utfus

Old English

FWOTD – 5 March 2026

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *úd

Proto-Germanic *ūt

Proto-West Germanic *ūt

Old English ūt

Proto-Indo-European *pent-

Proto-Indo-European *-tós

Proto-Indo-European *pn̥tstós

Proto-Germanic *fundsaz

Proto-Germanic *funsaz

Proto-West Germanic *funs

Old English fūs

Old English utfus

From ūt (“out”) +‎ fūs (“ready”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈuːtˌfuːs/

Adjective

ūtfūs

1. (poetic, hapax legomenon) eager to leave, ready to depart
   • c. 1000, Beowulf (Cotton MS Vitellius A XV)‎^[1], page 132v:

     þær æt hyðe stod hringedstefna,
     isig ⁊ utfus, æþelinges fær.

     There at harbor stood a ring-stemmed ship,
     ice covered and eager to sail, the prince's vessel.

Declension

Declension of ūtfūs — Strong

Singular	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	ūtfūs	ūtfūs	ūtfūs
Accusative	ūtfūsne	ūtfūse	ūtfūs
Genitive	ūtfūses	ūtfūsre	ūtfūses
Dative	ūtfūsum	ūtfūsre	ūtfūsum
Instrumental	ūtfūse	ūtfūsre	ūtfūse
Plural	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	ūtfūse	ūtfūsa, ūtfūse	ūtfūs
Accusative	ūtfūse	ūtfūsa, ūtfūse	ūtfūs
Genitive	ūtfūsra	ūtfūsra	ūtfūsra
Dative	ūtfūsum	ūtfūsum	ūtfūsum
Instrumental	ūtfūsum	ūtfūsum	ūtfūsum

Declension of ūtfūs — Weak

Singular	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	ūtfūsa	ūtfūse	ūtfūse
Accusative	ūtfūsan	ūtfūsan	ūtfūse
Genitive	ūtfūsan	ūtfūsan	ūtfūsan
Dative	ūtfūsan	ūtfūsan	ūtfūsan
Instrumental	ūtfūsan	ūtfūsan	ūtfūsan
Plural	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	ūtfūsan	ūtfūsan	ūtfūsan
Accusative	ūtfūsan	ūtfūsan	ūtfūsan
Genitive	ūtfūsra, ūtfūsena	ūtfūsra, ūtfūsena	ūtfūsra, ūtfūsena
Dative	ūtfūsum	ūtfūsum	ūtfūsum
Instrumental	ūtfūsum	ūtfūsum	ūtfūsum

Descendants

• Middle English: outfous, outefouse, outfowse

Further reading

• Stiles, Patrick (2020), “Beowulf 33a and Hapax Legomena”, in Neophilologus‎^[2], volume 104, Springer Science+Business Media, published 20 August 2019, →DOI, →OCLC, pages 255-256.