Where does “outer” come from?

Outer comes from English out combined with the Old French suffix -er, which derives from Latin -are and ultimately Proto-Italic -os.

outer (English): Outside; external; Farther from the centre of the...

Definitions

  1. Outside; external; Farther from the centre of the...

Ancestry of “outer”, step by step

outer traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English out

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

via Middle English outre

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishoutre
2Old Englishūteraouter

Words derived from “outer

Every word from Proto-Indo-European úd
outer — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer