Outvying

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To engage in competition with the aim of achieving greater success than others in a rivalry
2. To strive intensely against others to achieve a higher position or better result
3. To contest with others by exerting greater effort to outdo them in a challenge

Etymology: "Outvying" is the present participle of "outvie," a verb built from the prefix "out-" and the verb "vie." The prefix is an ordinary English one, meaning "beyond" or "more than," as in "outrun" or "outlive," so the new word simply means to surpass someone in a contest of rivalry. "Vie" is the older and more interesting half. It comes from the Middle English "vien," shortened from "envien," which descends from Old French "envier," meaning "to challenge" or "to invite." Those French verbs trace back to Latin "invitare," "to invite," so the rivalry in "vie" grows out of a sense of issuing a challenge. The verb once carried that challenge in its literal sense, and only later settled into the competitive meaning it has today.

Synonyms: surpassing, outdoing