overleaven

O1V4E1R1L1E1A1V4E1N1

verb

To leaven too much.

OriginEnglish leaven ← Middle English levayn ← Old French levain →
Scrabble 16
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Meanings

verboverleaven (third-person singular simple present overleavens, present participle overleavening, simple past and past participle overleavened)

present singular third person overleavens · participle present overleavening · participle past overleavened · past overleavened

  1. To leaven too much.
  2. broadlyobsoleteTo change excessively; to spoil.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*úp
  2. Proto-Indo-European*upér
  3. Proto-Germanic*uber
  4. Old Englishofer-
  5. Middle Englishover-
  6. Englishover-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*h₁lengʷʰ-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*h₁léngʰus
  9. Proto-Italic*breɣʷisinflu.
  10. Proto-Italic*leɣʷis
  11. Latinlevis
  12. Latinlevō
  13. Vulgar Latin*levāmen
  14. Old Frenchlevain
  15. Middle Englishlevayn
  16. Englishleaven
  17. Englishoverleaven

From over- + leaven.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

overleaven. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overleaven

MLA

“overleaven.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overleaven. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “overleaven,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overleaven.

Source: overleaven on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.