Where does “oversubtlety” come from?
oversubtlety (English) comes from English subtlety, from Middle English sotilte, from Old French sutilté, from Latin subtīlitās, from Latin subtīlis, from Latin tēla, from Old Dutch tegela, from Proto-Germanic *tigulā — to cover; pole, stick, beam.
oversubtlety (English): Excessive subtlety
Definitions
- Excessive subtlety
Ancestry of “oversubtlety”, step by step
oversubtlety traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English subtlety
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | subtlety | The quality of being subtle; An instance of being... |
| 2 | Middle English | sotilte | Mental power or ability; smartness or cleverness;... |
| 3 | Old French | sutilté | — |
| 4 | Latin | subtīlitās | fineness, thinness, slenderness, minuteness |
| 5 | Latin | subtīlis | fine, thin, slender |
| 6 | Latin | tēla | web |
| 7 | Old Dutch | tegela | — |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | *tigulā | — |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | tigulǭ | tile; brick |
| 10 | Latin | tēgula | a large, flat and heavy roof tile used in an overlapping formation with the curved and smaller imbrex |
| 11 | Latin | tegō | to cover; to clothe |
| 12 | Proto-Italic | tegō | cover |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)teg- | to cover; pole, stick, beam |
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 |