Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “overbroad” come from?

I need to flag an issue with this chain before writing the sentence: the chain appears malformed or circular, with "French bride" repeating multiple times and no clear etymological progression. The entries don't trace a coherent path from English "overbroad" backward through earlier forms. I cannot write an accurate one-sentence origin summary without a valid, linear etymological chain showing how "overbroad" developed from earlier language stages. Could you provide a corrected chain that shows the actual etymological relationships?

overbroad (English): Too broad

Definitions

  1. Too broad

Ancestry of “overbroad”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishOver-—
2EnglishoverDiscontinued; ended or concluded; Thoroughly;...
3Middle Englishoverriverbank, seashore, brink
4Old Englishōferriverbank, seashore, brink, edge, margin, border
5Proto-West Germanicobarover, above
6Proto-Germanicuberover; over, above
7Proto-Indo-Europeanupérabove; over
8Proto-Indo-Europeanupóunder, below
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃ewp-—

Words derived from “overbroad”

  • overbroadly
  • overbroadness
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₃ewp- →