# utter
## English
### Pronunciation

* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ˈʌtə/, [ˈɐtə]
* (General American) IPA: /ˈʌtəɹ/, [ˈʌɾəɹ]
* Audio (General American):(file)
* Homophones: udder (flapping), other (th-stopping + flapping)
* Rhymes: -ʌtə(ɹ)
* Hyphenation: ut‧ter

### Etymology 1

* PIE word
* *úd
The adjective is derived from Middle English outre, utter, uttre (“situated on the outside of, exterior, external, outer; more advanced, further; farthest, outermost; complete, utter; of a person: inferior; not mental or spiritual, bodily, physical”), from Old English ūtera (“exterior, outer”, literally “more out”), the comparative form of ūt (“out”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *úd (“away; out, outward; upwards”). Piecewise doublet of outer.
The noun is derived from the adjective.

#### Adjective

utter (not comparable)
* To the furthest or most extreme extent; absolute, complete, total, unconditional. [from 15th c.]
    Synonyms: utmost, uttermost; see also Thesaurus:total
    utter bliss    utter darkness    utter ruin
** 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iv], page 117, column 2:Oh VVarvvicke, VVarvvicke, I foreſee vvith greefe / The vtter loſſe of all the Realme of France.
** c. 1597 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The History of Henrie the Fourth; […], quarto edition, London: […] P[eter] S[hort] for Andrew Wise, […], published 1598, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii], signature G2, verso:But thou art altogether giuen ouer: and vvert indeede but for the light in thy face, the ſonne of vtter darkneſſe.
** 1606, Tho[mas] Dekker, “The Deuill Let Loose, with His Answere to Pierce Pennylesse”, in Newes from Hell; […], London: […] R. B[lower, S. Stafford, and Valentine Simmes] for W. Ferebrand, […], →OCLC, signature [G4], recto:[T]here are Phlegeton and Pyriphlegeton, that fall in vvith Cocytus (burning Riuers) In vvhich (tho they be dreadfull to looke vpon) are no vtter danger: If the Ferryman vvaft you ſafely, ouer the vvaters of Repentance, othervviſe theſe hot liquors vvill ſcalde you.
** [1633], George Herbert, “The Method”, in [Nicholas Ferrar], editor, The Temple. Sacred Poems, and Private Ejaculations, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Thomas Buck and Roger Daniel; and are to be sold by Francis Green, […], →OCLC, page 127:And ſhould Gods eare, / VVhich needs not man, be ty'd to thoſe / VVho heare not him, but quickly heare / His utter foes?
** 1662, Edward Stillingfleet, “The Obscurity and Defect of Ancient History”, in Origines Sacræ, or A Rational Account of the Grounds of Christian Faith, […], London: […] R[obert] W[hite] for Henry Mortlock […], →OCLC, book I, page 21:That vvhich I vvould novv infer from hence is, the utter impoſſibility of the Greeks giving us any certain account of ancient times, […]
** 1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC, signature F, recto, lines 439–441:[T]he void profound / Of uneſſential Night receives him next / VVide gaping, and vvith utter loſs of being / Threatens him, plung'd in that abortive gulf.
** 1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That which is to Come: […], London: […] Nath[aniel] Ponder […], →OCLC, page 163:Gentlemen, ye be utter ſtrangers to me, I knovv you not, be content to follovv the Religion of your Countrey, and I vvill follovv the Religion of mine. I hope all vvill be vvell.
** 1708, Francis Atterbury, “The Preface”, in Fourteen Sermons Preach’d on Several Occasions. […], London: […] E. P. [Edmund Parker?] for Jonah Bowyer, […], →OCLC, page vii:[I]n this Life Beaſts have, in many reſpects, the advantage of Men; in as much as they […] are utter Strangers to all thoſe Anxious and Tormenting Thoughts, which perpetually haunt and diſquiet Mankind.
** 1709, Mat[thew] Prior, “To the Right Honourable Lionel, Earl of Dorset and Middlesex”, in Poems on Several Occasions, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC, page xiv:[T]vvo Things that vvere his utter Averſion, the Inſinuation of a Flatterer, and the VVhiſper of a Tale-bearer.
** 1778, [Frances Burney], “Letter XXI. Evelina in Continuation.”, in Evelina, or, A Young Lady’s Entrance into the World, volume I, London: […] T[homas] Lowndes, […], →OCLC, page 163:[T]hey had no time to ſpeak, but I ſavv they vvere in utter amazement.
** c. 1806–1809 (date written), William Wordsworth, “Book the Seventh. The Churchyard among the Mountains Continued.”, in The Excursion, being a Portion of The Recluse, a Poem, London: […] Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […], published 1814, →OCLC, page 326:Then, shall the slowly-gathering twilight close / In utter night; […]
** 1849, John Ruskin, “The Lamp of Obedience”, in The Seven Lamps of Architecture, London: Smith, Elder, and Co., […], →OCLC, section I, page 184:[T]hough restraint, utter and unrelaxing, can never be comely, this is not because it is in itself an evil, but only because, when too great, it overpowers the nature of the thing restrained, and so counteracts the other laws of which that nature is itself composed.
** 1859, Alfred Tennyson, “Enid”, in Idylls of the King, London: Edward Moxon & Co., […], →OCLC, page 84:Then Enid, in her utter helplessness, / […] / Sent forth a sudden sharp and bitter cry, / As of a wild thing taken in the trap, / Which sees the trapper coming thro' the wood.
** 1911 (date written), [George] Bernard Shaw, “Fanny’s First Play”, in Misalliance, The Dark Lady of the Sonnets, and Fanny’s First Play. […], London: Constable and Company, published 1914, →OCLC, Act III, page 200:Of course I couldnt hold you to our engagement after that. I was writing to you to break it off. […] You must think me an utter rotter.
** 1916 April 8–22, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “Thuvia, Maid of Mars”, in The All-Story, New York, N.Y.: Frank A. Munsey Co., →OCLC; republished as “The Fair Race”, in Thuvia, Maid of Mars, Chicago, Ill.: A[lexander] C[aldwell] McClurg & Co., October 1920, →OCLC, page 65:His eyes could not penetrate the darkness even to the distinguishing of his hand before his face, while the banths, he knew, could see quite well, though absence of light were utter.
** 1930, Noël Coward, Private Lives: An Intimate Comedy in Three Acts, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday & Company, →OCLC, Act I, page 30:Yes. What fools we were to ruin it all. What utter, utter fools.
* (rare) Of a substance: pure, unmixed.
    Synonym: unalloyed
** 1876, Virgil, “Book IX”, in William Morris, transl., The Æneids of Virgil: Done into English Verse, London: Ellis and White, […], →OCLC, page 254, lines 262–263:Two cups of utter silver wrought and rough with imagery / I give you, which my father took from wracked Arisbe's hold; […]
* (originally Scotland) Of decisions, replies, etc.: made in an unconditional or unqualified manner; decisive, definite.
** 1702–1704, Edward [Hyde, 1st] Earl of Clarendon, “Book VIII”, in The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England, Begun in the Year 1641. […], volume II, part II, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed at the [Sheldonian] Theater, published 1707, →OCLC, page 475:There could not then be any other eſtimate made of the loſs VValler ſuſtain'd, than by the not purſuing the viſible advantage he had, and by the utter refuſal of the Auxiliary Regiments of London and Kent, to march farther; […]
* (obsolete)
** (except literary, poetic) Further out than another thing; being the exterior or outer part of something; outer, outward; also, extremely remote. [from Old English to late 17th c.; apparently obsolete late 17th – early 18th c. except in the fixed expressions utter bar and utter barrister, then revived thereafter]
    Antonym: inner
    at the utter extremities of
*** 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Matthew xxiij:[25], folio xxxiij, recto:Wo be to you ſcrybꝭ [scrybis]⸝ ãd phariſes ypocritꝭ [ypocritis]⸝ for ye make clene the vtter ſide off the cuppe⸝ and off the platter: but with in they are full of brybery and exceſſe.
*** 1558 (date written), John Strype, quoting [John White], “Num[ber] LXXXI. A Sermon Preached at the Funerals of Queen Mary: By the Bishop of Winchester.”, in Historical Memorials, Ecclesiastical and Civil, of Events under the Reign of Queen Mary I. […], volume III, London: […] S[amuel] Richardson, for John Wyat, […], published 1721, →OCLC, page 279:And vvhile you in Time of divine Sacrifice, do faithfully and humbly, both in Heart and utter Geſture, agnize, reverence, and adore the ſame Fleſh in Subſtance, altho' unviſibly in the Sacrament, […] you thus doing, blaſpheme ſo great Myſtery, repute the Fleſh vvhereby I vvas redeemed, and the Blood of Chriſt vvhereby I vvas to be ſanctified, as a Thing common and pollute; […]
*** 1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto II”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 34, page 214:[A]n hidden moth / The inner garment frett, not th’vtter touch; […]
*** 1593, Tho[mas] Nashe, Christs Teares Over Ierusalem. […], London: […] Iames Roberts, and are to be solde by Andrewe Wise, […], →OCLC, folio 68, verso:Lyke the Geometritians, they ſquare about poynts and lynes, and the vtter ſhevv of things.
*** 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IIII, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], part II (books IV–VI), London: […] [Richard Field] for William Ponsonby, →OCLC, stanza 12, page 142:So forth vvithout impediment I paſt, / Till to the Bridges vtter gate I came: […]
*** 1608 February 19 (first performance; Gregorian calendar), Ben[jamin] Jonson, “The Description of the Masque. With the Nuptiall Songs. Celebrating the Happy Marriage of Iohn, Lord Ramsey, Vicount Hadington, with the Lady Elizabeth Ratcliffe, Daughter to the Right Honor[able] Robert, Earle of Sussex. […] [The Hue and Cry after Cupid]”, in The Characters of Two Royall Masques. The One of Blacknesse, the Other of Beautie. […], London: […] [George Eld] for Thomas Thorp[e], […], published [1608], →OCLC, signature [E4], recto:[…] I, that knovv Truth to bee alvvaies of one ſtature, […] cannot but ſmile at their tyranous ignorance, that vvill offer to ſlight mee, […] and giue themſelues a peremptory licence to iudge, vvho haue neuer touch'd ſo much as to the barke or vtter ſhell of any Knovvledge.
*** 1614–1615, Homer, “The Sixth Booke of Homers Odysses”, in Geo[rge] Chapman, transl., Homer’s Odysses. […], London: […] Rich[ard] Field [and William Jaggard], for Nathaniell Butter, published 1615, →OCLC, page 93:And did Vlyſſes vvith all grace entreate: / Shevvd him a ſhore, vvind-proofe, and full of ſhade: / By him a ſhirt, and vtter mantle laid.
*** 1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC, signatures [H3], recto – [H3], verso, lines 15–18:[I]n my [Satan's] flight / Through utter and through middle darkneſs borne / VVith other notes then to th' Orphéan Lyre / I ſung of Chaos and Eternal Night, […]
*** 1848, Philip James Bailey, “Scene—A Ruined Temple”, in Festus: A Poem, 3rd edition, London: William Pickering, →OCLC, page 107:All stars are steps in the great scale of Heaven / Up to God's throne, from Time's last orb which eyes / The inner and the utter infinite […]
** (rare) Preceding all others; original.
*** 1634, T[homas] H[erbert], “A Discourse of the Life and Habit of the Persians at this Present”, in A Relation of Some Yeares Trauaile, Begunne Anno 1626. into Afrique and the Greater Asia, […], London: […] William Stansby, and Jacob Bloome, →OCLC, page 144:And although it [Persia] has ſince then been ruined and reigned ouer by Princes of many Nations, yet they haue neuer altered the Dialect from its vtter ſence, at this day being cald Pharſee: […]
** (rare) Succeeding all others; final, last, ultimate.
*** 1555 July (date written; Gregorian calendar), Virgil, “The Seconde Booke”, in Thomas Phaer, transl., The Seuen First Bookes of the Eneidos of Virgill, Conuerted in Englishe Meter […], London: […] Ihon Kyngston, for Richard Jugge, […], published 7 June 1558 (Gregorian calendar), →OCLC, signature [D.iij.], verso:Our vtter houre is come alas, fell deſtinies death hath brought.

