Question

What does William Wordsworth mean by "Out-did" in the following bolded lines?

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in a sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

The daffodils seemed happier than the waves.
The daffodils could not dance as well as the waves.
The daffodils were taller than the waves.
The daffodils moved, but the waves stayed still.

Answer 1

In the context of the given lines from William Wordsworth's poem "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud," the phrase "Out-did" means that the daffodils surpassed or exceeded the sparkling waves in terms of their joy or exuberance. The daffodils were not only moving and dancing like the waves beside them, but they did so with even greater delight and enthusiasm. The daffodils' vibrant and lively movement outshone the sparkling waves in terms of their expression of happiness and glee.

Step-by-step explanation:

Answer 2

In the context of the poem, "Out-did" means that the daffodils surpassed or exceeded the waves in terms of joy and happiness. The waves were dancing but the daffodils appeared to be even happier and more joyful than the waves. The speaker is saying that being in the presence of the daffodils brought him great happiness and lifted his spirits higher than the waves could.