Etymograph

English

outgang

Outgang comes from Middle English outgang ‘an exit’, from Proto-Germanic *gangaz ‘pace, step, gait’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰengʰ-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰengʰ-1‘to stride, step’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰóngʰ-os1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gangaz2‘pace, step, gait’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ūtgangaz2‘a going out, exit’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*ūtgang2reconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150ūtgang2‘an outgoing, exit’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500outgang2‘an exit’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1841outgang2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *gangaz
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English outgang
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1841, The history and antiquities of the seign: “Sit William Saunders, priest, gave as follows:—for the repair…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰengʰ-Wiktionary, Proto-Germanic *gangaz‘to stride, step’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*ǵʰóngʰ-osWiktionary, Proto-Germanic *gangazreconstructed
  3. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*gangazWiktionary, English outgang‘pace, step, gait’reconstructed
  4. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ūtgangazWiktionary, English outgang‘a going out, exit’reconstructed
  5. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*ūtgangWiktionary, English outgangreconstructed
  6. Old Englishc. 450–1150ūtgangWiktionary, English outgang‘an outgoing, exit’
  7. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500outgangWiktionary, English outgang‘an exit’
  8. Englishearliest quotation 1841outgangWiktionary, English outgang. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1841, The history and antiquities of the seign: “Sit William Saunders, priest, gave as follows:—for the repair…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰengʰ- ‘to stride, step’

jay, gong, camino, gan, doppelganger, ging, 11 more

Today it means

noun An exit or egress.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “outgang”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Proto-Germanic *gangaz. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰengʰ- / outgang

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