English
override
Override comes from Middle English overriden ‘to tread over or squash someone or something…’, from Old English oferrīdan ‘to ride across’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *Hreydʰ-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hreydʰ-‘to set in motion, ride’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rīdaną‘to ride’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*rīdan‘to ride’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150rīdan‘to ride’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150oferrīdan‘to ride across’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500overriden‘to tread over or squash someone or something on horseback’
- Englishearliest quotation 1943override
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*Hreydʰ-‘to set in motion, ride’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*rīdaną‘to ride’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*rīdan‘to ride’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150rīdan‘to ride’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150oferrīdan‘to ride across’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500overriden‘to tread over or squash someone or something on horseback’
- Englishearliest quotation 1943override
Earliest quotation: 1943, – 1944 February, George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair]: “The needs of the windmill must override everything else,…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₃reyH- ‘to move, churn’
rival, derivative, rin, irritable, ria, irritate, derivation, ern, 12 more
through Proto-Germanic *rīdaną ‘to ride’
through Proto-West Germanic *rīdan ‘to ride’
through Old English rīdan ‘to ride’
Today it means
verb To ride across or beyond something.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *Hreydʰ- / override