Outland

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A region that is far from familiar territory, often associated with strangeness or unfamiliarity
2. An area that exists outside typical boundaries and is characterized by its distance and unconventional nature
3. A place located beyond the usual or well-known areas, often implying remote or exotic characteristics

Etymology: Old English speakers used "ūtland" for the land abroad, that is, anywhere beyond one's own country, and the word has kept that sense of being outside the home territory for more than a thousand years. Its parts are plain: "out" and "land," with the first pointing away from the speaker's home and the second naming the country itself. The same construction turns up across the Germanic languages. Dutch has "uitland," Afrikaans "uitland," Danish "udland," and German "Ausland," all meaning a foreign country. English "outland" is therefore a close relative of the German word that most English speakers would recognise as "abroad." The modern English noun has narrowed to something more specific: a remote foreign region. Its use in the phrases "outland German" and "outland Chinese" is modelled on German and Chinese terms for ethnic communities living overseas. "Outland German" follows the German "Auslandsdeutsche," and "outland Chinese" follows the Chinese "huáqiáo," both naming people whose homes lie in another country.

Synonyms: foreign, exotic, unfamiliar

Antonyms: native, local