Etymology

overnight

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Today it means: During or throughout the night, especially during the evening or night just past. Full definition →

First used 19th c.Middle English overnyght ← Old English ofer niht ← German übernachten
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The story

  1. German · calque ofübernachten
  2. Old English · inherited fromofer niht“through the night, overnight”
  3. Middle English · inherited fromovernyght
  4. English todayovernight

Inherited from Middle English overnyght, from Old English ofer niht (“through the night, overnight”), equivalent to over + night. Verbal use (late 19th c.) may have been influenced by German übernachten (16th c.), though it could also have developed independently. Compare also Dutch overnachten (“to overnight”), Middle Low German ȫvernachten (“to overnight”), West Frisian oernachtsje (“to overnight”), Saterland Frisian uurnoachtje (“to overnight”).

First known use, by meaning

  • from 19th c. To stay overnight; to spend the night.
  • from 20th c. To send something for delivery the next day.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.