outer

Etymology 1

From Middle English outre, outer, outter, uttre, from Old English ūtre, ūtera, ūterra (“outer”), equivalent to out + -er. Compare German äußere (“outer”), Danish ydre (“outer”), Swedish yttre (“outer”), Icelandic ytri (“outer”).

adj

1. Outside; external.
2. Farther from the centre of the inside.
   Nanny Broome was looking up at the outer wall. Just under the ceiling there were three lunette windows, heavily barred and blacked out in the normal way by centuries of grime. Their bases were on a level with the pavement outside, a narrow way which was several feet lower than the road behind the house. 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 14, in The China Governess

noun

1. An outer part.
   'Phil Cornish' [a snowdrop variety] is like a cross between a pixie hat and a pagoda, with elegant upswept outers [outer petals] marked in a green colour-wash at the top and warpaint slashes at the lower end. 7 February 2015, Val Bourne, “The quiet man of the world of snowdrops”, in The Daily Telegraph (London), page G8
2. (sports) An uncovered section of the seating at a stadium or sportsground.
3. (military, firearms) The fourth circle on a target, outside the inner and magpie.
4. A shot which strikes the outer of a target.
5. (retail) The smallest single unit sold by wholesalers to retailers, usually one retail display box.
   We ordered two cartons with twelve outers in each.

Etymology 2

table out (verb) + -er (“agent suffix”)

noun

1. Someone who admits to something publicly.
2. Someone who outs another.
   From the early 90s, these were some of the fiercest debates raging in the gay press and in gay and straight bars worldwide as blabbermouths blabbed, sometimes just for the sheer hell of it, and gay celebrities ran for cover or bit the bullet and pipped the outers to the post. 2002, Simon Gage, Lisa Richards, Howard Wilmot, Queer: The Ultimate User's Guide, page 88
3. One who puts out, ousts, or expels.
4. An ouster; dispossession.
5. (UK politics) One who supports leaving the European Union.
   The 51.4 per cent to 48.6 per cent victory of the "outers" broke the back of the Labour government. 2013-01-25, Jon Cruddas, “Au Revoir, Europe: What If Britain Left the EU? by David Charter”, in The Independent
   2015-05-07, Guy Faulconbridge, “Britain's EU "outers" see opportunity in wake of Greece's "No"”, in Reuters:
   Meanwhile, outers are disporting themselves on TV in luminous green ties, hand-woven by first years at the Dronefield Academy for the Sartorially Challenged. 2016-02-16, Robert Shrimsley, “Gimme a Brexit break”, in Financial Times