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utter - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

  • ️Mon Mar 03 2025

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

PIE word
*úd

The adjective is derived from Middle English outre, utter, uttre (“situated on the outside of, exterior, external, outer; more advanced, further; farthest, outermost; complete, utter; of a person: inferior; not mental or spiritual, bodily, physical”),[1] from Old English ūtera (“exterior, outer”, literally “more out”), the comparative form of ūt (“out”),[2][3] ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *úd (“away; out, outward; upwards”). Piecewise doublet of outer.

The noun is derived from the adjective.[2]

utter (not comparable)

  1. To the furthest or most extreme extent; absolute, complete, total, unconditional. [from 15th c.]
    Synonyms: utmost, uttermost; see also Thesaurus:total

    utter bliss    utter darkness    utter ruin

  2. (rare) Of a substance: pure, unmixed.
    Synonym: unalloyed
  3. (originally Scotland) Of decisions, replies, etc.: made in an unconditional or unqualified manner; decisive, definite.
  4. (obsolete)
    1. (except literary, poetic) Further out than another thing; being the exterior or outer part of something; outer, outward; also, extremely remote. [from Old English to late 17th c.; apparently obsolete late 17th – early 18th c. except in the fixed expressions utter bar and utter barrister, then revived thereafter]
      Antonym: inner

      at the utter extremities of

      • 1558 (date written), John Strype, quoting [John White], “Num[ber] LXXXI. A Sermon Preached at the Funerals of Queen Mary: By the Bishop of Winchester.”, in Historical Memorials, Ecclesiastical and Civil, of Events under the Reign of Queen Mary I. […], volume III, London: […] S[amuel] Richardson, for John Wyat, […], published 1721, →OCLC, page 279:

        And vvhile you in Time of divine Sacrifice, do faithfully and humbly, both in Heart and utter Geſture, agnize, reverence, and adore the ſame Fleſh in Subſtance, altho' unviſibly in the Sacrament, […] you thus doing, blaſpheme ſo great Myſtery, repute the Fleſh vvhereby I vvas redeemed, and the Blood of Chriſt vvhereby I vvas to be ſanctified, as a Thing common and pollute; […]

      • 1593, Tho[mas] Nashe, Christs Teares Over Ierusalem. […], London: […] Iames Roberts, and are to be solde by Andrewe Wise, […], →OCLC, folio 68, verso:

        Lyke the Geometritians, they ſquare about poynts and lynes, and the vtter ſhevv of things.

      • 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IIII, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], part II (books IV–VI), London: […] [Richard Field] for William Ponsonby, →OCLC, stanza 12, page 142:

        So forth vvithout impediment I paſt, / Till to the Bridges vtter gate I came: […]

      • 1608 February 19 (first performance; Gregorian calendar), Ben[jamin] Jonson, “The Description of the Masque. With the Nuptiall Songs. Celebrating the Happy Marriage of Iohn, Lord Ramsey, Vicount Hadington, with the Lady Elizabeth Ratcliffe, Daughter to the Right Honor[able] Robert, Earle of Sussex. […] [The Hue and Cry after Cupid]”, in The Characters of Two Royall Masques. The One of Blacknesse, the Other of Beautie. […], London: […] [George Eld] for Thomas Thorp[e], […], published [1608], →OCLC, signature [E4], recto:

        […] I, that knovv Truth to bee alvvaies of one ſtature, […] cannot but ſmile at their tyranous ignorance, that vvill offer to ſlight mee, […] and giue themſelues a peremptory licence to iudge, vvho haue neuer touch'd ſo much as to the barke or vtter ſhell of any Knovvledge.

      • 1614–1615, Homer, “The Sixth Booke of Homers Odysses”, in Geo[rge] Chapman, transl., Homer’s Odysses. […], London: […] Rich[ard] Field [and William Jaggard], for Nathaniell Butter, published 1615, →OCLC, page 93:

        And did Vlyſſes vvith all grace entreate: / Shevvd him a ſhore, vvind-proofe, and full of ſhade: / By him a ſhirt, and vtter mantle laid.