##### Usage notes

This adjective is often used with negative nouns (that is, those denoting undesirable things); its use with positive nouns (denoting desirable things) is less common although not rare. A synonym, sheer, is often used with either negative or positive nouns.

##### Derived terms

* outer
* utter bar
* utter barrister
* utterly
* uttermore (obsolete)
* uttermost
* utterness
* utterward (obsolete)

##### Translations
#### Noun

the utter (uncountable)
* (rare) The thing which is most utter (adjective sense) or extreme.
** 1584 August 5 (date written; Gregorian calendar), John Aubrey, quoting Walter Raleigh, “Sir Walter Raleigh (1552–1618)”, in Andrew Clark, editor, ‘Brief Lives,’ Chiefly of Contemporaries, […], volume II (I–Y), Oxford, Oxfordshire: Clarendon Press, published 1898, →OCLC, page 192:I take my leave, readie to countervaile all your courtesies to the utter of my power.From a letter written to Mr. Duke in Devon.

##### Translations
### Etymology 2

* PIE word
* *úd
From Middle English outren, utteren (“to display for sale; to market; to sell; to say, speak; to put into words, express, tell; to make known, reveal”), partly:
* from outre, utter (adjective, adverb) (see etymology 1 and etymology 3) + -en (suffix forming the infinitives of verbs); and
* from Middle Dutch uteren (“to announce, make known; to demonstrate, show; to speak; to drive away”) (modern Dutch uiteren); or from Middle Low German üteren, ütern (“to demonstrate, show; to speak; to sell; etc.”) (modern Low German ütern; compare Middle High German ūzeren, whence German äußern (“to express, say, utter”)), probably from Proto-West Germanic *ūtanā (“from outside or without; outside of”), from Proto-Germanic *ūtanē (“from outside or without; outside of”), from *ūt (“out; outward”) (from Proto-Indo-European *úd (“away; out, outward; upwards”)) + *-anē (suffix forming adverbs with ablative direction).

