'outsole' originates from English, formed as a compound of 'out' and 'sole'; 'out' ultimately from Old English 'ūt' where 'ūt' meant 'out, outside', and 'sole' ultimately from Latin 'solea' (via Old French) where 'solea' meant 'sandal' or 'the bottom of a shoe'.

'outsole' developed by combining the element 'out' (Old English 'ūt') with 'sole' (from Latin 'solea' through Old French 'sole'), and eventually became the modern English compound 'outsole'.

Initially it meant 'the outer part of a shoe's sole' (literally the 'outside sole'), and this basic meaning has remained stable into modern usage.