Etymograph

English

overdone

Overdone comes from Old English oferdōn ‘to overdo’, from dōn ‘to do’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *dōną ‘to do, make’.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*dōną1‘to do, make’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*dōn2‘to do’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150dōn3‘to do’
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150oferdōn4‘to overdo’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500overdon4
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1997overdone4

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *dōn
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old English don
  3. 3 Wiktionary, Old English oferdon
  4. 4 Wiktionary, English overdone
  5. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1997, Lawrence Norfolk: “There are lots of pauses and little detours, hitchings-up…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*dōnąWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *dōn‘to do, make’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*dōnWiktionary, Old English don‘to do’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150dōnWiktionary, Old English oferdon‘to do’
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150oferdōnWiktionary, English overdone‘to overdo’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500overdonWiktionary, English overdone
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1997overdoneWiktionary, English overdone. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1997, Lawrence Norfolk: “There are lots of pauses and little detours, hitchings-up…”

Linked words

through Old English dōn ‘to do’

do, doff, 4 more

Today it means

adj Cooked too much.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “overdone”; 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 / overdone

Shirt and support for this word