#### Verb

utter (third-person singular simple present utters, present participle uttering, simple past and past participle uttered)
* Senses relating to expressing sounds, etc., or disclosing something
** (transitive)
*** Sometimes preceded by forth, out, etc.: to produce (a cry, speech, or other sounds) with the voice.
    Synonyms: let out, say, speak; see also Thesaurus:speak, Thesaurus:utter
    Don’t you utter another word!
**** 1530 July 28 (Gregorian calendar), Iohan Palsgraue [i.e., John Palsgrave], “The Table of Verbes”, in Lesclarcissement de la langue francoyse⸝ […], [London]: […] [Richard Pynson] fynnysshed by Iohan Haukyns, →OCLC, 3rd boke, folio ccclxxxxix, verso, column 2; reprinted Geneva: Slatkine Reprints, October 1972, →OCLC:I utter my langage or my voyce Ie profere, prime cõiuga. After your audyence utter your langage: Selon voſtre audiẽce profere; voſtre langaige.
**** 1560, [William Whittingham et al., transl.], The Bible and Holy Scriptures Conteyned in the Olde and Newe Testament. […] (the Geneva Bible), Geneva: […] Rouland Hall, →OCLC, Prouerbes I:20, folio 267, verso:VViſdome cryeth vvithout: ſhe vttereth her voyce in the ſtretes.
**** c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i], page 71, column 1:[T]here my fathers graue / Did vtter forth a voice.
**** c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iv], page 292, column 2:O Maſter: if you did but heare the Pedler at the doore, […] hee ſinges ſeuerall Tunes, faſter then you'l tell money: hee vtters them as he had eaten ballads, and all mens eares grevv to his Tunes.
**** 1712 September 3 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison], “SATURDAY, August 23, 1712”, in The Spectator, number 466; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume V, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 295:In reason's ear, they [stars] all rejoice, / And utter forth a glorious voice, / For ever singing, as they shine, / The hand that made us is divine.The spelling has been modernized.
**** 1748, [Tobias Smollett], “I Long to be Revenged on Melinda […]”, in The Adventures of Roderick Random. […], volume II, London: […] [William Strahan] for J[ohn] Osborn […], →OCLC, page 156:[H]e made no other reply, for ſome time, than lifting up his eyes, claſping his hands, and uttering a hollovv groan.
**** 1800, W[illiam] Wordsworth, “Michael, a Pastoral”, in Lyrical Ballads, with Other Poems. […], 2nd edition, London: […] T[homas] N[orton] Longman and O[wen] Rees, […], by Biggs and Co., […], published 1800, →OCLC, page 218:Never to living ear came sweeter sounds / Than when I heard thee by our own fire-side / First uttering without words a natural tune, / When thou, a feeding babe, didst in thy joy / Sing at thy Mother's breast.
**** 1833 August 20, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “Humour and Genius—Great Poets Good Men—Diction of the Old and New Testament Version—Hebrew—Vowels and Consonants”, in H[enry] N[elson] C[oleridge], editor, Specimens of the Table Talk of the Late Samuel Taylor Coleridge. […], volume II, London: John Murray, […], published 1835, →OCLC, page 246:Brute animals have the vowel sounds; man can only utter consonants.
**** 1868, Louisa M[ay] Alcott, “Little Faithful”, in Little Women: […], part first, Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, published 1869, →OCLC, page 263:[…] Laurie slyly pulled the parrot's tail, which caused Polly to utter an astonished croak, […]
**** 1868, William Morris, “August: Pygmalion and the Image”, in The Earthly Paradise: A Poem, parts [I and II], London: F[rederick] S[tartridge] Ellis, […], →OCLC, page 608:I have not heard thy voice but in the cry / Thou utteredst then, when thou believedst me gone / The marvel of thine hands, the maid of stone.
**** 1874, Alfred Tennyson, “Gareth and Lynette”, in Idylls of the King (The Works of Alfred Tennyson; V), cabinet edition, London: Henry S. King & Co., […], →OCLC, page 79:What knowest thou of birds, lark, mavis, merle, / Linnet? what dream ye when they utter forth / May-music growing with the growing light, / Their sweet sun-worship?
**** 1928, Robert Byron, “Visiting”, in The Station: Athos: Treasures and Men, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Alfred A[braham] Knopf, →OCLC, page 86:Mark, a cheeping chorister of our schooldays, has retained, despite the blottery tenor that has displaced his treble, a habit of uttering with the suddenness of a ship’s siren, the less interesting of [Franz] Schubert's ditties.
**** 1997, Don DeLillo, “January 11, 1955”, in Underworld […], New York, N.Y.: Scribner, →ISBN, page 543:I wanted to look up velleity and quotidian and memorize the fuckers for all time, spell them, learn them, pronounce them syllable by syllable—vocalize, phonate, utter the sounds, say the words for all they're worth.
*** To verbally express or report (a desire or emotion, an idea or thought, etc.).
    Synonyms: declare, say, tell
**** 1582, Virgil, “The Fourth Booke of Virgil His Aeneis”, in Richard Stanyhurst, transl., The First Foure Bookes of Virgils Æneis, […], London: Henrie Bynneman […], published 1583, →OCLC; republished as The First Four Books of the Æneid of Virgil, […], Edinburgh: [Edinburgh Printing Company], 1836, →OCLC, page 98:Theeſe woords, vplifting both his hands, he to Iuppiter vttred.
**** 1595, Edmunde Spenser [i.e., Edmund Spenser], “[Amoretti.] Sonnet XLVIII”, in Amoretti and Epithalamion. […], London: […] [Peter Short] for William Ponsonby, →OCLC, signature D, verso:VVhom ſhe all careleſſe of his griefe conſtrayned / to vtter forth th' anguiſh of his hart: […]
**** c. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Winters Tale”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], page 278, column 2:A clap thy ſelfe my Loue; then didſt thou vtter, / I am yours for euer.
**** 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Job 15:5, column 1:For thy mouth vttereth thine iniquitie, and thou chooſeſt the tongue of the craftie.
**** 1651, Thomas Hobbes, “Of Power Ecclesiasticall”, in Leviathan, or The Matter, Forme, & Power of a Common-wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civill, London: […] [William Wilson] for Andrew Crooke, […], →OCLC, 3rd part (Of a Christian Common-wealth), page 296:And vve read alſo of the like ceremony of Conſecration of Temples amongſt the Heathen, as that the Prieſt laid his Hands on ſome poſt of the Temple, all the vvhile he vvas uttering the vvords of Conſecration.
**** 1667, John Milton, “Book III”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC, signature [I4], verso, lines 345–347:The multitude of Angels vvith a ſhout / Loud as from numbers vvithout number, ſvveet / As from bleſt voices, uttering joy, […]
**** 1711 March 12 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison], “THURSDAY, March 1, 1710–1711”, in The Spectator, number 1; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume I, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, pages 82–83:I had not been long at the university, before I distinguished myself by a most profound silence; for, during the space of eight years, excepting in the public exercises of the college, I scarce uttered the quantity of an hundred words; and indeed do not remember that I ever spoke three sentences together in my whole life.The spelling has been modernized.
