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outspoken

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Etymology and origin of the English word outspoken

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1652
Ultimate origin
English out-,spoken

Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌaʊtˈspəʊk(ə)n/, /aʊtˈspəʊk(ə)n/[1]
  • US: /ˌaʊtˈspoʊk(ə)n/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English out- + spoken, the past participle of speak, after the phrase “to speak out”.[2][3][4][5] The OED notes that the participle has a resultative force here, as in “well spoken” and “well read”.[3] An earlier outspeaking, of the voice, meant loud or resonant in the mid-15th century.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Spoken aloud, put into words: 1652, in J. Sparrow's translation of J. Böhme, a sense now rare.[2]

Semantic evolution

The usual modern sense, of a person given to speaking out frankly, was originally Scottish: the OED's first record is in J. Jamieson's Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language (1808).[2][3][6][4] Merriam-Webster also dates it to about 1808.[7] From 1850 the word was applied to what is said rather than to the speaker, meaning candid or direct, and sometimes simply striking or pronounced.[2]

Timeline

  • 1652 – spoken aloud, uttered (now rare).[2]
  • 1808 – of a person, frank and unreserved in speech, first in Scotland.[2][3][7]
  • 1850 – of something said, candid or direct.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Saying what one thinks openly and boldly, even when it may offend: an outspoken opponent of the new road.[8][7][2]
  2. Of words or opinions, expressed frankly and without reserve.[8][7][2]

Word family

  • outspokenly
  • outspokenness

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i 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 Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Outspoken.” Etymologically, 31 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/outspoken. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

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