Outstand

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To extend beyond a surface or edge ; to be remarkable or worthy of attention
2. To stick out or jut forward from a surrounding area ; to be conspicuous or easily noticed
3. To protrude or hang over something else ; to be distinguished by importance or excellence

Etymology: The verb "outstand" is built from "out" and "stand," and its early sense was about endurance rather than projecting or standing out. In Middle English, "outstanden" meant to hold out, bear, or tolerate something, and that sense survives in the Germanic relatives. Dutch "uitstaan" and German "ausstehen" still mean to abide or endure, and German "ausstehen" can also mean to be outstanding, pending, or still owed. The meaning of "outstanding" as a rough equivalent of "remarkable" is the one most English speakers know, and it runs in the opposite direction from the older sense. The idea of standing out, sticking up beyond a surface or edge, gave rise to the sense of a thing that stands apart from its surroundings, and from there to the sense of notable or excellent. The verb in its extending-beyond sense follows the same physical logic: something that stands out past its edge.

Synonyms: excel, stand out, shine

Antonyms: fail, flounder