"O" Word Origins

outspoken

Origin

From outspeak, equivalent to out- + spoken.

outstanding

Origin

From outstand, equivalent to out- + standing or outstand + -ing.

outstep

Origin

From out- + step.

outstrip

Origin

From out- (prefix forming verbs with the sense of exceeding or surpassing) + strip (“(obsolete) to move or pass by quickly”).

outvie

Origin

From out- + vie.

outward

Old English

From Old English utweard, built from out + -ward, the same suffix meaning "in the direction of" found in "forward" and "homeward."

outwardly

Middle English

From Middle English outwardly, outwardli, utwardliche, equivalent to outward + -ly.

outwards

Middle English

From Middle English outwardes, from Old English ūtweardes; equivalent to outward + -s or out + -wards. Cognate with German auswärts.

outwith

Middle English

A Scots and Northern English word, from Middle English outwith — essentially a rearranged form of "without" in its old sense of "outside of."

Ouyang

Origin

From Mandarin 歐陽 /欧阳 (Ōuyáng).

ouzel

Origin

From Middle English osel, from Old English ōsle, from Proto-West Germanic *ą̄slā, *amslā, from Proto-Germanic *amslǭ. Cognate with German Amsel. For the spelling, compare Early Modern English bloud (“blood”).

ouzo

Italian

From Greek ούζο (oúzo); the origin is debated, with theories linking it to a Turkish word for grape and to an Italian export stamp reading "for use in Marseille."

oval

Late Latin

From Late Latin ovalis, "egg-shaped," from ovum, "egg."

ovalbumin

Origin

From Late Latin ovi albumen (“egg white”), + -in.

ovaline

Origin

From oval + -ine. Compare opaline.

ovarian

Origin · 1840

Formed in the 1840s from ovary plus the adjective ending -an.

ovary

New Latin

From New Latin ovarium, ultimately from Latin ovum, "egg."

ovate

Origin

Borrowed from Latin ōvātus, from ōvum (“an egg”) + -ātus; see -ate (adjective-forming suffix) and -ate (noun-forming suffix).

ovation

Latin

From Latin ovatio, a lesser form of victory celebration than a full triumph, from the verb ovare, "to rejoice."

oven

Old English

From Old English ofn, going back to a Proto-Germanic word for "oven," itself likely from an ancient root meaning "cooking pot."

over

Latin

From Old English ofer, tracing back to a very old Indo-European root meaning "above" — related to Latin super and Greek hyper.

over the counter

English

From the literal image of goods handed across a shop counter, as opposed to being kept back and dispensed only on authority.

over the top

English

From the First World War phrase 'to go over the top', meaning to climb out of a trench parapet to attack; the sense of reckless excess developed from it.

overabundance

Origin

From Middle English overaboundaunce, equivalent to over- + abundance.

overactive

Origin

From over- + active.

overall

Old English

From Old English ofer eall, "over all" — literally covering everything.

overappraisal

Origin

From over- + appraisal.

overarching

English

From over- plus arching, from arch: originally describing something that curves over the top of something else, later used figuratively of ideas that span everything below them.

overbear

Origin

From Middle English overberen; equivalent to over- + bear.

overbearing

Origin

From overbear ("to bear down on, dominate") plus the -ing ending.

overboard

Origin

From over- + board (as in the side of a ship).

overbreathing

Origin

From over- + breathing.

overcast

Middle English

From Middle English overcasten, from over- + cast — literally "thrown over" (like a cloud thrown over the sky).

overcharge

Origin

From Middle English overchargen, equivalent to over- + charge.

overclock

English

From over- plus clock, referring to the clock speed at which a chip is rated to run.

overclothed

Origin

From over- + clothed.

overcoat

Origin

From over- + coat.

overcome

Old English

From Old English ofercuman, "to overcome, conquer," from over- + come.

overconfident

Origin

From over- + confident.

overcooked

Origin

From over- + cooked.

overcrowded

Origin

From over- + crowded.

overdear

Origin

From Middle English *overdere (suggested by Middle English overdere (“too expensively, at too great a cost”, adverb)), equivalent to over- + dear.

overdo

Old English

From Old English oferdōn, from over- + do.

overdone

Old English

From Old English oferdōn, from over- + done.

overdose

Origin

From over- + dose.

overdraft

Origin

From over- + draft.

overdressed

Origin

From over- + dressed.

overdrive

Old English

From Old English oferdrīfan, "to drive over," from over- + drive.