Where does “overstuffed” come from?

Overstuffed derives from English over- plus stuffed, with the over- prefix tracing through Middle English over-, Old English ofer-, Proto-Germanic uber, and Proto-Indo-European upér and upo, all meaning "over" or "above."

overstuffed (English): Filled beyond capacity; Of a piece of upholstered...

Definitions

  1. Filled beyond capacity; Of a piece of upholstered...

Ancestry of “overstuffed”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Englishstuffedsimple past tense and past participle of stuff;...
2EnglishstuffMiscellaneous items or objects; personal...
3Romanianstufreed; thatch
4Old Frisianstīf—
5Proto-Germanicstīfazstiff, rigid
6Proto-Indo-Europeansteypós—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European steypós →Every word from Proto-Germanic stīfaz →Every word from Old Frisian stīf →