      • 1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC, signatures [H3], recto – [H3], verso, lines 15–18:

        [I]n my [Satan's] flight / Through utter and through middle darkneſs borne / VVith other notes then to th' Orphéan Lyre / I ſung of Chaos and Eternal Night, […]

      • 1848, Philip James Bailey, “Scene—A Ruined Temple”, in Festus: A Poem, 3rd edition, London: William Pickering, →OCLC, page 107:

        All stars are steps in the great scale of Heaven / Up to God's throne, from Time's last orb which eyes / The inner and the utter infinite […]

    2. (rare) Preceding all others; original.

      • 1634, T[homas] H[erbert], “A Discourse of the Life and Habit of the Persians at this Present”, in A Relation of Some Yeares Trauaile, Begunne Anno 1626. into Afrique and the Greater Asia, […], London: […] William Stansby, and Jacob Bloome, →OCLC, page 144:

        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. (rare) Succeeding all others; final, last, ultimate.

This adjective is often used with negative nouns (that is, those denoting undesirable things); its use with positive nouns (denoting desirable things) is less common although not rare. A synonym, sheer, is often used with either negative or positive nouns.

to the furthest or most extreme extent — see also absolute,‎ total

of a substance: pure, unmixed — see pure

further out than another thing; being the exterior or outer part of something — see outer,‎ outward

the utter (uncountable)

  1. (rare) The thing which is most utter (adjective sense) or extreme.

thing which is most utter or extreme

  • Finnish: silkka (fi)
  • Macedonian: please add this translation if you can
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”),[4] partly:[5]

utter (third-person singular simple present utters, present participle uttering, simple past and past participle uttered)

  1. Senses relating to expressing sounds, etc., or disclosing something
    1. (transitive)
      1. Sometimes preceded by forth, out, etc.: to produce (a cry, speech, or other sounds) with the voice.
        Synonyms: let out, say, speak; see also Thesaurus:speak, Thesaurus:utter

        Don’t you utter another word!

      2. To verbally express or report (a desire or emotion, an idea or thought, etc.).
        Synonyms: declare, say, tell
      3. (reflexive) To express (oneself) in speech or writing.

        • a. 1627 (date written), Francis [Bacon], “An Essay on Death, […]”, in The Remaines of the Right Honorable Francis Lord Verulam […], London: […] B. Alsop, for Lawrence Chapman, […], published 1648, →OCLC, page 9:

          [N]ovv and then nature is a fault, and this good gueſt of ours takes ſoyle in an unperfect body, and ſo is ſlackned from ſhevving her vvonders, like an excellent Muſician vvhich cannot utter himſelf upon a defective inſtrument.

        • 1711 July 28 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison], “TUESDAY, July 17, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 119; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume II, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 136:

          [A]t present several of our men of the town, and particularly those who have been polished in France, make use of the most coarse uncivilized words in our language, and utter themselves often in such a manner as a clown would blush to hear.

        • 1824, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “Grave Reflections of a Disappointed Man”, in Tales of a Traveller, part 2 (Buckthorne and His Friends), Philadelphia, Pa.: H[enry] C[harles] Carey & I[saac] Lea, […], →OCLC, page 169:

          I had tried to write a poetical epitaph, but in vain: my feelings refused to utter themselves in rhyme.

        • 1860, Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The Extinction of a Lamp”, in The Marble Faun: Or, The Romance of Monte Beni. […], volume II, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC, page 203:

          Straying with Hilda through those long vistas of ideal beauty, he meant, at last, to utter himself upon that theme which lovers are fain to discuss in village-lanes, in wood-paths, on seaside sands, in crowded streets; […]

      4. (figurative) Of a thing: to produce (a noise or sound); to emit.
        Synonym: let out

        Sally’s car uttered a hideous shriek when she applied the brakes.

      5. (obsolete) To disclose or reveal (something secret or unknown); to bring to light.

