Etymograph

English

overblow

Overblow comes from English blow ‘to flower, bloom’, from Middle English blowen ‘to blow away’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰleh₁-reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*blēaną‘to blow’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*blāan‘to blow’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150blāwan‘to blow’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500blowen‘to blow away’
  6. English1500–presentblow‘to flower, bloom’
  7. Englishtodayoverblow

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰleh₁-reconstructed
  2. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*blēaną‘to blow’reconstructed
  3. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*blāan‘to blow’reconstructed
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150blāwan‘to blow’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500blowen‘to blow away’
  6. English1500–presentblow‘to flower, bloom’
  7. Englishtodayoverblow

A compound of over- + blow ‘to flower, bloom’

Proto-Indo-European *úp

Proto-Indo-European *upér ‘over’

Proto-Germanic *uber ‘over’

English over-

Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- ‘to blow’

…

Proto-Germanic *blēaną ‘to blow’

Proto-West Germanic *blāan ‘to blow’

Old English blāwan ‘to blow, breathe’

Middle English blowen ‘to blow’

English blow

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁-

inflation, blast, flavor, flux, bliss, fluent, bladder, confluence, fluency, feeble, inflate, flatulence, fluvial, conflate, blithely, soufflé, blare, blasé, bleat, blather, 43 more

through Proto-Germanic *blēaną ‘to blow’

blowing, 3 more

through Old English blāwan ‘to blow’

blown, 3 more

Another origin of overblow

  1. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500overblowen
  2. Englishtodayoverblow

Today it means

verb To cover with blossoms or flowers.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁- / overblow

Shirt and support for this word