Exterior
/ɪkˈstɪə.ri.ər/noun
The outer side or surface of something; located on the outside.
Did you know?Its Latin ancestor *exterius* is a comparative form tied to the idea of “outside,” which also gave English the eerie-sounding **strange** and **estrange** through related Latin pathways.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*eḱs-
“out, out of”
Latin
Latin
exter
“outside, on the outside”
Latin
Latin
exterior
“more outside, outer”
Middle English
English
exterior
“outer surface or side”
Modern English
English
exterior
“the outside part of something”