outlook

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈaʊt.lʊk/^[1]

Etymology

It is a compound of out- and look,^[2][3][4] after the verb look out.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

A place from which an observer looks out or keeps watch: 1667, the 1660s in Etymonline.^[5][2][3]

Semantic evolution

A mental view or survey is from 1742,^[2][5] and the view from a place from 1828.^[5] The prospect for the future is from 1832 in the OED, 1851 in Etymonline.^[5][2] The literal sense, the act of looking out, vigilant watch (1815), is rare, since look-out is used instead.^[2][5] A verb outlook, to outstare, is from 1595.^[5]

Timeline

• 1595 – to outstare (verb).^[5]
• 1667 – a place to look out from.^[5]
• 1742 – a mental view.^[5]
• 1828 – the view from a place.^[5]
• 1832 – the prospect for the future.^[5]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A point of view; an attitude.
2. The expected future condition or outcome of something: the weather outlook.
3. A place from which something can be viewed, or the view from it.
4. The act of looking out.

Related words

• look
• lookout
• prospect

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 Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ 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