        • 1530 July 28 (Gregorian calendar), Iohan Palsgraue [i.e., John Palsgrave], “The Table of Verbes”, in Lesclarcissement de la langue francoyse⸝ […], [London]: […] [Richard Pynson] fynnysshed by Iohan Haukyns, →OCLC, 3rd boke, folio ccclxxxix, verso, column 2; reprinted Geneva: Slatkine Reprints, October 1972, →OCLC:

          He that vttereth my counſayle ones I wyll neuer truſte hym whyle I lyue: […]

        • 1614, Walter Ralegh [i.e., Walter Raleigh], “Of the Expedition of Cyrus the Yonger”, in The Historie of the World […], London: […] William Stansby for Walter Burre, […], →OCLC, 3rd book, §. XIII (Of Dissention which Arose in the Armie; and How It was Embarked), page 125:

          Silanus the Sooth-ſayer, vvho had vttered Xenophons purpoſe, vvas hereby ſtaied from out-running his fellovves, and driuen to abide vvith his vvealth among poore men, longer than ſtood vvith his good liking.

        • 1670, Izaak Walton, quoting John Spenser, “The Life of Mr. Rich[ard] Hooker, the Author of Those Learned Books of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity”, in The Lives of Dr. John Donne, Sir Henry Wotton, Mr. Richard Hooker, Mr. George Herbert. […], volume III, London: […] Tho[mas] Newcomb for Rich[ard] Marriott, […], →OCLC, page 88:

          [W]ith vvhat gravity and Majeſty of ſpeech his Tongue and Pen uttered Heavenly Myſteries; […]

      6. (obsolete, also reflexive) To disclose or reveal the identity or nature of (oneself or someone, or something).

        • 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Mark iij:[12], folio xlvij, recto:

          [W]hẽ the vnclene ſpritꝭ ſawe him⸝ they fell doune before him⸝ and cryed ſayinge: thou arte the ſonne of God: And he ſtreyghtly charged thẽ that they ſhulde not vtter him.

          [W]hen the unclean spirits saw him [Jesus], they fell down before him, and cried saying: thou art the son of God: And he straightly charged them that they should not utter him.

        • 1530 January 27 (Gregorian calendar), W[illiam] T[yndale], transl., [The Pentateuch] (Tyndale Bible), Malborow [Marburg], Hesse: […] Hans Luft [actually Antwerp: Johan Hoochstraten], →OCLC, Genesis xlv:[1], folio lxvij, recto:

          And Joſeph coude no longer refrayne before all them that ſtode about him⸝ but commaunded that they ſhuld goo all out from him⸝ and that there ſhuld be no man with him, whyle he vttred him ſelfe [i.e., disclosed his true identity] vnto his brethern.

        • 1534 (date written), Thomas More, “A Treatice vpon the Passion of Chryste (Vnfinished) […]. The Cõtext of Maister [Jean] Gerson whereof Fyrst the Rubrice [The Fyft Lecture].”, in Wyllyam Rastell [i.e., William Rastell], editor, The Workes of Sir Thomas More Knyght, […], London: […] Iohn Cawod, Iohn Waly, and Richarde Tottell, published 30 April 1557, →OCLC, page 1305, column 2:

          [T]he holy euangelyſt ſaynt John, whome Chriſte ſo tenderly loued, […] and to hym ſecretely he vttred the falſe diſſimuled traytor [Judas Iscariot], […] declareth here what a maner of faithful louer our holy ſauyour was, of whome hym ſelfe was ſo beloued.

        • 1549 February 10 (Gregorian calendar; indicated as 1548), Erasmus, “The Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the Gospell of Sainct Marke. The .v. Chapter.”, in Thomas Key [i.e., Thomas Caius], transl., The First Tome or Volume of the Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the Newe Testamente, London: […] Edwarde Whitchurche, →OCLC, folios xxxix, recto – xxxix, verso:

          This lokyng about of Jeſus, was a geſture of hym that courteouſly requyred a confeſſion of the benefite receiued. He woulde not vtter her by name, leſte he ſhoulde haue ſemed to haue hit her in the teethe, wyth the good turne he dyd her. The woman, of a womanlye ſhamefaſteneſſe, and not of any vnthankfullneſſe, helde her peace.

