Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “overattentive” come from?

overattentive (English) comes from English attentive, from Middle English attentif, from Old French attentif, from Latin attentus, from Latin attineo, from Latin ad-, from Latin īn-, from Latin în — in.

overattentive (English): Excessively attentive

Definitions

  1. Excessively attentive

Ancestry of “overattentive”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishattentivePaying attention; noticing, watching, listening,...
2Middle Englishattentif—
3Old Frenchattentif—
4Latinattentusdetained, delayed; preserved, guarded; attentive,...
5LatinattineoI bring or hold to or near; I hold fast, keep,...
6Latinad-to; usually prefixed to verbs, in which cases it...
7Latinīn-—
8Latinîn—
9Latinenlookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ
10Proto-Italicenin
11Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁énin

Words derived from “overattentive”

  • overattentiveness
  • overattentively
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁én →