Etymograph

English

overdone

Overdone comes from Old English oferdōn ‘to overdo’, from dōn ‘to do’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *dōną ‘to do, make’.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*dōną‘to do, make’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*dōn‘to do’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150dōn‘to do’
  4. Old English, derivedc. 450–1150oferdōn‘to overdo’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500overdon
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1997overdone

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*dōną‘to do, make’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*dōn‘to do’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150dōn‘to do’
  4. Old English, derivedc. 450–1150oferdōn‘to overdo’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500overdon
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1997overdone

Earliest quotation: 1997, Lawrence Norfolk: “There are lots of pauses and little detours, hitchings-up…”

Formed from over- + done

Proto-Indo-European *úp

Proto-Indo-European *upér ‘over’

Proto-Germanic *uber ‘over’

English over-

Linked words

through Old English dōn ‘to do’

do, doff, 4 more

Today it means

adj Cooked too much.

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

Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *dōną / overdone

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