English
overdo
Overdo comes from Old English oferdōn ‘to overdo’, from dōn ‘to do’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *dōną ‘to do, make’.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*dōną1‘to do, make’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*dōn2‘to do’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150dōn3‘to do’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150oferdōn4‘to overdo’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500overdon4
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602overdo4
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *dōn
- 2 Wiktionary, Old English don
- 3 Wiktionary, Old English oferdon
- 4 Wiktionary, English overdo
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “[…] o’erstep not the modesty of nature: for anything…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*dōnąWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *dōn‘to do, make’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*dōnWiktionary, Old English don‘to do’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150dōnWiktionary, Old English oferdon‘to do’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150oferdōnWiktionary, English overdo‘to overdo’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500overdonWiktionary, English overdo
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1599–1602overdoWiktionary, English overdo. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: c. 1599–1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: “[…] o’erstep not the modesty of nature: for anything…”
Linked words
through Old English dōn ‘to do’
Today it means
verb To do too much; to exceed what is proper or true in doing; to carry too far.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “overdo”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-West Germanic *dōn, Old English don, Old English oferdon. 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 / Proto-Germanic *dōną / overdo