outsell
UK[ˌaʊtˈsel]US[ˌaʊtˈsel]
v
to be sold in greater quantities than something else
v
to sell more than someone else
Morpheme Breakdown
out
sell
out
surpassing
sell
to exchange for money
Etymology
the word 'outsell' is a transparent compound formed within english from the native germanic elements 'out' and 'sell'. the prefix 'out-' developed an intensive or comparative sense in middle english, meaning 'to a greater extent' or 'surpassing', as seen in verbs like 'outrun' and 'outlast'. the verb 'sell' has retained its core meaning of transferring goods for money since old english. therefore, 'outsell' logically combines these ideas to mean 'to sell in greater quantity than' or 'to surpass in selling', a meaning fully compositional from its parts.
Analysis
Structure: out (surpassing) + sell (to exchange for money)
'out' is from old english 'ūt' (out, outside), used here as a prefix meaning 'surpassing' or 'beyond'. 'sell' is from old english 'sellan' (to give, hand over, deliver; to sell), functioning as the verb root.
Examples
the new model is expected to outsell all previous versions.
our goal is to outsell our main competitor this quarter.
despite its higher price, the product continues to outsell cheaper alternatives.