Etymology

outdo

O1U1T1D2O1

Today it means: To excel; go beyond in performance; surpass. Full definition →

English do ← Middle English don ← Old English dōn
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*úd
  2. Proto-Germanic*ūt
  3. Proto-Germanic*ūt-
  4. Old Englishūt-
  5. Middle Englishut-
  6. Englishout-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*dʰéh₁t
  9. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-
  10. Proto-Indo-European*dʰédʰeh₁ti
  11. Proto-Germanic*dōną
  12. Proto-West Germanic*dōn
  13. Old Englishdōn
  14. Middle Englishdon
  15. Englishdo
  16. English todayoutdo

From out- + do.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.