'outdone' originates from English, specifically from the verb 'outdo' formed by the prefix 'out-' + verb 'do'; the elements trace back to Old English 'ūt' (meaning 'out') and 'dōn' (meaning 'to do').

'outdo' was formed in Early Modern English by combining 'out-' and 'do'; the past participle 'outdone' developed as the regular past-participial form of that verb.

Initially it meant 'to do more than' or 'to surpass', and this core meaning has remained largely the same in modern usage (used also adjectivally to mean 'surpassed' or 'defeated').