external

[ik-stur-nl] /ɪkˈstɜr nl/
adjective
1.
of or pertaining to the outside or outer part; outer:
an external surface.
2.
Medicine/Medical. to be applied to the outside of a body, as a remedy:
for external use only.
3.
situated or being outside something; acting or coming from without:
external influences.
4.
pertaining to the outward or visible appearance or show:
external acts of worship.
5.
pertaining to or concerned with foreign countries:
external affairs; external commerce.
6.
Zoology, Anatomy. on the side farthest from the body, the median line, or the center of a radially symmetrical form.
7.
Metaphysics. of or pertaining to the world of things, considered as independent of the perceiving mind:
external world.
noun
8.
the outside; outer surface; exterior.
9.
something that is external.
10.
externals, external features, circumstances, etc.; outward appearance; superficialities.
Origin
1375-1425; late Middle English; see extern, -al1
Related forms
externally, adverb
nonexternal, adjective, noun
nonexternally, adverb
quasi-external, adjective
quasi-externally, adverb
semiexternal, adjective
semiexternally, adverb
subexternal, adjective
subexternally, adverb
Can be confused
extraneous, external, extrinsic, internal, intrinsic.
Synonyms
1. outermost, exterior.
Examples from the web for external
  • Drive makers are pushing a new generation of external storage disks that connect to a home network.
  • Your research plan should also list those external funding sources to which you would make proposals to sustain your research.
  • Tarantulas periodically shed their external skeletons in a process called molting.
  • Will is caused by internal stimuli of the brain and body or external stimuli of the outside world.
  • There are those, however, who still maintain that an external blast was to blame.
  • The glare from external light sources onto a screen is heck on a photographer's eyes, especially when shooting outside.
  • Pursuing external funding for individual and departmental research and teaching objectives is expected.
  • If external finance is not available, it must run down its reserves.
  • The space shuttle's external fuel tank had collapsed, releasing all its liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants.
  • And therefore necessitates an external divine cause beyond nature.
British Dictionary definitions for external

external

/ɪkˈstɜːnəl/
adjective
1.
of, situated on, or suitable for the outside; outer
2.
coming or acting from without: external evidence from an independent source
3.
of or involving foreign nations; foreign
4.
of, relating to, or designating a medicine that is applied to the outside of the body
5.
(anatomy) situated on or near the outside of the body: the external ear
6.
(education) denoting assessment by examiners who are not employed at the candidate's place of study
7.
(Austral & NZ) (of a student) studying a university subject extramurally
8.
(philosophy) (of objects, etc) taken to exist independently of a perceiving mind
noun
9.
(often pl) an external circumstance or aspect, esp one that is superficial or inessential
10.
(Austral & NZ) a student taking an extramural subject
Derived Forms
externally, adverb
Word Origin
C15: from Latin externus outward, from exterus on the outside, from ex out of
Word Origin and History for external
adj.

early 15c. (implied in externalle), from Middle French externe or directly from Latin externus "outside, outward" (from exterus; see exterior) + -al (1). This version won out over exterial. Related: Externally.

external in Medicine

external ex·ter·nal (ĭk-stûr'nəl)
adj.
Abbr. ext.
Relating to, connected with, or existing on the outside; exterior.