Etymology

overcompensation

Today it means: An excess amount provided in one area in an effort to overcome a perceived lack in another area. Full definition →

English compensation ← Middle English over- ← Old English ofer-
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*úp
  2. Proto-Indo-European*upér
  3. Proto-Germanic*uber
  4. Old Englishofer-
  5. Middle Englishover-
  6. Englishover-
  7. Englishcompensation
  8. English todayovercompensation

From over- + compensation.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.