Etymology

overtop

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Today it means: To be higher than; to rise over the top of. Full definition →

First used 16th c.English top ← 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. Englishtop
  8. English todayovertop

From over- + top.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 16th c. To be higher than; to rise over the top of.
  • from 18th c. Over the top.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.