out-sourcing
|out-sour-cing|
🇺🇸
/ˈaʊtˌsɔrsɪŋ/
🇬🇧
/ˈaʊtˌsɔːsɪŋ/
(outsource)
external sourcing
Etymology
'outsource' originates from English, specifically the compound of 'out' + 'source', where 'out-' meant 'external' or 'beyond' and 'source' meant 'origin' or 'supply'.
'outsource' is a modern compound formed in mid-20th century English (business usage). 'Out-' comes from Old English 'ūt' meaning 'out', while 'source' comes from Old French 'sourse' (from Latin 'surgere' via Vulgar Latin), whose senses developed from 'a spring' to 'origin' and then 'supply'.
Initially coined in business contexts to mean 'obtain goods or services from an external supplier', it has retained that core meaning and broadened to cover many functions (IT, manufacturing, customer service, etc.).
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the business practice of hiring an external organization to perform services or produce goods that were previously done in-house.
The company reduced costs through out-sourcing its customer service operations.
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Verb 1
to obtain (a service, good, or function) from an outside supplier rather than doing it internally.
They decided to out-source their payroll processing to a specialist firm.
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Adjective 1
provided by an external supplier (often used to describe services or functions).
The company moved to an out-sourcing model and now uses outsourced IT support.
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Last updated: 2026/01/06 08:08