outlive
UK[ˌaʊtˈlɪv]US[ˌaʊtˈlɪv]
v
to live longer than another person.
v
to continue to exist after something else has ended or disappeared.
Morpheme Breakdown
out
live
out
beyond
live
to be alive
Etymology
the word 'outlive' is a transparent compound formed from two native english elements. the prefix 'out-' derives from old english 'ūt', meaning 'out' or 'beyond', which functions here to indicate excess or surpassing. the core verb 'live' originates from old english 'libban' or 'lifian', meaning 'to be alive'. the compound construction, emerging in middle english, logically combines these parts to denote the act of living beyond a specified point, such as another person's death or the duration of an event. this process exemplifies the germanic tendency to create new meanings through the straightforward combination of existing, concrete words.
Analysis
Structure: out (beyond) + live (to be alive)
out (old english, prefix meaning 'beyond' or 'more than'); live (old english, verb meaning 'to be alive' or 'to have life').
Examples
she outlived her husband by more than twenty years.
the ancient traditions have outlived the empire that created them.
this model of car has outlived all its competitors and is still in production.