Etymology

overcome

o·ver·come
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Today it means: To surmount (a physical or abstract obstacle); to prevail over, to get the better of. Full definition →

Middle English overcomen ← Old English ofercuman
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The story

  1. Old English · inherited fromofercuman
  2. Middle English · inherited fromovercomen
  3. English todayovercome

Inherited from Middle English overcomen, inherited from Old English ofercuman (“to overcome, subdue, compel, conquer, obtain, attain, reach, overtake”). By surface analysis, over- + come. Cognate with Dutch overkomen, German überkommen, Danish overkomme, Swedish överkomma.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.