        • 1587, Philip of Mornay [i.e., Philippe de Mornay], “That in the Onely One Essence or Substance of God there are Three Persons which We Call the Trinitie”, in Philip Sidney, Arthur Golding, transl., A Woorke Concerning the Trewnesse of the Christian Religion, […], London: […] [John Charlewood and] George Robinson for Thomas Cadman, […], →OCLC, page 54:

          […] God […] hath voutſafed to vtter himſelfe vnto vs in his Scriptures: […]

      7. (obsolete, also reflexive) To display or show (itself or something).

        • 1549 February 10 (Gregorian calendar; indicated as 1548), Erasmus, “The Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the Ghospell of S. Luke. The .xvii. Chapter.”, in Nicolas Udall [i.e., Nicholas Udall], transl., The First Tome or Volume of the Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the Newe Testamente, London: […] Edwarde Whitchurche, →OCLC, folio cxli, recto:

          [H]e [Jesus] ſhewed and vſed hymſelfe the moſte loweſt and meaneſte of al creatures, yet dyd he hyde within hym a ſecrete power of the nature of the godhed, which thã [than (i.e., then)] ⁊ neuer afore vttred it ſelfe, whan the grayne of his bodye was bruiſed on the croſſe: ⁊ was in deathe (as it were) burried within the grounde.

        • 1582, Virgil, “The Firste Booke of Virgil His Aeneis”, in Richard Stanyhurst, transl., The First Foure Bookes of Virgils Æneis, […], London: Henrie Bynneman […], published 1583, →OCLC; republished as The First Four Books of the Æneid of Virgil, […], Edinburgh: [Edinburgh Printing Company], 1836, →OCLC, page 17:

          […] Iuno, the Princeſſe, / Theare the pate, in digging, of an horſe intractabil vttred.

    2. (intransitive)
      1. To speak.

        • 1587, Philip of Mornay [i.e., Philippe de Mornay], “That the Philosophie of Old Tyme Consenteth to this Doctrine of the Trinitie”, in Philip Sidney, Arthur Golding, transl., A Woorke Concerning the Trewnesse of the Christian Religion, […], London: […] [John Charlewood and] George Robinson for Thomas Cadman, […], →OCLC, page 94:

          The Souereyne and vnutterable God, is the Originall of all things; next vnto vvhom is his Prouidence as a ſecond God, vvho giueth the lavv aſvvell for the temporall as for the eternall life. And furthermore, there is a third ſubſtance as a ſecond Vnderſtanding, vvhich is the keeper of the ſayd eternall Lavve. The higheſt God commaundeth, the ſecond ordereth, and the third vttereth or publiſheth.

      2. Of words, etc.: to be spoken.
  2. Senses relating to issuing something.
    1. (transitive)
      1. (archaic, rare) To publish (something).

        • a. 1606 (date written), John Stow, “Introduction [Appendix to Introduction: How Stow Began to Write History, and Quarrelled with Richard Grafton]”, in A Survey of London: Reprinted from the Text of 1603 […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Clarendon Press, published 1908, →OCLC, section II (Documents Illustrating Stow’s Life), page li:

          [Y]e same [the book] was well vtteryd by ye printar, & well lyked of in ye comon weale, […]

      2. (law) To put (currency or other valuable items) into circulation; specifically, to pass off (counterfeit currency, etc.) as legal tender; to use (a forged cheque) as if genuine.
        Synonym: circulate

        • 1564 June 17 (Gregorian calendar), By the Quene [Elizabeth I]. Where as the Quenes Maiestie, by Her Proclamation Published in Nouember, the Thirde Yere of Her Maiesties Raigne, Touching the Valuation of Forrayne Coynes of Golde […]‎[1], London: […] Rycharde Iugge and Iohn Cawood, printers to the Quenes Maiestie, published [1565], →OCLC:

          […] Her Maiestie now vnderstandynge, that there are sithens that tyme certayne other forrayne peeces of golde, of the like quantitie and fashion (although of lesse value) lyke to an Englyshe Angell, brought hyther, and here vttered and payde for ten shyllynges of syluer, beyng for they lacke of wayght, and for the basenesse of the allay, not worth. vii. shillinges, to the great deceite and losse of the subiectes of this her Realme: […] her good subiects may eyther vtterly forbeare to receyue any such forrayne Angels, or els to take them accordyng to theyr waight as bullion, and to bryng them to her Maiesties Mynte, where they shall haue redy money in golde or syluer at theyr pleasure, accordyng to the iust value thereof.

