Where does “überspannen” come from?

überspannen (German) comes from German spannen, from Middle High German spannen, from Old High German spannan, from Proto-Germanic spannaną — to stretch, span.

überspannen (German): to bestride

Definitions

  1. to bestride

Ancestry of “überspannen”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Germanspannento stretch; to tighten; to tension
2Middle High Germanspannento stretch, tighten
3Old High Germanspannan—
4Proto-Germanicspannanąto stretch, span
Every word from Proto-Germanic spannaną →Every word from Old High German spannan →Every word from Middle High German spannen →