Etymologically

Etymology and origin of the Proto-Germanic word *ūt

Confidence
Established
Formation
Inherited
Inherited from
Proto-Indo-European *úd
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Proto-Germanic *ūt
Old Norse út
Proto-West Germanic *ūt
Dutch uit
German aus
Old English ūt
English out
From the same root
Dutch eruit ← uit
German durchaus ← aus
English bailout ← out
English breakout ← out
English checkout ← out
English dugout ← out
English fallout ← out
English hideout ← out
English knockout ← out
English layout ← out
English lockout ← out
English lookout ← out
English outage ← out
English outback ← out
English outbreak ← out
English outcome ← out
English outer ← out
English outlet ← out
English outright ← out
English outside ← out
English payout ← out
English rollout ← out
English shutout ← out
English takeout ← out
English throughout ← out
English tryout ← out
English workout ← out

Reconstruction

An adverb *ūt in Kroonen, Orel and Wiktionary,[1][2][3] *ūt or *ūta in Köbler.[4]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Indo-European *úd (“out, outward”):[3] Kroonen calls it an adverb directly continuing PIE *ud.[1]

Morphology

The long vowel arose because the word was a monosyllable.[1][3] In his study of the n-stems, Kroonen calls *ūt the old allative and argues that the lengthening affected only this monosyllable; the ablative *utané kept its short vowel, which he sees in Old Norse utan, and the locative *utai was created secondarily from *ūt.[5] The preposition *uz "out of" is apparently from *ud-s, the same adverb with a genitive ending.[6][7]

Evidence

The word is attested in all three branches: Gothic 𐌿𐍄 (ut), Old Norse út, and Old English ūt, Old Frisian ūt, Old Saxon ūt and Old High German ūz in West Germanic.[1] The Gothic word is in Wulfila's Bible.[8] De Vries and Feist compare the Old Irish verbal prefix ud- (“out”) and a Cypriot Greek prefix.[9][10]

Meanings

  1. out[1][4][3]
  2. outward[3]

In West Germanic the word also became a preposition, and Old High German also used it for "but".[11][1] Old Frisian also used it for "abroad" and "seaward".[12]

Derivatives

  • *ūtai "outside", with a locative *-ai,[13][2] and *ūtanē "from outside".[14][2]
  • *ūtaraz, in Orel, continued in Old Norse útarr (“farther out”).[2]
  • *ūtijaną "to push away, to expel";[15] Orel writes *ūtjanan.[2]
  • Compounds: *ūtgangaz "exit" and *ūtlandijaz "foreign".[16][17]

Reflexes

  • Gothic: 𐌿𐍄 (ut, “out”)[10]
  • Old Norse: út (“out”)[9]
  • Old English: ūt (“out, outside”)[18]
  • Old Frisian: ūt (“out”)[12]
  • Old Saxon: ūt (“out”)[19]
  • Old High German: ūz (“out, outside, but”)[20]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 562
  2. ^ a b c d e Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 437
  3. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *ūt
  4. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. *ūt
  5. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2011), The Proto-Germanic n-stems: A Study in Diachronic Morphophonology, Leiden Studies in Indo-European 18, Amsterdam / New York: Rodopi, p. § 5.2
  6. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 563
  7. ^ Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 436
  8. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Gotisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. ūt
  9. ^ a b de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. út
  10. ^ a b Feist, Sigmund (1939), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache, 3rd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. ut
  11. ^ Lehmann, Winfred P. (1986), A Gothic Etymological Dictionary, based on the third edition of Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der gotischen Sprache by Sigmund Feist, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. ut
  12. ^ a b Hofmann, Dietrich; Popkema, Anne Tjerk (2008), Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. ūt
  13. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *ūtai
  14. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *ūtanē
  15. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *ūtijaną
  16. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *ūtgangaz
  17. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. *ūtlandijaz
  18. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. s.v. ūt
  19. ^ Tiefenbach, Heinrich (2010), Altsächsisches Handwörterbuch / A Concise Old Saxon Dictionary, Berlin / New York: De Gruyter, p. s.v. ūt
  20. ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, 6th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. ūz

Related etymologies

  • *stainaz · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • *beraną · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • *fadēr · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • *watōr · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • *ga- · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • *frijaz · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • *fallaną · also from Proto-Indo-European
  • *standaną · also from Proto-Indo-European
Cite this entry

“*ūt.” Etymologically, 16 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/gem-pro/*%C5%ABt. Accessed 16 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·