Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “outdoors” come from?

outdoors (English) comes from English out, from Middle English oute, from Old English ūt, from Proto-West Germanic *ūt, from Proto-Germanic ūt, from Proto-Indo-European úd — out, outward.

outdoors (English): Not inside a house or under covered structure;...

Definitions

  1. Not inside a house or under covered structure;...

Ancestry of “outdoors”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishoutAway from the inside, centre or other point of...
2Middle Englishoute—
3Old Englishūtout
4Proto-West Germanic*ūt—
5Proto-Germanicūtout, outward
6Proto-Indo-Europeanúdout, outward

Words derived from “outdoors”

  • outdoorsman
  • outdoorsy
  • outdoorswoman
  • outdoorsmanship
Every word from Proto-Indo-European úd →