Udvendigt

Udvendigt is a Danish term that functions as both an adjective and an adverb, meaning external, outside, or outward. It describes what belongs to or lies on the exterior of something else, as opposed to indvendigt, which refers to the interior.

In practice, udvendigt is widely used across several domains. In architecture and construction, it describes exterior parts of a structure, such as udvendig facade, udvendigt murværk or udvendig cladding. In biology and medicine, it refers to the outer surface or layer of an organism or body part, for example udvendigt hudlag or udvendigt lag af væv. In everyday language, udvendigt communicates what is visible from the outside or the outer appearance of something; for instance, discussions about the udvendige finish of a product or the udvendige look of a building.

Grammatically, udvendigt can function as an adjective modifying a neutral noun in the singular or as an adverb describing exterior aspects. It is commonly paired with indvendigt to distinguish exterior from interior, or with other nouns to specify the external surface, layer, or coating.

Etymology and relation: the word is formed from ud- meaning out or external, and vend- from vende (to turn), with the suffix -igt that marks a descriptive form. Cognates exist in nearby Scandinavian languages, such as Swedish utvändigt and Norwegian utvendig.

See also: indvendig, overflade, facade.