Etymology

outwork

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Today it means: To work more, faster, or harder than (someone else). Full definition →

English work ← 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. Englishwork
  8. English todayoutwork

From out- + work.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.