Outstrengthen

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To exceed someone or something else in strength, power, or force so as to become stronger than them
2. To go beyond a rival or opponent in the amount of strength or power they possess
3. Describing the act of becoming more powerful than another party by surpassing its force or might

Etymology: "Outstrengthen" is formed from the verb "strengthen" with the prefix "out-", which in English often means "to surpass" or "to do something more than or better than another" (as in "outrun" or "outlive"). So "outstrengthen" means to make stronger than someone or something else, or to exceed another in strength. "Strengthen" itself is an older formation: it was built in Middle English from the adjective "strong" (Old English "strang") plus the suffix "-en", which turns adjectives into verbs meaning "to make" something, as in "lengthen" or "darken." The "-th-" sits in "strength," a noun formed from "strong" with a "-th" suffix, and "strengthen" was built from that noun base. "Outstrengthen" is a rare word, most often found in older or literary writing, and it is a transparent compound rather than one with a notable coinage story or documented first use that I can confirm. Its history is simply that of its two parts, joined by a prefix that English has used productively for centuries.