"O" Word Origins

overdub

Origin

From over- + dub (in the sense derived from double).

overdue

Origin

From over- + due.

overestimate

Origin

From over- + estimate.

overexcited

Origin

From over- + excited.

overexert

Origin

From over- + exert.

overflow

Old English

From Old English oferflōwan, from over- + flow.

overflowing

Origin

From overflow + -ing.

overfull

Origin

From Middle English overful, overfulle, from Old English oferfull (“overfull”), from Proto-West Germanic [Term?], from Proto-Germanic *uberfullaz; equivalent to over- + full. Cognate with German übervoll (“overfull”), Swedish överfull (“overfull”).

overgo

Origin

From Middle English overgon, from Old English ofergān (“to pass over, beyond, across, traverse, cross, transgress, overstep, overrun, overcome, overspread, conquer, come upon, overtake, seize, attack, pass off, pass away, end, overreach”), equivalent to over- + go. Cognate with Dutch overgaan, German übergehen, Swedish övergå.

overgrown

Origin

From over- + grown.

overhang

Origin

From Old English oferhangan, corresponding to over- + hang.

overhaul

Origin

From over- + haul.

overhead

Old English

From Old English oferhēafod, "over the head," from over- + head.

overhear

Old English

From Old English oferhīeran, from over- + hear.

overheat

Middle English

From Middle English overheten, formed from over- + heat; German has the near-identical überhitzen.

overhope

Origin

From Middle English overhope, oferhope, equivalent to over- + hope.

overindulge

English

From over- plus indulge, which comes via Latin indulgere, meaning to be lenient or to give free rein to.

overjoyous

Origin

From over- + joyous.

overkill

Origin

Built from over- + kill, originally coined to describe Cold War nuclear stockpiles that vastly exceeded what was needed to destroy a target.

overland

Origin

A straightforward compound of over + land.

overlap

Dutch

From over- + lap (in the sense of one thing folding or lying over another); related to Dutch overlap.

overlarge

Origin

From Middle English overlarge, equivalent to over- + large.

overlay

Old English

From Old English oferleċġan, built from over- + lay; German überlegen is a cognate.

overlayer

Origin

From over- + layer.

overleap

Origin

From Middle English overlepen, from Old English oferhlēapan. Compare Dutch overlopen (“to spill over; overflow”), German überlaufen (“to overrun; overflow”). By surface analysis, over- + leap.

overlie

Origin

From Middle English overlien, overliggen, equivalent to over- + lie (“to be reclined”). Compare West Frisian oerlizze, German überliegen, Danish overligge, Swedish överligga, Norwegian overligge.

overload

Origin

Built from over- + load.

overloading

Origin

From over + loading.

overlook

Middle English

From Middle English overloken, formed from over- + look.

overlord

Middle English

From Middle English variants like oferrlaferrd, built from over- + lord.

overly

Origin

From over + the adverbial suffix -ly.

overman

Origin

From Middle English overman (“a superior; leader; master”). Compare superman. By surface analysis, over- + man.

overmatch

Origin

From Middle English overmacchen, equivalent to over- + match.

overmuch

Origin

From Middle English overmuche, overmuchel, from Old English ofermiċel, ofermyċel (“overmuch, excessive”), equivalent to over- + much. Compare overmany and overmore. Doublet of overmickle. Cognate with Scots over-mekill (“overmuch, excessive”), Old Norse ofrmikill (“overmuch, excessive”), Icelandic ofmikill (“overmuch, excessive”).

overnight

Old English

From Old English ofer niht ("through the night"), built from over + night; the verb use is a later development, possibly echoing German übernachten.

overpass

Latin

Built from over- + pass, ultimately from Latin passus ("step, pace").

overplus

Origin

From over- + Anglo-Norman plus, Middle French plus.

overpoise

Origin

From over- + poise.

overpopulation

Origin

From over- ("excessive") + population.

overpower

Origin

Built from over- + power.

overpowered

Origin

From overpower + -ed.

overprotective

Origin

Built from over- + protective.

overqualified

Origin

Built from over- + qualified.

overquantity

Origin

From over- + quantity.

overrated

Origin

Built from over- + rated.

overreach

Origin

The verb is from Middle English overrechen (“to rise above; to extend beyond or over; to encroach; to catch, overtake; to reach; to obtain wrongfully (?); to take up (a book) to revise it”) [and other forms], equivalent to over- + reach; the noun is derived from the verb or from the phrase to reach over.

overreact

Origin

Built from over- + react.

overreaction

Origin

Built from over- + reaction.