Where does “outpost” come from?
I appreciate the challenge, but I need to flag an issue: the chain you've provided appears to be circular or corrupted (it cycles through "post" and "poster" repeatedly without showing a path to "outpost").
Without a valid etymological chain showing how "outpost" derives from its component parts or ancestor words, I cannot write an accurate summary sentence that follows your rules, particularly the requirement to "state only what the chain supports."
Could you provide the correct chain? For "outpost," I would expect something like: outpost | out- + post, or a chain showing the development of the "out-" prefix and "post" element separately if they have distinct origins.
outpost (English): A military post stationed at a distance from the...
Definitions
- A military post stationed at a distance from the...
Ancestry of “outpost”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | post | A long dowel or plank protruding from the ground;... |
| 2 | Middle French | poste | — |
| 3 | Italian | posta | mail, post; post office; stakes |
| 4 | Latin | probāre | — |
| 5 | Latin | probō | — |
| 6 | Latin | Probus | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | pro-bhwo- | being in front, prominent |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | pro- | toward, forward |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | por- | to give birth; forward, through; going, passage |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | per- | before, in front; first; to go through |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | pr̥tós | passed , crossed |