        • 1588, Torquato Tasso, translated by T[homas] K[yd], The Housholders Philosophie. Wherein is Perfectly and Profitably Described, the True Oeconomia and Forme of Housekeeping. […], London: […] J[ohn] C[harlewood] for Thomas Hacket, […], →OCLC, folio 21, verso:

          […] Memory, which laying by, preſeruing and imprinting in it ſelfe al the Images and formes of viſible & intelligible things, could not vtter them in time conuenient and diſpoſe them to the tongue and penne, vnleſſe it had ſo ordered, and oftentimes recounted them, […]

        • 1697, J[ohn] Evelyn, “Of the Use of Medals, whether for Money, or to Preserve the Memory of Worthy Actions; Their Antiquity, Materials, Size, Model, &c.”, in Numismata. A Discourse of Medals, Antient and Modern. […], London: […] Benj[amin] Tooke […], →OCLC, page 16:

          [T]he variouſly denominated Attic Obolus, vvith the Head of Minerva and Noctua, of as vulgar Uſe as our Farthings, but hardly by half ſo large as the Tokens vvhich every Tavern and Tippling-Houſe (in the days of late Anarchy among us) preſum'd to ſtamp and utter for immediate Exchange, as they vvere paſſable through the Neighbourhood, […]

        • 1743, Henry Fielding, “An Essay on the Knowledge of the Characters of Men”, in Miscellanies, […], volume I, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, page 204:

          The Man vvho is vvantonly profuſe of his Promiſes ought to ſink his Credit as much as a Tradeſman vvould by uttering great Numbers of Promiſſory Notes, payable at a diſtant Day. The trueſt Concluſion in both Caſes is, that neither intend, or vvill be able to pay.

        • 1841 August–November, “Digest of Cases. Common Law.”, in The Law Magazine; or Quarterly Review of Jurisprudence, volume XXVII, number LV, London: Saunders and Benning, law booksellers, (successors to J[oseph] Butterworth and Son,) […], →OCLC, page 415:

          COINING (Joint uttering.) If two persons jointly prepare counterfeit coin, and then utter it in different shops, apart from each other, but in concert and intending to share the proceeds, the utterings of each are the joint utterings of both, and they may be convicted jointly.—Reg. v. Hurse, 2 M. & Rob. 360.

        • 1864 June 8 (date approved), “[Laws of the United States. Acts of the Thirty-eighth Congress of the United States.] Chap[ter] CXIV. An Act to Punish and Prevent the Counterfeiting of Coin of the United States.”, in John C. Rives, editor, Appendix to the Congressional Globe: […] (38th Congress, 1st session), number 12 (New Series), Washington, D.C.: John C. Rives […], published 11 June 1864, →OCLC, page 176, columns 1–2:

          Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That if any person or persons, except as now authorized by law, shall hereafter make, or cause to be made, or shall utter or pass, or attempt to utter or pass, any coins of gold or silver, or other metals or alloys of metals, intended for the use and purpose of current money, whether in the resemblance of coins of the United States or of foreign countries, or of original design, every person so offending shall, on conviction thereof, be punished by fine not exceeding three thousand dollars, or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or both, at the discretion of the court, according to the aggravation of the offense.

        • 1914 September 12, Parliament of Australia, Crimes Act 1914 (No. 12, 1914; Compilation No. 159)‎[2], volume 2, Canberra, A.C.T.: Office of Parliamentary Counsel, published 21 February 2025, archived from the original on 2025-03-03, part VIIA (Offences Relating to Postal Services), section 85G(2), page 162:

          A person shall not utter a postage stamp knowing it to be forged.

