Where does “overhead” come from?
Overhead derives from Middle English owerheved, from Old English oferhēafod, literally meaning "over the head."
overhead (English): located above, especially over the head; kicked...
Definitions
- located above, especially over the head; kicked...
Ancestry of “overhead”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Middle English | owerheved | — |
| 2 | Old English | oferhēafod | generally, in general, in every case |
| 3 | Old English | ofer- | used to form nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs... |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | uber | over; over, above |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | upér | above; over |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | upó | under, below |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ewp- | — |