English

hyperalert

From hyper- + alert.

A compound of hyper- + alert

Proto-Indo-European *úp

Proto-Indo-European *upér ‘over, above’

Proto-Hellenic *hupér

Ancient Greek ὑπέρ ‘over’

Italian allerta ‘to the height’

Old French a l'herte ‘on the watch, on guard’

French alerte

English alert

Today it means

adj Excessively alert, especially as a result of traumatic stress.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / hyperalert