**** 1712 September 7 (Gregorian calendar), [Richard Steele], “WEDNESDAY, August 27, 1712”, in The Spectator, number 468; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume V, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 307:[T]he last time I saw him, we were plotting to show the town his great capacity for acting in his full light, by introducing him as dictating to a set of young players, in what manner to speak this sentence, and utter t'other passion.The spelling has been modernized.
**** 1749, Henry Fielding, “The Trial of Partridge, the Schoolmaster, for Incontinency; The Evidence of his Wife; A Short Reflection on the Wisdom of Our Law; with Other Grave Matters, which Those will like Best who Understand Them Most”, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume I, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book II, page 118:For tho’ a few odd Fellows vvill utter their ovvn Sentiments in all Places, yet much the greater Part of Mankind have enough of the Courtier to accommodate their Converſation to the Taſte and Inclination of their Superiors.
**** 1755, [Edward Young], “Letter III. On Pleasure.”, in The Centaur Not Fabulous. […], London: […] A[ndrew] Millar […]; [a]nd R[obert] and J[ames] Dodsley […], →OCLC, page 161:His terrified imagination utter'd horrors not to be repeated, or ever forgot.
**** 1793, William Cowper, “[Miscellaneous Poems.] To Mary (Mrs Unwin)”, in The Poetical Works of William Cowper. […], volume II, Edinburgh: James Nichol, […]; London: James Nisbet and Co. […], published 1854, →OCLC, page 184, line stanza 6:Thy indistinct expressions seem / Like language utter'd in a dream: / Yet me thy charm, whate'er the theme, / My Mary!
**** 1816, Jedadiah Cleishbotham [pseudonym; Walter Scott], chapter XV, in Tales of My Landlord, […], volume I (The Black Dwarf), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for William Blackwood, […]; London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 282:[…] I am equally resolved to stand the hazard of my fate—on one condition only he will turn aside from his purpose, and that condition my lips shall never utter to you.
**** 1871–1872, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter LXXXIII, in Middlemarch […], volume IV, Edinburgh, London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book VIII, page 323:Each had been full of thoughts which neither of them could begin to utter.
**** 1881, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], “Tom Receives Instructions”, in The Prince and the Pauper: A Tale for Young People of All Ages, Montreal, Que.: Dawson Brothers, →OCLC:Peace, my lord, thou utterest treason! Hast forgot the king's command? Remember I am party to thy crime, if I but listen.
**** 1959, Muriel Spark, chapter 14, in Max Gissen, editor, Memento Mori, Time Reading Program special edition, New York, N.Y.: Time Inc., published 1964, →OCLC, page 213:"Your master," he declared, "has uttered a damnable lie about a dead friend of mine."
*** (reflexive) To express (oneself) in speech or writing.
**** a. 1627 (date written), Francis [Bacon], “An Essay on Death, […]”, in The Remaines of the Right Honorable Francis Lord Verulam […], London: […] B. Alsop, for Lawrence Chapman, […], published 1648, →OCLC, page 9:[N]ovv and then nature is a fault, and this good gueſt of ours takes ſoyle in an unperfect body, and ſo is ſlackned from ſhevving her vvonders, like an excellent Muſician vvhich cannot utter himſelf upon a defective inſtrument.A figurative use.
**** 1711 July 28 (Gregorian calendar), [Joseph Addison], “TUESDAY, July 17, 1711”, in The Spectator, number 119; republished in Alexander Chalmers, editor, The Spectator; a New Edition, […], volume II, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton & Company, 1853, →OCLC, page 136:[A]t present several of our men of the town, and particularly those who have been polished in France, make use of the most coarse uncivilized words in our language, and utter themselves often in such a manner as a clown would blush to hear.The spelling has been modernized.
**** 1824, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “Grave Reflections of a Disappointed Man”, in Tales of a Traveller, part 2 (Buckthorne and His Friends), Philadelphia, Pa.: H[enry] C[harles] Carey & I[saac] Lea, […], →OCLC, page 169:I had tried to write a poetical epitaph, but in vain: my feelings refused to utter themselves in rhyme.
**** 1860, Nathaniel Hawthorne, “The Extinction of a Lamp”, in The Marble Faun: Or, The Romance of Monte Beni. […], volume II, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, →OCLC, page 203:Straying with Hilda through those long vistas of ideal beauty, he meant, at last, to utter himself upon that theme which lovers are fain to discuss in village-lanes, in wood-paths, on seaside sands, in crowded streets; […]
*** (figurative) Of a thing: to produce (a noise or sound); to emit.
    Synonym: let out
    Sally’s car uttered a hideous shriek when she applied the brakes.
*** (obsolete) To disclose or reveal (something secret or unknown); to bring to light.
**** 1530 July 28 (Gregorian calendar), Iohan Palsgraue [i.e., John Palsgrave], “The Table of Verbes”, in Lesclarcissement de la langue francoyse⸝ […], [London]: […] [Richard Pynson] fynnysshed by Iohan Haukyns, →OCLC, 3rd boke, folio ccclxxxix, verso, column 2; reprinted Geneva: Slatkine Reprints, October 1972, →OCLC:He that vttereth my counſayle ones I wyll neuer truſte hym whyle I lyue: […]
**** 1614, Walter Ralegh [i.e., Walter Raleigh], “Of the Expedition of Cyrus the Yonger”, in The Historie of the World […], London: […] William Stansby for Walter Burre, […], →OCLC, 3rd book, §. XIII (Of Dissention which Arose in the Armie; and How It was Embarked), page 125:Silanus the Sooth-ſayer, vvho had vttered Xenophons purpoſe, vvas hereby ſtaied from out-running his fellovves, and driuen to abide vvith his vvealth among poore men, longer than ſtood vvith his good liking.
**** 1670, Izaak Walton, quoting John Spenser, “The Life of Mr. Rich[ard] Hooker, the Author of Those Learned Books of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity”, in The Lives of Dr. John Donne, Sir Henry Wotton, Mr. Richard Hooker, Mr. George Herbert. […], volume III, London: […] Tho[mas] Newcomb for Rich[ard] Marriott, […], →OCLC, page 88:[W]ith vvhat gravity and Majeſty of ſpeech his Tongue and Pen uttered Heavenly Myſteries; […]
*** (obsolete, also reflexive) To disclose or reveal the identity or nature of (oneself or someone, or something).
**** 1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Mark iij:[12], folio xlvij, recto:[W]hẽ the vnclene ſpritꝭ ſawe him⸝ they fell doune before him⸝ and cryed ſayinge: thou arte the ſonne of God: And he ſtreyghtly charged thẽ that they ſhulde not vtter him.[W]hen the unclean spirits saw him [Jesus], they fell down before him, and cried saying: thou art the son of God: And he straightly charged them that they should not utter him.
**** 1530 January 27 (Gregorian calendar), W[illiam] T[yndale], transl., [The Pentateuch] (Tyndale Bible), Malborow [Marburg], Hesse: […] Hans Luft [actually Antwerp: Johan Hoochstraten], →OCLC, Genesis xlv:[1], folio lxvij, recto:And Joſeph coude no longer refrayne before all them that ſtode about him⸝ but commaunded that they ſhuld goo all out from him⸝ and that there ſhuld be no man with him, whyle he vttred him ſelfe [i.e., disclosed his true identity] vnto his brethern.
**** 1534 (date written), Thomas More, “A Treatice vpon the Passion of Chryste (Vnfinished) […]. The Cõtext of Maister [Jean] Gerson whereof Fyrst the Rubrice [The Fyft Lecture].”, in Wyllyam Rastell [i.e., William Rastell], editor, The Workes of Sir Thomas More Knyght, […], London: […] Iohn Cawod, Iohn Waly, and Richarde Tottell, published 30 April 1557, →OCLC, page 1305, column 2:[T]he holy euangelyſt ſaynt John, whome Chriſte ſo tenderly loued, […] and to hym ſecretely he vttred the falſe diſſimuled traytor [Judas Iscariot], […] declareth here what a maner of faithful louer our holy ſauyour was, of whome hym ſelfe was ſo beloued.
