utter

utter · adjective, noun¹

1. Old English · inherited fromūtera“exterior, outer”
2. Middle English · inherited fromoutre
3. English todayutter

PIE word *úd The adjective is derived from Middle English outre, utter, uttre (“situated on the outside of, exterior”), from Old English ūtera (“exterior, outer”, literally “more out”), the comparative form of ūt (“out”). Piecewise doublet of outer. The noun is derived from the adjective.

utter · verb²

1. Proto-West Germanic · derived from*ūtanā“from outside or without; outside of”
2. Old Saxon · derived fromūtan
3. Middle Low German · derived fromüteren
4. Middle Dutch · derived fromuteren“to announce, make known”
5. Middle English · inherited fromoutren
6. English todayutter

PIE word *úd From Middle English outren, utteren (“to display for sale; to market; to sell; to say, speak; to put into words, express, tell; to make known, reveal”), partly: * from outre, utter (adjective, adverb) (see etymology 1 and etymology 3) + -en (suffix forming the infinitives of verbs); and * from Middle Dutch uteren (“to announce, make known”) (modern Dutch uiteren); or from Middle Low German üteren, ütern (“to demonstrate, show; to speak; to sell; etc.”) (modern Low German ütern), from Old Dutch or Old Saxon ūtan, probably from Proto-West Germanic *ūtanā (“from outside or without; outside of”). Compare Middle High German ūzeren, whence German äußern (“to express, say, utter”))

utter · adverb³

1. Old English · inherited fromūtor
2. Middle English · inherited fromoutre
3. English todayutter

PIE word *úd From Middle English outre, utter (“away, out; further away or out; out in the open; outside, without; to a greater extent”), partly: * from outre, utter (adjective) (see etymology 1); and * from Old English ūtor, the comparative form of ūt (“out; outdoors, outside”, adverb).

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 15th c. To the furthest or most extreme extent; absolute, complete, total, unconditional.
• from Old English to late 17th c.; apparently obsolete late 17th – early 18th c. except in the fixed expressions utter bar and utter barrister, then revived thereafter Further out than another thing; being the exterior or outer part of something; outer, outward; also, extremely remote.