Outwith
Outwith is a Scots word meaning outside or beyond, used in everyday and official Scottish English, as in "outwith office hours". It is the opposite of "within" and works the same way: outwith the city boundary, outwith the scope of this policy.
In practice
Unlike many Scots words, outwith is not informal. You will find it in employment contracts, council letters, NHS Scotland appointment notes, university regulations and court judgments. The Dictionary of the Scots Language records it in written use from the early 1700s. Speakers of English English sometimes read it as a typo for "without", which can change the meaning of a sentence completely: "fees outwith the agreed budget" means fees beyond the budget, not fees missing from it.
Why it matters to newcomers
Read it carefully in anything you sign. "Work carried out outwith normal hours" is overtime; "residents outwith the catchment area" are outside it. Using it yourself in writing to Scottish organisations is perfectly correct.
Related
- Dreich - the Scots word you will hear before you read outwith
- Holyrood - the Parliament whose laws are full of it