**** 1549 February 10 (Gregorian calendar; indicated as 1548), Erasmus, “The Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the Gospell of Sainct Marke. The .v. Chapter.”, in Thomas Key [i.e., Thomas Caius], transl., The First Tome or Volume of the Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the Newe Testamente, London: […] Edwarde Whitchurche, →OCLC, folios xxxix, recto – xxxix, verso:This lokyng about of Jeſus, was a geſture of hym that courteouſly requyred a confeſſion of the benefite receiued. He woulde not vtter her by name, leſte he ſhoulde haue ſemed to haue hit her in the teethe, wyth the good turne he dyd her. The woman, of a womanlye ſhamefaſteneſſe, and not of any vnthankfullneſſe, helde her peace.A commentary on the miracle of Jesus healing the bleeding woman.
**** 1587, Philip of Mornay [i.e., Philippe de Mornay], “That in the Onely One Essence or Substance of God there are Three Persons which We Call the Trinitie”, in Philip Sidney, Arthur Golding, transl., A Woorke Concerning the Trewnesse of the Christian Religion, […], London: […] [John Charlewood and] George Robinson for Thomas Cadman, […], →OCLC, page 54:[…] God […] hath voutſafed to vtter himſelfe vnto vs in his Scriptures: […]
*** (obsolete, also reflexive) To display or show (itself or something).
**** 1549 February 10 (Gregorian calendar; indicated as 1548), Erasmus, “The Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the Ghospell of S. Luke. The .xvii. Chapter.”, in Nicolas Udall [i.e., Nicholas Udall], transl., The First Tome or Volume of the Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the Newe Testamente, London: […] Edwarde Whitchurche, →OCLC, folio cxli, recto:[H]e [Jesus] ſhewed and vſed hymſelfe the moſte loweſt and meaneſte of al creatures, yet dyd he hyde within hym a ſecrete power of the nature of the godhed, which thã [than (i.e., then)] ⁊ neuer afore vttred it ſelfe, whan the grayne of his bodye was bruiſed on the croſſe: ⁊ was in deathe (as it were) burried within the grounde.
**** 1582, Virgil, “The Firste Booke of Virgil His Aeneis”, in Richard Stanyhurst, transl., The First Foure Bookes of Virgils Æneis, […], London: Henrie Bynneman […], published 1583, →OCLC; republished as The First Four Books of the Æneid of Virgil, […], Edinburgh: [Edinburgh Printing Company], 1836, →OCLC, page 17:[…] Iuno, the Princeſſe, / Theare the pate, in digging, of an horſe intractabil vttred.
** (intransitive)
*** To speak.
**** 1587, Philip of Mornay [i.e., Philippe de Mornay], “That the Philosophie of Old Tyme Consenteth to this Doctrine of the Trinitie”, in Philip Sidney, Arthur Golding, transl., A Woorke Concerning the Trewnesse of the Christian Religion, […], London: […] [John Charlewood and] George Robinson for Thomas Cadman, […], →OCLC, page 94:The Souereyne and vnutterable God, is the Originall of all things; next vnto vvhom is his Prouidence as a ſecond God, vvho giueth the lavv aſvvell for the temporall as for the eternall life. And furthermore, there is a third ſubſtance as a ſecond Vnderſtanding, vvhich is the keeper of the ſayd eternall Lavve. The higheſt God commaundeth, the ſecond ordereth, and the third vttereth or publiſheth.
**** 1644, John Milton, Areopagitica; a Speech of Mr. John Milton for the Liberty of Unlicenc’d Printing, to the Parlament of England, London: [s.n.], →OCLC, page 35:Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conſcience, above all liberties.
**** 1995, Rohinton Mistry, “The Bright Future Clouded”, in A Fine Balance, Toronto, Ont.: McClelland & Stewart, →ISBN, page 528:"Don’t worry about me," he uttered with minimum lip movement.
*** Of words, etc.: to be spoken.
**** 1799–1805 (date written), William Wordsworth, “Book V. Books.”, in The Prelude, or Growth of a Poet’s Mind; an Autobiographical Poem, London: Edward Moxon, […], published 1850, →OCLC, page 111:[Y]ea many gods, / Had voices more than all the winds, with power / To exhilarate the spirit, and to soothe, / Through every clime, the heart of human kind. / While this was uttering, strange as it may seem, / I wondered not, although I plainly saw / The one to be a stone, the other a shell; […]
* Senses relating to issuing something.
** (transitive)
*** (archaic, rare) To publish (something).
**** a. 1606 (date written), John Stow, “Introduction [Appendix to Introduction: How Stow Began to Write History, and Quarrelled with Richard Grafton]”, in A Survey of London: Reprinted from the Text of 1603 […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Clarendon Press, published 1908, →OCLC, section II (Documents Illustrating Stow’s Life), page li:[Y]$^e$ same [the book] was well vtteryd by y$^e$ printar, & well lyked of in y$^e$ comon weale, […]
*** (law) To put (currency or other valuable items) into circulation; specifically, to pass off (counterfeit currency, etc.) as legal tender; to use (a forged cheque) as if genuine.
    Synonym: circulate
**** 1564 June 17 (Gregorian calendar), By the Quene [Elizabeth I]. Where as the Quenes Maiestie, by Her Proclamation Published in Nouember, the Thirde Yere of Her Maiesties Raigne, Touching the Valuation of Forrayne Coynes of Golde […]‎, London: […] Rycharde Iugge and Iohn Cawood, printers to the Quenes Maiestie, published [1565], →OCLC:[…] Her Maiestie now vnderstandynge, that there are sithens that tyme certayne other forrayne peeces of golde, of the like quantitie and fashion (although of lesse value) lyke to an Englyshe Angell, brought hyther, and here vttered and payde for ten shyllynges of syluer, beyng for they lacke of wayght, and for the basenesse of the allay, not worth. vii. shillinges, to the great deceite and losse of the subiectes of this her Realme: […] her good subiects may eyther vtterly forbeare to receyue any such forrayne Angels, or els to take them accordyng to theyr waight as bullion, and to bryng them to her Maiesties Mynte, where they shall haue redy money in golde or syluer at theyr pleasure, accordyng to the iust value thereof.
**** 1588, Torquato Tasso, translated by T[homas] K[yd], The Housholders Philosophie. Wherein is Perfectly and Profitably Described, the True Oeconomia and Forme of Housekeeping. […], London: […] J[ohn] C[harlewood] for Thomas Hacket, […], →OCLC, folio 21, verso:[…] Memory, which laying by, preſeruing and imprinting in it ſelfe al the Images and formes of viſible & intelligible things, could not vtter them in time conuenient and diſpoſe them to the tongue and penne, vnleſſe it had ſo ordered, and oftentimes recounted them, […]A figurative use.
