Extended or spread out to full length, like arms stretched out wide; fully extended.
Compound word from 'out' (extension) and 'stretched' (past tense of stretch). The 'out' prefix adds emphasis to stretching. The form has been used since at least the 14th century in Middle English.
Outstretched appears constantly in literature and art because it's viscerally powerful—arms outstretched suggest vulnerability, welcome, desperation, or joy all at once. The prefix 'out' doesn't just mean extending; it means pushing to the maximum, which is why outstretched hands look so dramatic compared to simply raised arms.
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