English
overall
Overall comes from Middle English overall, from Old English ofer eall ‘over all’ (over + all).
- Old Englishc. 450–1150ofer eall1‘over all’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500overall1
- Englishearliest quotation 1949overall1
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English overall
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1949, W. Keith Hancock, Margaret M. Gowing: “We believe also that a controlled economy cannot be…”.
Lineage
- Old Englishc. 450–1150ofer eallWiktionary, English overall‘over all’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500overallWiktionary, English overall
- Englishearliest quotation 1949overallWiktionary, English overall. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1949, W. Keith Hancock, Margaret M. Gowing: “We believe also that a controlled economy cannot be…”
Every English word from Old English ofer eall
Today it means
adj All-encompassing, all around.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “overall”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Old English ofer eall / overall