Etymology

outplay

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Today it means: To excel or defeat in a game; to play better than. Full definition →

English play ← Middle English ut- ← Old English ūt-
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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. Englishplay
  8. English todayoutplay

From out- + play.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.