Where does “overwrought” come from?
Overwrought comes from Middle English overwroght, past participle of overwerken, from Old English oferwyrċan, meaning to work excessively or labor beyond measure.
overwrought (English): Excessively nervous, excited, tense, angry,...
Definitions
- Excessively nervous, excited, tense, angry,...
Ancestry of “overwrought”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | overwork | To make work too hard; To work too hard; To fill... |
| 2 | Middle English | overwerken | — |
| 3 | Old English | oferwyrċan | to overwork, overlay |
| 4 | Old English | wyrċan | to make; to work |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | *wurkijan | to work |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | *wurkijaną | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | wr̥ǵyéti | to be working, to be at work |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 10 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |