utter

adj
/ˈʌtə/UK/ˈʌtəɹ/US/ˈʌtɚ/US

Etymology

PIE word *úd From Middle English outren, utteren (“to display for sale; to market; to sell; to say, speak; to put into words, express, tell; to make known, reveal”), partly: * from outre, utter (adjective, adverb) (see etymology 1 and etymology 3) + -en (suffix forming the infinitives of verbs); and * from Middle Dutch uteren (“to announce, make known”) (modern Dutch uiteren); or from Middle Low German üteren, ütern (“to demonstrate, show; to speak; to sell; etc.”) (modern Low German ütern), from Old Dutch or Old Saxon ūtan, probably from Proto-West Germanic *ūtanā (“from outside or without; outside of”). Compare Middle High German ūzeren, whence German äußern (“to express, say, utter”))

  1. derived from *ūtanā — “from outside or without; outside of
  2. derived from ūtan
  3. derived from üteren
  4. derived from uteren — “to announce, make known
  5. inherited from outren

Definitions

  1. To the furthest or most extreme extent

    To the furthest or most extreme extent; absolute, complete, total, unconditional.

    • utter bliss    utter darkness    utter ruin
    • Oh VVarvvicke, VVarvvicke, I foreſee vvith greefe / The vtter loſſe of all the Realme of France.
    • But thou art altogether giuen ouer: and vvert indeede but for the light in thy face, the ſonne of vtter darkneſſe.
  2. Of a substance

    Of a substance: pure, unmixed.

    • Two cups of utter silver wrought and rough with imagery / I give you, which my father took from wracked Arisbe's hold; […]
  3. Of decisions, replies, etc.

    Of decisions, replies, etc.: made in an unconditional or unqualified manner; decisive, definite.

    • There could not then be any other eſtimate made of the loſs VValler ſuſtain'd, than by the not purſuing the viſible advantage he had, and by the utter refuſal of the Auxiliary Regiments of London and Kent, to march farther; […]
  4. + 9 more definitions
    1. Further out than another thing

      Further out than another thing; being the exterior or outer part of something; outer, outward; also, extremely remote.

      • at the utter extremities of
      • Wo be to you ſcrybꝭ [scrybis]⸝ ãd phariſes ypocritꝭ [ypocritis]⸝ for ye make clene the vtter ſide off the cuppe⸝ and off the platter: but with in they are full of brybery and exceſſe.
    2. Preceding all others

      Preceding all others; original.

      • And although it [Persia] has ſince then been ruined and reigned ouer by Princes of many Nations, yet they haue neuer altered the Dialect from its vtter ſence, at this day being cald Pharſee: […]
    3. Succeeding all others

      Succeeding all others; final, last, ultimate.

      • Our vtter houre is come alas, fell deſtinies death hath brought.
    4. The thing which is most utter (adjective sense) or extreme.

      • I take my leave, readie to countervaile all your courtesies to the utter of my power.
    5. Senses relating to expressing sounds, etc., or disclosing something

      • Don’t you utter another word!
      • I utter my langage or my voyce Ie profere, prime cõiuga. After your audyence utter your langage: Selon voſtre audiẽce profere; voſtre langaige.
      • VViſdome cryeth vvithout: ſhe vttereth her voyce in the ſtretes.
    6. Senses relating to issuing something.

      • [Y]ᵉ same [the book] was well vtteryd by yᵉ printar, & well lyked of in yᵉ comon weale, […]
    7. Further apart, away, or out

      Further apart, away, or out; outside, without.

      • A strawe, sayde Bele, stande vtter, / For we haue egges and butter, / And of pygeons a payre.
      • Gyue this gentylman rome, syrs, stonde vtter!
    8. To an extreme extent

      To an extreme extent; altogether, quite.

      • I knovv they vvill deny me gracious Madame, / Being a ſtranger, and ſo little fam'd / So vtter emptie of theſe excellencies / That tame authority; […]
    9. A surname.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at utter. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01utter02absolute03essential04survival05demotion06demoting07demote08rank

A definitional loop anchored at utter. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

8 hops · closes at utter

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA