Dictionary verb aus verb *st(e)i(g)- stechen ausstechen

ausstechen

(aus verb)

Meanings

1.
to gouge out
(Pretty much only for eyes, but you might find it in some gory movies)
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2.
cut out
(For cookies, especially at Christmas, with a cookie cutter)
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3.
to outdo, to ace out
("jemanden ausstechen" - in a situation of competition, where two or more apply for the same thing. Can be a date or a company tender. NOT for sports competitions.)
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Word Family

The core idea of this root was:

pointing, pricking, piercing

It’s the origin of words like stick, stitch and steak (which was originally a piece of meat on a stick over the fire) as well as some Latin loanwords like stimulus, instinct, instigate, stigma and style.

The German word “der Stock“, which can be a stick, does NOT belong to this family but rather to the family of *(s)teu- which has a similar theme, but which is much bigger.

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