out-
prefixEtymology From Middle English ut-, from Old English ūt- (“out, without, outside”) (also as ūta-, ūtan- (“from or on the outside, without”), as in ūtanweard (“outward, external”)), from Proto-Germanic *ūt- (“out-”). Cognate with Dutch uit-, German aus-, Swedish ut-, Icelandic út-. More at out.
1
Morpheme External to, on the outside of
- outback
- outhouse
2
Morpheme Toward the outside of, away from
- outcast
- outlead
1 more example
- outflee
3
Morpheme Forms verbs with the sense of surpassing or exceeding the prefixed word. This construction is productive.
- outdo
- outlast
4 more examples
- outmaneuver
- It out-Herods Herod. Pray you, avoid it.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:
- She was nobody when he married her, barely the daughter of a gentleman; but ever since her being turned into a Churchill she has out-Churchill’d them all in high and mighty claims: but in herself, I assure you, she is an upstart.1815 December (indicated as 1816), [Jane Austen], chapter XVIII, in Emma: […], volume II, London: […] [Charles Roworth and James Moyes] for John Murray, →OCLC, page 345:
- With a few honorable exceptions it out-Descartesed Descartes […]2016, Noam Chomsky, What Kind of Creatures Are We?, New York: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, page 124:
4
Morpheme Greater than
- outsize
- outrun
2 more examples
- outgrow
- By the end of the competition, Lisa's plant had outgrown its competitors, winning the competition.
5
Morpheme Beyond
- The plant's leaves outgrew their box
6
Morpheme Completely
- outfit
- outwork