor or pasture, or tilled without being manured: 1542, in the Rental Book of Cupar-Angus.^[2] Etymonline dates the farming sense to the 1630s,^[3] and Dictionary.com to 1630–40.^[6]

Semantic evolution

From the farm the word was extended (1637–1858) to any outlying place or realm.^[2] The English Dialect Dictionary recorded it in Scotland, Cumberland, Westmorland and Cheshire for distant arable land that was not manured but cropped until worn out, as opposed to the infield near the farmhouse;^[7] Scott used the pair in Waverley (1814).^[7] The sporting sense, the part of the field farthest from the batsman, was first used of cricket (1851) and then of baseball (1868),^[2][3] and since 1867 the word has also stood for the players who field there.^[2] In football it has been used since 1885 for the pitch away from the goals, and now mostly in outfield player, any player but the goalkeeper.^[2]

Timeline

• 1542 – the outlying land of a farm.^[2][4]
• 1637 – an outlying place or realm (obsolete by 1858).^[2]
• 1676 – an outlying field.^[2]
• 1851 – in cricket, the part of the field farthest from the wicket.^[2][3]
• 1867 – the fielders in the outfield, in cricket and baseball.^[2]
• 1868 – in baseball, the part of the field beyond the diamond.^[2][3]
• 1885 – in football, the part of the pitch away from the goals.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (cricket) The part of the field far from the pitch; the deep.^[8][2][4]
2. (baseball) The part of the field beyond the infield, or the three fielders stationed there.^[8][4][2]
3. The outlying land of a farm, especially in Scotland and northern England land that is not manured or is used as pasture.^[4][2][5]
4. (football) The part of the pitch away from the goals; as a modifier, of a player other than the goalkeeper.^[2][8]

Word family

• outfielder

Related words

• infield

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ a b Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)
8. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins