Q & A   Is 'outwith' a word?
Grammar

Q & A   Is 'outwith' a word?


It most certainly is, although you might get funny looks if you use it outwith Scotland. A detailed description of its usage would be outwith the scope of this Quick Answer, and might well be outwith my area of knowledge. And should my employers happen to stumble on this blog, I would like to assure them that it is written totally outwith my contracted hours.
You're probably beginning to get the picture. Most dictionaries, if they list outwith at all, usually define it as meaning outside, but it's a little more complicated than that. I think Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary has hit it on the head:
outside of something; not within something
It's usually this 'not within' or 'not part of', that we are stressing when we use this expression. I wouldn't say that this is a dialect word, being used rather in educated language, also known as Standard Scottish English. It is most often used in Scotland in quality newspapers, on serious programmes on TV etc.
In register I would say it is neutral to formal. You can see a selection of examples at the British National Corpus, link below, and I wrote a rather longer piece about it a few months ago, also linked to below.

Update - "outwith Scotland" etc

I've seen someone comment on one discussion board that this example is rather forced, and that he wouldn't use outwith in a geographical sense. I would tend to agree with him, neither would I, but it is used like this, especially in relatively formal contexts. Just google outwith Scotland, outwith Edinburgh, outwith Glasgow or outwith Aberdeen. See 'Further Update' below for more links.

Google Books and Google Ngram Viewer

You can also check outwith in Google Books, eg:
  • Outwith the scope
  • Outwith working hours
  • Outwith Scotland
  • Outwith my experience
Hat tip to xamuel.com. And here's a historical timeline of the use of outwith in a selection of Google Books, courtesy of Google Ngram Viewer - one of the best toys on the Internet.

NB. It is only used as a preposition.

It should also be stressed that outwith is only used as a preposition, whereas outside can be a noun, adjective and adverb as well as a preposition. So in Scotland we'd say:
  • Archie's outside in the garden with the dog. (adverb) Not he's outwith ...
  • Ewan's painting the outside of the house. (noun) Not he's painting the outwith ...
  • Senga's got an outside chance of winning. (adjective) Not she's got an outwith chance ...

Update - collected quotes

I thought it might be a good idea to collect examples of outwith from well-known writers, where possible linking to them in Google Books. I've also included a section with more historical use, often using facsimiles from the books themselves. These can be found on a separate page - Outwith

Further update - "outwith Scotland" etc

As there have been a couple of doubts expressed in the comments as to the use of outwith in a geographical sense, I've decided to add these links to show that that there is plenty of evidence that it is indeed used in this way by educated Scots and by Scottish institutions (as can also be seen by clicking on the city links above):

In Scots

This is the first part of the definition for outwith from the Dictionary of the Scots Language (DSL):
A. prep. 1. a. Of position: Outside of (a place or boundary); on the far side of; beyond.
For some early examples in old Scots see my reply to acme_54 in the comments section (more in the DSL).

Writers

  • Nigel Tranter, well-known writer on Scottish history, in A History of Scotland

    They cannot all be leaders, and consequently none are, and more united and less argumentative outsiders step in to lead them, whereas outwith Scotland, their natural energies and drive find scope amongst less combative folk, and they ...

  • John Prebble, another well-known chronicler of Scottish history, in John Prebble's Scotland:

    although he cared little for the Massacre, believing its importance exaggerated outwith the district

  • The Oxford Companion to Scottish History, by Michael Lynch

    Only 5 to 8 per cent of all transportees were Scots, half of these sentenced outwith Scotland (hence the range).

  • The Edinburgh Companion to Hugh MacDiarmid by Scott Lyall, Margery Palmer McCulloch

    ... in the Scottish universities or in universities outwith Scotland

In Parliament etc

  • The Referendum on Separation for Scotland, Session 2012-13 -

    One area that has been raised particularly is those members of the army that are based outwith Scotland.

  • Banking in Scotland: second report of session 2009-10

    ... out the wrong message to individuals outwith Scotland and also firms outwith Scotland who may want to invest north of the border.

  • Scottish Economic Bulletin - Issues 1-10

    The region, which contains 48 per cent of Scotland's population experienced a net migration outwith Scotland which was 61 per cent of the Scottish total in 1 966/67 and 77 per cent in 1971/72

  • Statutory Instruments - Part 2, Volumes 1-2

    ... justices, is or are outwith Scotland, or in so far as it relates to the carrying out of the duties under section 14(5)(b) of that Act, and these duties are performed outwith Scotland.

Legal publications

See the links in my reply to Artisan in the comments section below

Links for selected site searches - "outwith Scotland"

Site searches for websites of some of the main instititions in Scotland, the media, education, politics, the law and the church. Instances of "outwith Scotland" are pretty plentiful.
  • The Scotsman
  • The Herald
  • The Dundee Courier
  • The Press and Journal
  • BBC Scotland
  • Edinburgh University
  • Glasgow University
  • St Andrews University
  • Aberdeen University
  • The Scottish Parliament
  • The Scottish Government
  • The Law Society of Scotland
  • The Faculty of Advocates
  • Scottish Courts
  • The Church of Scotland
  • National Library of Scotland

Related links




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