Etymology

overweight

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Today it means: Having a higher weight, especially body fat, than what is generally considered healthy for a given body type and height. Full definition →

First used 17th c.English weight ← 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. Englishweight
  8. English todayoverweight

From over- + weight.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 17th c. To place excessive weight or emphasis on; to overestimate the importance of.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.