**** 1697, J[ohn] Evelyn, “Of the Use of Medals, whether for Money, or to Preserve the Memory of Worthy Actions; Their Antiquity, Materials, Size, Model, &c.”, in Numismata. A Discourse of Medals, Antient and Modern. […], London: […] Benj[amin] Tooke […], →OCLC, page 16:[T]he variouſly denominated Attic Obolus, vvith the Head of Minerva and Noctua, of as vulgar Uſe as our Farthings, but hardly by half ſo large as the Tokens vvhich every Tavern and Tippling-Houſe (in the days of late Anarchy among us) preſum'd to ſtamp and utter for immediate Exchange, as they vvere paſſable through the Neighbourhood, […]
**** 1724 September 5 (Gregorian calendar), M. B. [pseudonym; Jonathan Swift], Some Observations upon a Paper, Call’d The Report of the Committee of the Most Honourable the Privy-Council in England, Relating to Wood’s Half-pence. […], Dublin: […] John Harding […], →OCLC, page 28:[S]ince the Lavv does not oblige us to receive this Coyn, and conſequently the Patent leaves it to our Voluntary Choice, there is nothing remaining to preſerve us from Ruin but that the vvhole Kingdom ſhould continue in a firm determinate Reſolution never to Receive or Utter this FATAL Coyn: […]
**** 1743, Henry Fielding, “An Essay on the Knowledge of the Characters of Men”, in Miscellanies, […], volume I, London: […] A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, page 204:The Man vvho is vvantonly profuſe of his Promiſes ought to ſink his Credit as much as a Tradeſman vvould by uttering great Numbers of Promiſſory Notes, payable at a diſtant Day. The trueſt Concluſion in both Caſes is, that neither intend, or vvill be able to pay.
**** 1841 August–November, “Digest of Cases. Common Law.”, in The Law Magazine; or Quarterly Review of Jurisprudence, volume XXVII, number LV, London: Saunders and Benning, law booksellers, (successors to J[oseph] Butterworth and Son,) […], →OCLC, page 415:COINING (Joint uttering.) If two persons jointly prepare counterfeit coin, and then utter it in different shops, apart from each other, but in concert and intending to share the proceeds, the utterings of each are the joint utterings of both, and they may be convicted jointly.—Reg. v. Hurse, 2 M. & Rob. 360.
**** 1864 June 8 (date approved), “[Laws of the United States. Acts of the Thirty-eighth Congress of the United States.] Chap[ter] CXIV. An Act to Punish and Prevent the Counterfeiting of Coin of the United States.”, in John C. Rives, editor, Appendix to the Congressional Globe: […] (38th Congress, 1st session), number 12 (New Series), Washington, D.C.: John C. Rives […], published 11 June 1864, →OCLC, page 176, columns 1–2:Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That if any person or persons, except as now authorized by law, shall hereafter make, or cause to be made, or shall utter or pass, or attempt to utter or pass, any coins of gold or silver, or other metals or alloys of metals, intended for the use and purpose of current money, whether in the resemblance of coins of the United States or of foreign countries, or of original design, every person so offending shall, on conviction thereof, be punished by fine not exceeding three thousand dollars, or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years, or both, at the discretion of the court, according to the aggravation of the offense.
**** 1875, George Hayter Chubb, “The Art of Burglary”, in Protection from Fire and Thieves […], London: Longmans, Green, and Co., →OCLC, page 23:A man named Edward Agar was convicted in October 1855 of uttering a forged cheque, and sentenced to be transported for life.
**** 1914 September 12, Parliament of Australia, Crimes Act 1914 (No. 12, 1914; Compilation No. 159)‎, volume 2, Canberra, A.C.T.: Office of Parliamentary Counsel, published 21 February 2025, archived from the original on 2025-03-03, part VIIA (Offences Relating to Postal Services), section 85G(2), page 162:A person shall not utter a postage stamp knowing it to be forged.
**** (figurative) To pass off (something fake) as a genuine item.
***** 1609 December (first performance), Beniamin Ionson [i.e., Ben Jonson], “Epicoene, or The Silent Woman. A Comœdie. […]”, in The Workes of Beniamin Ionson (First Folio), London: […] Will[iam] Stansby, published 1616, →OCLC, Act IIII, scene vi, page 583:Centaure, hovv our iudgements vvere impos'd on by theſe adulterate knights! / Cen[taure]. Nay, madame, Mavis vvas more deceiu'd then vve, 'tvvas her commendation vtter'd 'hem in the colledge.
***** 1839, [Philip James Bailey], “Scene—Another and a Better World”, in Festus: A Poem, London: William Pickering, →OCLC, page 145:[T]he great bards / Of Greece, of Rome, and mine own master land, / […] / Men who have forged gods—uttered—made them pass: […]
*** (obsolete) To supply (something); to furnish, to provide.
**** 1625, Gervase Markham, “The Nature of Grounds in Generall: But Particularly of the Barren and Sterile Earth”, in Markhams Farwell to Husbandry or, The Inriching of All Sorts of Barren and Sterile Grounds in Our Kingdome, […], revised edition, London: […] M[iles] F[lesher] for Roger Iackson, […], →OCLC, page 3:[T]he mixt earth, vvhich vtters VVhinns, Briars, and a vvorld of ſuch like vnnatural and baſtardly Iſſues.
*** (obsolete) To offer (something, such as goods) for barter or sale; also, to sell (something); to vend.
**** 1577, Raphaell Holinshed, “The Historie of Irelande […]”, in The Firste Volume of the Chronicles of England, Scotlande, and Irelande […], volume I, London: […] [Henry Bynneman] for Iohn Hunne, →OCLC, page 19:[…] certayne Merchants […] obteyned licence ſafely to arriue here in Ireland with their wares, and to vtter the ſame.
**** c. 1591–1595 (date written), [William Shakespeare], […] Romeo and Iuliet. […] (Second Quarto), London: […] Thomas Creede, for Cuthbert Burby, […], published 1599, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i], signature L, recto:Such mortall drugs I haue, but Mantuas lavve / Is death to any he that vtters them.
**** c. 1595–1596 (date written), W. Shakespere [i.e., William Shakespeare], A Pleasant Conceited Comedie Called, Loues Labors Lost. […] (First Quarto), London: […] W[illiam] W[hite] for Cut[h]bert Burby, published 1598, →OCLC; republished as Shakspere’s Loves Labours Lost (Shakspere-Quarto Facsimiles; no. 5), London: W[illiam] Griggs, […], [1880], →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], signature B4, recto, lines 15–16:Beautie is bought by iudgement of the eye, / Not vttred by baſe ſale of chapmens tongues: […]A figurative use.
**** 1604 (first performance), [Thomas Middleton], Michaelmas Terme. […], London: […] [Thomas Purfoot and Edward Allde] for A[rthur] I[ohnson] […], published 1607, →OCLC, signature H, recto:[D]oe not al Trades liue by their vvare, and yet cald honeſt Liuers? doe they not thriue beſt, vvhen they vtter moſte, and make it avvay by the great?
**** 1605, Francis Bacon, “The Second Booke”, in The Twoo Bookes of Francis Bacon. Of the Proficience and Aduancement of Learning, Diuine and Humane, London: […] [Thomas Purfoot and Thomas Creede] for Henrie Tomes, […], →OCLC, folio 71, recto:[A]t the Olimpian games […] ſome cam as Merchants to vtter their commodities, […]
**** 1624, Francis Quarles, “Sect[ion] 5”, in Iob Militant: With Meditations Divine and Morall, London: […] Felix Kyngston for George Winder, […], →OCLC, signature E3, recto:VVhen theſe ſad tidings fill'd thoſe itching eares / Of Earths black babbling Daughter (ſhe that heares, / And vents alike, both Truth and Forgeries, / And vtters, often, cheaper then ſhe buyes) / She ſpred the pinnions of her nimble VVings, / Aduanc't her Trumpet, and avvay ſhe ſprings, […]A figurative use.
**** 1649, I[oseph] H[all], “Case VII. Whether Tithes be a Lawfull Maintenance for Ministers under the Gospell, and Whether Men be Bound to Pay Them Accordingly.”, in Resolutions and Decisions of Divers Practicall Cases of Conscience in Continuall Use amongst Men, […], London: […] M. F. [Miles Flesher?] for Nath[aniel] Butter […], and are to be sold by Humphrey Mosley, Abel Roper, and Iohn Sweeting, →OCLC, 3rd decade (Cases of Piety and Religion), page 296:And Pliny [the Elder] tells us that vvhen they [the Romans] gathered their Frankincenſe, none of it might be uttered till the Prieſt had the tithe of it ſet forth for him.
