Where does “overfull” come from?

overfull (English) comes from Middle English overful, from Old English oferfull, from Proto-Germanic uberfullaz, from Proto-Germanic fullaz, from Proto-Indo-European pl̥h₁nós, from Proto-Indo-European pleh₁- — to fill.

overfull (English): excessively filled; full to overflowing; A full...

Definitions

  1. excessively filled; full to overflowing; A full...

Ancestry of “overfull”, step by step

overfull traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Middle English overful

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Middle Englishoverful—
2Old Englishoferfulloverfull
3Proto-Germanicuberfullazoverly full, full to overflowing
4Proto-Germanicfullazfull; the whole, the entire
5Proto-Indo-Europeanpl̥h₁nósfull
6Proto-Indo-Europeanpleh₁-to fill

via Swedish över

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Swedishöverabove; more than; over the goal; above
2Old Norseyfirabove
3Proto-Germanicubiriover; over, above
4Proto-Indo-Europeanupérialternative reconstruction of *upér

via Swedish full

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Swedishfullfull; drunk, intoxicated
2Old Norsefullrfull

Words derived from “overfull”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European pleh₁- →