Where does “overtaken” come from?
Overtaken comes from Middle English overtaken, the past participle of overtake, meaning to catch up with or come upon someone or something.
overtaken (English): past participle of overtake; drunk; intoxicated
Definitions
- past participle of overtake; drunk; intoxicated
Ancestry of “overtaken”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | overtake | To pass a more slowly moving object or entity; To... |
| 2 | Middle English | overtaken | — |
| 3 | Middle English | overnimen | — |
| 4 | Old English | oferniman | to take by force or violence |
| 5 | Old English | ōfer | riverbank, seashore, brink, edge, margin, border |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | obar | over, above |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | uber | over; over, above |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | upér | above; over |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | upó | under, below |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ewp- | — |