Etymology

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Today it means: To lay, spread, or apply (something) over or across (something else); to overspread. Full definition →

First used 14th c.Middle English overleyen ← Old English oferleċġan ← Proto-West Germanic *obarlaggjan
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The story

  1. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*uberlagjaną
  2. Proto-West Germanic · inherited from*obarlaggjan
  3. Old English · inherited fromoferleċġan
  4. Middle English · inherited fromoverleyen
  5. English todayoverlay

From Middle English overleyen, from Old English oferleċġan, from Proto-West Germanic *obarlaggjan, from Proto-Germanic *uberlagjaną, equivalent to over- + lay. Cognate with Saterland Frisian uurläze, úurlääse, Dutch overleggen, German Low German overleggen, överleggen, German überlegen, Swedish överlägga, Norwegian overlegge. Compare overlie.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 14th c. To lie over (someone, especially a child) in order to smother it; to suffocate.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.