English
overset
Overset comes from Middle English oversetten ‘to place or set over, cover’, from Old English ofersettan ‘to put in a position of authority’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sed- ‘to sit’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sed-‘to sit’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sitjaną‘to sit’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*ubarsittjan‘to abstain from, neglect’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*ubarsattjan‘to place above, set over’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150ofersettan‘to put in a position of authority’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500oversetten‘to place or set over, cover’
- Englishearliest quotation 1532overset
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*sed-‘to sit’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*sitjaną‘to sit’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*ubarsittjan‘to abstain from, neglect’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanic, derivedc. 200–500 CE*ubarsattjan‘to place above, set over’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150ofersettan‘to put in a position of authority’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500oversetten‘to place or set over, cover’
- Englishearliest quotation 1532overset
Earliest quotation: 1532, William Tyndale: “For thieves love among themselves: and so do the…”
The story
The verb is derived from Middle English oversetten (‘to place or set over, cover; to assail; to defeat, overcome, overpower, overthrow; to defer; to discredit, refute; to disregard, overlook, set aside; to hinder; to oppress; to repulse’), from Old English ofersettan (‘to put in a position of authority; to overcome or be overcome; to set over’), from Proto-West Germanic *ubarsattjan (‘to place above, set over; to establish, install’), from *ubarsittjan (‘to abstain from, neglect; to occupy, possess; to sit over or upon’), from *ubar- (prefix meaning ‘above, over’) + *sittjan (‘to sit’) (from Proto-Germanic *sitjaną (‘to sit’), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *sed- (‘to sit’)). Verb sense 1.2.3 (‘to translate (a text)’) is probably a calque of German übersetzen.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *sed- ‘to sit’
president, size, set, sell, chair, method, seat, session, resident, nest, settle, siege, niche, assess, possess, saddle, exodus, reside, subsidy, residue, residual, nye, sedan, insidious, sediment, dissident, prasad, cathode, soot, sedentary, anode, obsess, sedative, beset, presidio, sedate, chaise, presidium, setter, salo, 93 more
through Proto-Germanic *sitjaną ‘to sit’
Today it means
verb To knock over or overturn (someone or something); to capsize, to upset.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *sed- / overset