Outsped

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To have moved or traveled faster than someone or something
2. To have gained speed to surpass another in pace or velocity
3. To have exceeded another in swiftness or rapidity of movement

Etymology: "Outsped" is the past tense and past participle of "outspeed," so its history is really the history of that verb. The base word "speed" goes back to Old English "spēd," meaning success, prosperity, or good fortune, and only later narrowed toward rapidity of movement. Attaching the prefix "out-," meaning beyond or surpassing, produced Middle English "outspeden," which originally meant to hurry out, hasten away, or succeed. Notice how far the older sense drifted. Medieval speakers could use the word for succeeding at a venture, and the idea of getting ahead of others by moving quicker only came to dominate later. The modern meaning, to go faster than someone or something, is the sense that remains today, with the older sense of success largely lost.