Outside

Part of speech: adverb, preposition, noun, adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈaʊt.saɪd/

Definitions

1. The area or space beyond the boundaries or limits of something, or situated beyond an interior space
2. The region that lies beyond the confines of a structure or location, as well as the exposure to open air or nature
3. The space that exists beyond the perimeter of an enclosed area, including an environment that is open to the elements

Etymology: "Outside" is about as transparent as English compounds get: it joins "out," from Old English "ūt," and "side," from Old English "sīde." Both parts have deep Germanic roots, with "ūt" tracing back through Proto-Germanic to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning something like "up" or "out," and "side" descending from a Proto-Germanic word for the flank or edge of a body. The combination makes sense once you picture the original image. "Out" describes motion or position away from an inside, and "side" marks an edge, so together they name the outer edge or the region beyond a boundary. That concrete sense of a physical face or flank is still visible when the word is used for the exterior of a building or the far side of a wall. The word's usefulness as a preposition, adverb, noun and adjective all grow from that same spatial core: something lies on the far side of a limit, whether a room, a city, or a category.

Synonyms: exterior, outdoors, out, beyond, external

Antonyms: inside, interior, within, inward, internal