English
Uber
Uber comes from German über ‘above, over’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *upér.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*upér‘above’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*upérireconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ubiri‘over’reconstructed
- Old High Germanc. 750–1050ubiri
- Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350über
- Germanc. 1650–presentsame form‘above, over’
- Englishearliest quotation 2016Uber
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*upér‘above’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*upérireconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ubiri‘over’reconstructed
- Old High Germanc. 750–1050ubiri
- Middle High Germanc. 1050–1350über
- Germanc. 1650–presentsame form‘above, over’
- Englishearliest quotation 2016Uber
Earliest quotation: 2016, Jared Meyer, Uber-Positive: Why Americans Love the Sharing Economy: “Simply because there are more drivers who have signed…”
The story
The company's name is from uber, from German über (‘above, over’), as in “above all the rest (of the competition),” a principle the founders wanted to build upon.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *upér ‘above’
over, super, supreme, summary, soprano, supra, consummate, summa, 22 more
Today it means
noun A car ride requested using the mobile application Uber.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *upér / Uber