English edit

Etymology 1 edit

From Middle English outland, outlond, from Old English ūtland (foreign land, land abroad), from Proto-Germanic *ūtlandą (outland), equivalent to out- +‎ land. Cognate to Dutch uitland, Afrikaans uitland, German Ausland, Danish udland. The use in the phrase "outland German" is influenced by (or is a calque of) the German cognate of the same meaning, Auslandsdeutsche (see Ausland). The use in the phrase "outland Chinese" is influenced by (or is a calque of) the Chinese term of the same meaning, 華僑 / 华侨 (huáqiáo).

Pronunciation edit

  • Hyphenation: out‧land

Adjective edit

outland (not comparable)

  1. Provincial: from a province (of the same land).
  2. Foreign: from abroad, from a foreign land.
    • 1921, Gordon Bottomley, Gruach and Britain's daughter: two plays, page 74:
      These outland Romans will not kill us all If you permit them to do their governing, Which is so dear to them, over you and us.
    • 1966, Donald Davidson, Poems, 1922-1961, page 107:
      I heard strange pipes when I was young, / Piping songs of an outland tongue.
  3. (used with ethnic nationalities) Living abroad, living in a foreign land, expatriate.
    • 1919, William Milligan Sloane, The powers and aims of western democracy, page 402:
      Whatever dependence the Pan-German chauvinist had placed on outland Germans proved to be a broken reed.
    • 1949, The Reader's Digest, volume 54, page 101:
      When the "outland Danes," who live in other countries, return by the thousand for the summer festivals, they gather first in the grim 13th-century fortress of Kronborg, [...]
    • 1980, New Society, volume 51, page 546:
      To China, it is "Chinese territory under British administration" : its citizens are regarded as "home Chinese," not "outland Chinese," and can travel freely to the mother country.
    • 2001 June 12, Mike Echo Mike, “Why do I fly !!!”, in rec.aviation.student (Usenet):
      And Bruno's name is "Bienenfeld" meaning that I would place him as what are in Cleveland anyway called "Donau Schwaben" i.e., outland Germans living in SE Europe [...]
Synonyms edit
Derived terms edit

Noun edit

outland (plural outlands)

  1. (especially in the plural) Any outlying area of a country; the provinces.
Hypernyms edit
Derived terms edit

Etymology 2 edit

out- +‎ land

Verb edit

outland (third-person singular simple present outlands, present participle outlanding, simple past and past participle outlanded)

  1. (martial arts) To land more (punches, kicks etc.) than.

Anagrams edit