        1. (figurative) To pass off (something fake) as a genuine item.
      3. (obsolete) To supply (something); to furnish, to provide.

        • 1625, Gervase Markham, “The Nature of Grounds in Generall: But Particularly of the Barren and Sterile Earth”, in Markhams Farwell to Husbandry or, The Inriching of All Sorts of Barren and Sterile Grounds in Our Kingdome, […], revised edition, London: […] M[iles] F[lesher] for Roger Iackson, […], →OCLC, page 3:

          [T]he mixt earth, vvhich vtters VVhinns, Briars, and a vvorld of ſuch like vnnatural and baſtardly Iſſues.

      4. (obsolete) To offer (something, such as goods) for barter or sale; also, to sell (something); to vend.
      5. (obsolete, rare) To announce that (something) is available for sale; to cry.
      6. (obsolete, rare) To distribute or issue (something) from, or as if from, a stock of items.

        • 1528, Thomas More, “A Dialogue Concernynge Heresyes & Matters of Religion […]. Chapter IIII.”, in Wyllyam Rastell [i.e., William Rastell], editor, The Workes of Sir Thomas More Knyght, […], London: […] Iohn Cawod, Iohn Waly, and Richarde Tottell, published 30 April 1557, →OCLC, book III, page 213, column 2:

          He had alſo ſet a prieſt of his and a ſeculer ſeruaunt of his beſyde to by [buy] many of the ſame ſuyte [of books], & double and treble of one ſorte, whiche were by thẽ [them] vttred to diuers yonge ſcholers ſuch as thei founde properly witted, feately lerned, and newfangly mynded.

      7. (obsolete except UK, dialectal) To discharge or send out (something); to eject, to emit.

        • 1536 December 23 (date written; Gregorian calendar), John Strype, quoting Hugh Latimer, “A Visitation of the Religious Houses. […]”, in Ecclesiastical Memorials; Relating Chiefly to Religion, and the Reformation of It: Shewing the Various Emergencies of the Church of England, under King Henry the Eighth. […], volume I, London: […] John Wyat, […], published 1721, →OCLC, page 260:

          God proſper you, to the uttering all hollovv Harts of England.

        • a. 1548 (date written), Edward Hall, Richard Grafton, “[The Troubleous Season of Kyng Henry the Sixt.] The .XXXVII. Yere.”, in The Vnion of the Two Noble and Illustre Famelies of Lancastre & Yorke, […], London: […] Rychard Grafton, […] [and Steven Mierdman], published 1550, →OCLC, folio xc, verso:

          As fier being encloſed in a ſtraite place, wil by force vtter his flãme, […] ſo thys cãcard crocodrile, ⁊ ſubtile ſerpent, could not lõg lurke in malicious hartes, nor venemous ſtomackes, but in cõcluſion ſhe muſt (according to her nature) apere ⁊ ſhew her ſelf.

          As fire being enclosed in a strait place, will by force utter his flame, […] so this cankered crocodile, and subtle serpent, could not long lurk in malicious hearts, nor venemous stomachs, but in conclusion she must (according to her nature) appear and show herself.

        • 1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], “March. Ægloga Tertia.”, in The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Hugh Singleton, […], →OCLC, folio 8, verso:

          Seeſt not thilke ſame Hawthorne ſtudde, / How bragly it beginnes to budde, / And vtter his tender head?

        • c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, A Midsommer Nights Dreame. […] (First Quarto), London: […] [Richard Bradock] for Thomas Fisher, […], published 1600, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii], signature G2, verso:

          And moſt deare Actors, eate no Onions, nor garlicke: for vve are to vtter ſvveete breath: and I do not doubt but to hear them ſay, it is a ſvveete Comedy.

        • c. 1607–1611 (first performance), [Francis Beaumont], Iohn Fletcher, Cupids Revenge. […], London: […] Thomas Creede for Iosias Harison, […], published 1615, →OCLC, Act V, scene [iii], signature L3, recto:

          [Ô] vvoman, vvoman, vveepe novv or neuer, thou haſt made more ſorrovves then vve haue eyes to vtter.