**** 1722 March, H[enry] F[oe] [pseudonym; Daniel Defoe], A Journal of the Plague Year: […], London: […] E[lizabeth] Nutt […]; J. Roberts […]; A. Dodd […]; and J. Graves […], →OCLC, page 51:No infected Stuff [i.e., items made of cloth] to be uttered.A section heading.
**** 1737, [George Berkeley], “Query 262”, in The Querist, Containing Several Queries, Proposed to the Consideration of the Public. […], part III, London: […] J. Roberts, […], →OCLC, page 32:VVhether ſhe [Lyons] doth not receive and utter all thoſe Commodities, and raiſe a Profit from the Diſtribution thereof, as vvell s of her ovvn Manufactures, throughout the Kingdom of France?
**** 1825 June 22, [Walter Scott], chapter VII, in Tales of the Crusaders. […], volume II (The Betrothed), Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, page 138:[H]e demanded to know where this famous falcon-merchant was to be met withal. "Why, between the barriers and the inner gate," replied Gillian, "where other men are admitted that have wares to utter—Where should he be?"
**** 1828 May 15, [Walter Scott], chapter V, in Chronicles of the Canongate. Second Series. […] (The Fair Maid of Perth), volume I, Edinburgh: […] [Ballantyne and Co.] for Cadell and Co.; London: Simpkin and Marshall, →OCLC, page 154:Nay, I know the devil has factors enough to utter his wares, […]A figurative use.
*** (obsolete, rare) To announce that (something) is available for sale; to cry.
**** 1806, [James Beresford], “Dialogue the Fourth. Miseries of London.”, in The Miseries of Human Life; or The Groans of Timothy Testy, and Samuel Sensitive. […], London: […] [F]or William Miller, […], by W[illiam] Bulmer and Co., […], →OCLC, pages 68–69:[Y]ou are […] compelled, during the whole morning, to undergo that savage jargon of yells, brays, and screams, familiarly, but feebly, termed, "the Cries of London"— […] your utter incapability of ever arriving at the slightest smattering in any of the infernal dialects in which their goods are uttered, and which they have palpably invented for the sole purpose of guarding against the smallest risk of being, by any accident, understood;—and thus is a new Misery struck out for you, […]
*** (obsolete, rare) To distribute or issue (something) from, or as if from, a stock of items.
**** 1528, Thomas More, “A Dialogue Concernynge Heresyes & Matters of Religion […]. Chapter IIII.”, in Wyllyam Rastell [i.e., William Rastell], editor, The Workes of Sir Thomas More Knyght, […], London: […] Iohn Cawod, Iohn Waly, and Richarde Tottell, published 30 April 1557, →OCLC, book III, page 213, column 2:He had alſo ſet a prieſt of his and a ſeculer ſeruaunt of his beſyde to by [buy] many of the ſame ſuyte [of books], & double and treble of one ſorte, whiche were by thẽ [them] vttred to diuers yonge ſcholers ſuch as thei founde properly witted, feately lerned, and newfangly mynded.
*** (obsolete except UK, dialectal) To discharge or send out (something); to eject, to emit.
**** 1536 December 23 (date written; Gregorian calendar), John Strype, quoting Hugh Latimer, “A Visitation of the Religious Houses. […]”, in Ecclesiastical Memorials; Relating Chiefly to Religion, and the Reformation of It: Shewing the Various Emergencies of the Church of England, under King Henry the Eighth. […], volume I, London: […] John Wyat, […], published 1721, →OCLC, page 260:God proſper you, to the uttering all hollovv Harts of England.
**** a. 1548 (date written), Edward Hall, Richard Grafton, “[The Troubleous Season of Kyng Henry the Sixt.] The .XXXVII. Yere.”, in The Vnion of the Two Noble and Illustre Famelies of Lancastre & Yorke, […], London: […] Rychard Grafton, […] [and Steven Mierdman], published 1550, →OCLC, folio xc, verso:As fier being encloſed in a ſtraite place, wil by force vtter his flãme, […] ſo thys cãcard crocodrile, ⁊ ſubtile ſerpent, could not lõg lurke in malicious hartes, nor venemous ſtomackes, but in cõcluſion ſhe muſt (according to her nature) apere ⁊ ſhew her ſelf.As fire being enclosed in a strait place, will by force utter his flame, […] so this cankered crocodile, and subtle serpent, could not long lurk in malicious hearts, nor venemous stomachs, but in conclusion she must (according to her nature) appear and show herself.
**** 1579, Immeritô [pseudonym; Edmund Spenser], “March. Ægloga Tertia.”, in The Shepheardes Calender: […], London: […] Hugh Singleton, […], →OCLC, folio 8, verso:Seeſt not thilke ſame Hawthorne ſtudde, / How bragly it beginnes to budde, / And vtter his tender head?
**** c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, A Midsommer Nights Dreame. […] (First Quarto), London: […] [Richard Bradock] for Thomas Fisher, […], published 1600, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii], signature G2, verso:And moſt deare Actors, eate no Onions, nor garlicke: for vve are to vtter ſvveete breath: and I do not doubt but to hear them ſay, it is a ſvveete Comedy.
**** c. 1607–1611 (first performance), [Francis Beaumont], Iohn Fletcher, Cupids Revenge. […], London: […] Thomas Creede for Iosias Harison, […], published 1615, →OCLC, Act V, scene [iii], signature L3, recto:[Ô] vvoman, vvoman, vveepe novv or neuer, thou haſt made more ſorrovves then vve haue eyes to vtter.
**** c. 1626–1629 (date written), Wm. D’avenant [i.e., William Davenant], The Tragedy of Albovine, King of the Lombards, London: […] [Felix Kyngston] for R. M[oore], […], published 1629, →OCLC, Act I, signature C2, recto:[N]ovv the King forſakes / The Campe, he muſt maintaine luxurious mouthes, / Such as can vtter perfum'd breath, and theſe / Straite compoſe a faction, engroſſe his eares.
**** 1819 June 23, Geoffrey Crayon [pseudonym; Washington Irving], “Rip Van Winkle”, in The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., number I, New York, N.Y.: […] C[ornelius] S. Van Winkle, […], →OCLC, pages 82–83:He looked in vain for the sage Nicholas Vedder, with his broad face, double chin, and fair long pipe, uttering clouds of tobacco smoke instead of idle speeches; […]
**** 1821 September, Elia [pseudonym; Charles Lamb], “The Old Benchers of the Inner Temple”, in Elia. Essays which have Appeared under that Signature in The London Magazine, London: […] [Thomas Davison] for Taylor and Hessey, […], →OCLC, pages 193–194:Four little winged marble boys used to play their virgin fancies, spouting out ever fresh streams from their innocent-wanton lips, in the square of Lincoln’s-inn, when I was no bigger than they were figured. […] Are the stiff-wigged living figures [lawyers], that still flitter and chatter about that area, less gothic in appearance? or, is the splutter of their hot rhetoric one half so refreshing and innocent, as the little cool playful streams those exploded cherubs uttered?
**** 1850, Leigh Hunt, “At Home in England”, in The Autobiography of Leigh Hunt; […], volume III, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], →OCLC, page 205:[F]lowers utter their beauty and their fragrance, as much as birds utter their songs.
**** 1928, Robert Byron, “To Methodius”, in The Station: Athos: Treasures and Men, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Alfred A[braham] Knopf, →OCLC, pages 109–110:Within the room, a series of prints so typical as to merit description, told the great incidents of Greek History. There was […] a mythological matron, in a classical helmet, uttering a tear at a rustic cross bound in blue and white ribbons and inscribed ΕΙΣ ΤΟΥΣ ΠΕΣΟΝΤΑΣ—To The Fallen—1912, a souvenir of the First Balkan War; […]
** (intransitive, obsolete) Of goods: to be purchased; to sell.
    This crockery is popular and utters well.

