Etymology

oversleep

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Today it means: To sleep for longer than intended. Full definition →

First used 14th c.English sleep ← 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. Englishsleep
  8. English todayoversleep

From over- + sleep.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 14th c. To sleep for longer than intended.
  • from 15th c. To sleep for longer than one intended.
  • from 16th c. To sleep beyond (a given time), to sleep through (an event etc.).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.