        • c. 1626–1629 (date written), Wm. D’avenant [i.e., William Davenant], The Tragedy of Albovine, King of the Lombards, London: […] [Felix Kyngston] for R. M[oore], […], published 1629, →OCLC, Act I, signature C2, recto:

          [N]ovv the King forſakes / The Campe, he muſt maintaine luxurious mouthes, / Such as can vtter perfum'd breath, and theſe / Straite compoſe a faction, engroſſe his eares.

        • 1819 June 23, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “Rip Van Winkle”, in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., number I, New York, N.Y.: […] C[ornelius] S. Van Winkle, […], →OCLC, pages 82–83:

          He looked in vain for the sage Nicholas Vedder, with his broad face, double chin, and fair long pipe, uttering clouds of tobacco smoke instead of idle speeches; […]

        • 1821 September, Elia [pseudonym; Charles Lamb], “The Old Benchers of the Inner Temple”, in Elia. Essays which have Appeared under that Signature in The London Magazine, London: […] [Thomas Davison] for Taylor and Hessey, […], →OCLC, pages 193–194:

          Four little winged marble boys used to play their virgin fancies, spouting out ever fresh streams from their innocent-wanton lips, in the square of Lincoln’s-inn, when I was no bigger than they were figured. […] Are the stiff-wigged living figures [lawyers], that still flitter and chatter about that area, less gothic in appearance? or, is the splutter of their hot rhetoric one half so refreshing and innocent, as the little cool playful streams those exploded cherubs uttered?

        • 1850, Leigh Hunt, “At Home in England”, in The Autobiography of Leigh Hunt; […], volume III, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], →OCLC, page 205:

          [F]lowers utter their beauty and their fragrance, as much as birds utter their songs.

        • 1928, Robert Byron, “To Methodius”, in The Station: Athos: Treasures and Men, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Alfred A[braham] Knopf, →OCLC, pages 109–110:

          Within the room, a series of prints so typical as to merit description, told the great incidents of Greek History. There was […] a mythological matron, in a classical helmet, uttering a tear at a rustic cross bound in blue and white ribbons and inscribed ΕΙΣ ΤΟΥΣ ΠΕΣΟΝΤΑΣ—To The Fallen—1912, a souvenir of the First Balkan War; […]

    2. (intransitive, obsolete) Of goods: to be purchased; to sell.

      This crockery is popular and utters well.

  • utters (“unwanted depressions, etc., on the surface of an object caused by a tool”, noun)

(transitive) to produce (a cry, speech, or other sounds) with the voice

(transitive) to verbally express or report (a desire or emotion, an idea or thought, etc.)

(transitive, reflexive) to express (oneself) in speech or writing

  • Finnish: ilmaista (fi)
  • Macedonian: please add this translation if you can

(transitive) of a thing: to produce (a noise or sound) — see emit

(intransitive) to speak — see speak

(intransitive) of words, etc.: to be spoken

(transitive) to publish (something) — see publish

(transitive) to put (currency or other valuable items) into circulation

(transitive) to pass off (something fake) as a genuine item

  • Finnish: esittää aitona
  • Macedonian: please add this translation if you can
PIE word
*úd

From Middle English outre, utter (“away, out; further away or out; out in the open; outside, without; to a greater extent”), partly:

utter (not comparable) (obsolete)

  1. Further apart, away, or out; outside, without.
  2. To an extreme extent; altogether, quite.
  1. ^ “ǒutre, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 “utter, adj.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2024.
  3. ^ “utter1, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  4. ^ “ǒutren, v.(1)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  5. ^ “utter, v.1”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2024; “utter2, v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
  6. ^ “-en, suf.(3)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  7. ^ “ǒutre, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
  8. ^ “utter, adv.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023.

From Old Norse otr, from Proto-Germanic *utraz, from Proto-Indo-European *udrós (“water-animal, otter”), from *wed- (“water”).

utter c

  1. otter; a mammal of the family Mustelidae