The word ‘outwith’

[HBStowe]

Trying to settle an argument with a colleague. He’s English and works in England, I’m Scottish and work in Scotland (in case it’s relevant).

So... do you use / regularly come across the word ‘outwith’? I.e. ‘If you are trying to email me outwith opening hours please use my personal address’.

My colleague says it’s not a real word. I say it definitely is and I encounter it all the time. Is this a thing? Is it a proper word? I notice it’s underlined in red on my phone which doesn’t bode well, but I am absolutely certain I’ve seen this word in use before in other places.

What’s the verdict MN?

Yip use it a lot, Scottish too

I think sometimes people avoid using plain English in order to pomp themselves up.

Its plain Scots.

Nothing pompy about it.

I use it and I like it - it's useful
I am a wee bit Scottish tho!
No one in my neck of the woods (North East England) seems to have a problem understanding it when I use it in letters and reports

Totally a word, but in my experience only used regularly in Scotland. Love it myself and use it a lot.

I am genuinely staggered that people wouldn't understand sonething like " if you are trying to contact me outwith normal working hours". Surely its pretty obvious what it means.

If never heard ‘outwith’ used in everyday parlance in England, but a friend went thro court proceedings in Scotland and it was used in court documents there (which is the first time I heard it being used).

I use this all the time. I am Scottish though. Wasn't aware until this thread, and another thread on here I read earlier today where it was mentioned, that it wasn't used elsewhere!

I'm Scottish and use it all the time, including professional reports etc.

“Stooky”, “jotter” and now “outwith”.
All words I have been amazed to discover are Scottish words when I thought they were just words. The English language is a rich tapestry indeed

Definitely a Scottish thing. It irritates me greatly when autocorrect gives me the red squiggle.
I bloody love outwith.

I had no idea they don't use outwith in England

It's a preposition and is a Scottish word from Middle English, a transposed variant of Middle English 'withoute' (without).

AIBU to think that OP could have found this out quite easily by googling and not by putting an AIBU on Mumsnet?

I wrote a letter last week that used both outwith and timeously

And I say "amn't i". It rolls off the tongue better and makes more grammatical sense

I'm firmly in England and use outwith.

I’m in Wales with an English upbringing and completely understand outwith.

AIBU to think that OP could have found this out quite easily by googling and not by putting an AIBU on Mumsnet?

But then I wouldn’t have learned about ‘outside of’, ‘timeously’, ‘cwtch’ etc, and the rich tapestry of my life would have been a few threads poorer

I’ve heard it used before. And ‘notwithstanding’ is in common use so why not outwith, which is a simpler word.

It’s a lovely word and of course you should carry on using it, HBStowe. Would your colleague complain if he got an email from someone in the US with the word ‘gotten’?

I've also only heard it used by Scottish lawyers, usually where I would use 'outside' ('outwith the scope of...')

I use it, and Iive in Belgium, which is certainly outwith Scotland!!!

I use it in Cornwall as well. I'm English and have used outwith for decades.

I'm in Ireland but work with a lot of Scots and they always use the term outwith
Meaning outside the norm or without something.
I know what they mean when they say it.
I think it's an old English word.
Not rtft sorry if this has already been covered

That's not a real word. Just a made up word op

@oldishladyinashoebox read the thread! Loads of interesting info about it

Consider myself somewhat of an English expert and had never heard of this