##### Conjugation

$^†$ Archaic or obsolete.

##### Derived terms

* fore-utter
* reutter
* reutterance
* unutterable
* unuttered
* utterable
* utterance
* utteranced
* utterancy
* utterer
* uttering (adjective, noun)
* utterless

##### Related terms

* utters (“unwanted depressions, etc., on the surface of an object caused by a tool”, noun)

##### Translations
### Etymology 3

* PIE word
* *úd
From Middle English outre, utter (“away, out; further away or out; out in the open; outside, without; to a greater extent”), partly:
* from outre, utter (adjective) (see etymology 1); and
* from Old English ūtor, the comparative form of ūt (“out; outdoors, outside”, adverb), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *úd (“away; out, outward; upwards”).

#### Adverb

utter (not comparable) (obsolete)
* Further apart, away, or out; outside, without.
** c. 1517 (date written; published c. 1545), John Skelton, “Here after Foloweth the Booke Called Elynour Rummynge. The Tunnyng of Elynour Rummyng per Skelton Laureat.”, in Alexander Dyce, editor, The Poetical Works of John Skelton: […], volume I, London: Thomas Rodd, […], published 1843, →OCLC, page 112, lines 535–537:A strawe, sayde Bele, stande vtter, / For we haue egges and butter, / And of pygeons a payre.
** a. 1530 (date written), John Skelton, “Magnyfycence, a Goodly Interlude and a Mery, […]”, in Alexander Dyce, editor, The Poetical Works of John Skelton: […], volume I, London: Thomas Rodd, […], published 1843, →OCLC, page 249, line 763:Gyue this gentylman rome, syrs, stonde vtter!
* To an extreme extent; altogether, quite.
** 1612 January 5 (first performance; Gregorian calendar), Francis Beaumont, Iohn Fletcher, A King and No King. […], London: […] [John Beale] for Thomas Walkley, […], published 1619, →OCLC, Act IV, page [53]:I knovv they vvill deny me gracious Madame, / Being a ſtranger, and ſo little fam'd / So vtter emptie of theſe excellencies / That tame authority; […]

##### Derived terms

* utterward (obsolete, rare)

### References

* ↑ “ǒutre, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
* 1 2 “utter, adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2024.
* ↑ “utter$^1$, adj.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
* ↑ “ǒutren, v.(1)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
* ↑ “utter, v.$^1$”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, December 2024; “utter$^2$, v.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
* ↑ “-en, suf.(3)”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
* ↑ “ǒutre, adv.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
* ↑ “utter, adv.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023.

### Further reading

* utterance on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
* uttering on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

## Swedish
### Etymology

From Old Norse otr, from Proto-Germanic *utraz, from Proto-Indo-European *udrós (“water-animal, otter”), from *wed- (“water”).

### Noun

utter c
* otter; a mammal of the family Mustelidae

#### Declension
### References

* utter in Svensk ordbok (SO)
* utter in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
* utter in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)