Etymologically
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outside

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˌaʊtˈsaɪd/[1]

Etymology

It is a compound, from English out + side, the outer side.[2][3][4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The outer side or surface of something: 1505,[6][2][7] or about 1500 according to Etymonline;[3] Merriam-Webster dates the noun to 1502.[8]

Semantic evolution

The position close to the outer side of something is recorded from 1503.[6] The outer surface as what is seen, an outward appearance, is from 1592,[6] and since 1660 it has also meant mere outward form as opposed to substance.[6] The place beyond an enclosure or barrier is from the 1610s.[3] In isolated parts of northern Canada and Alaska the outside meant the settled world from 1827,[6][3] and in prison and army slang the world outside the prison or army by 1903.[3] The adjective is from 1634,[2][8] the adverb from 1813,[2][8] and the preposition from 1826.[2][8] Outside of, “except”, is first recorded in 1859 as an Americanism.[2][3] Outside chance, “a slight chance”, is from 1845.[3] Outsider is from 1800, in Jane Austen's letters.[2]

Timeline

  • 1503 – a position close to the outer side.[6]
  • 1505 – the outer surface.[6][2]
  • 1592 – outward appearance.[6]
  • 1610s – the area beyond an enclosure.[3]
  • 1634 – adjective.[2][8]
  • 1800 – outsider (Jane Austen).[2]
  • 1813 – adverb.[2][8]
  • 1826 – preposition.[2][8]
  • 1827 – the settled world, in the far north.[6]
  • 1859 – outside of, except.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The outer side or surface; the exterior.
  2. The outward appearance of something.
  3. The space beyond a boundary or limit.
  4. The utmost limit: at the outside.

Adjective

  1. On or near the outer side; outer.
  2. Coming from or acting beyond certain limits: outside help.
  3. Slight, remote: an outside chance.

Adverb

  1. On or to the outer side.
  2. Outdoors.

Preposition

  1. On or to the outer side of.
  2. Beyond the limits of.
  3. Except: outside of a few friends.

Word family

  • outsider
  • outside of

Usage notes

In Devon dialect, outside of meant “with the exception of”.[9]

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 g h i j k l m Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  9. ^ 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)