entry
utterance
/ˈʌtərəns/An act or product of speaking
From O.English / Proto-Germanic utter (outer).
from Middle English utteraunce, outeraunce; equivalent to utter + -ance.
from Old French outrance (see outrance).
from Old French outrance (see outrance).
from Middle English utteraunce, outeraunce; equivalent to utter + -ance.
Word Ancestry
from Middle English utteraunce, outeraunce; equivalent to utter + -ance.
from Old French outrance (see outrance).
from Old French outrance (see outrance).
from Middle English utteraunce, outeraunce; equivalent to utter + -ance.
This one starts with a very ordinary idea: what’s outside. Old English ūtera meant “outer” or “more out,” and that little comparative survived in words like outer and utmost, the kind of vocabulary that feels like it ought to be describing a fence post or the edge of a map. By around 1400, scribes were writing outraunce, and the meaning had flipped from “extreme point” into “the thing spoken out loud.” That’s a neat trick: a word that once meant “furthest out” ends up naming the act of pushing thought into air. If you’ve ever heard elocution or quotation, you’re in the same neighborhood — all those formal words for speech are basically old motions of pulling something out and making it public. Once a thought becomes an utterance, it’s no longer hiding in your head; it’s standing there on the table like a dish everyone can inspect.
The Story
This one starts with a very ordinary idea: what’s outside. Old English ūtera meant “outer” or “more out,” and that little comparative survived in words like outer and utmost, the kind of vocabulary that feels like it ought to be describing a fence post or the edge of a map. By around 1400, scribes were writing outraunce, and the meaning had flipped from “extreme point” into “the thing spoken out loud.” That’s a neat trick: a word that once meant “furthest out” ends up naming the act of pushing thought into air. If you’ve ever heard elocution or quotation, you’re in the same neighborhood — all those formal words for speech are basically old motions of pulling something out and making it public. Once a thought becomes an utterance, it’s no longer hiding in your head; it’s standing there on the table like a dish everyone can inspect.
Kin & Kindred
From 'utter'·outer; by extension, express in words
Derived Terms
English words from this root
From '-ance'·noun-forming suffix indicating an action or state
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Etymonline
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia