Where does “overcanny” come from?
overcanny (English) comes from English canny, from English uncanny, from English un-, from Middle English un-, from Old English un-, from Proto-West Germanic un-, from Proto-Germanic un-, from Proto-Indo-European n̥- — not.
overcanny (English): Excessively canny
Definitions
- Excessively canny
Ancestry of “overcanny”, step by step
overcanny traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English canny
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | canny | Careful, prudent, cautious; Knowing, shrewd,... |
| 2 | English | uncanny | Strange, and mysteriously unsettling (as if supernatural); weird |
| 3 | English | un- | not; absent; lacking; not; negative; contrary to... |
| 4 | Middle English | un- | — |
| 5 | Old English | un- | negation or absence of: un-, non-; bad; forms... |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | un- | not, un- |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | un- | not, un- |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | n̥- | not, un- |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ne | not |
via English over
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | over | Discontinued; ended or concluded; Thoroughly;... |
| 2 | Middle English | over | riverbank, seashore, brink |
| 3 | Old English | ōfer | riverbank, seashore, brink, edge, margin, border |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | obar | over, above |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | uber | over; over, above |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | upér | above; over |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | upó | under, below |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ewp- | — |