Where does “overpopulated” come from?

Overpopulated comes from English over and populate, where over derives from Middle English over, Latin populor meaning to lay waste, and populus meaning people, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European upér and upo.

overpopulated (English): simple past tense and past participle of...

Definitions

  1. simple past tense and past participle of...

Ancestry of “overpopulated”, step by step

overpopulated traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English over

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

via English populated

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishpopulatedThat has, or supplied with, inhabitants or...
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₃ewp-