人的那條線比較長
這是最原始的用法，兩條線就是兩個人的一生。線停下來的意思，就是那個人過世了。
verb · B2
To stay alive after someone else has died, so that your life goes on for a time when theirs has ended.
比…活得久
核心畫面
You can think of outlive as two lines drawn side by side along time. One line stops. The other keeps going past the place where the first one ended. That is all out- + live is doing: out- means past or beyond, live means to go on being here. Whether the lines are two lives, two buildings, or a thing and the use people had for it, the picture does not change — one ends, one goes on past it.
outlive 的畫面可以想成兩條線，沿著時間並排往前畫。其中一條先停住。另一條越過那個停住的點，繼續往前。out-…更多收起
outlive 的畫面可以想成兩條線，沿著時間並排往前畫。其中一條先停住。另一條越過那個停住的點，繼續往前。out- 是「越過」，live 是「還在」，合起來就是這個畫面。不管兩條線是兩個人的一生、兩棟建築，還是一樣東西跟它的用處，畫面都一樣：一邊結束，另一邊走過去了。From the word’s history
Recorded as Middle English outliven, simply out- + live. The parts are still visible in the modern word, which is why the picture of going past the stopping point works so well.
來源記載這個字來自中古英語 outliven，就是 out- 加上 live。兩個部分到今天還看得出來，所以「越過那個停住的點」這個畫面，跟字的組成是對得上的。
Wiktionary (kaikki extract, source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:674551589)
Two branches
東西留得比較久
同一個畫面，只是把「活著」淡成「還在」。線不再是生命，而是一本書、一條規定、一座碼頭，甚至是一樣東西的用處。
verb · B2
If one thing outlives another, it goes on existing after the other one has ended, stopped or disappeared.
比…留存得久