Etymograph

English

overflow

Overflow comes from Middle English overflowen ‘to overflow’, from Old English flōwan ‘to flow’, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic *flōaną.

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*flōaną1‘to flow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*flōan1‘to flow’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150flōwan2‘to flow’
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150oferflōwan3‘to overflow’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500overflowen3‘to overflow’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1611overflow3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Old English flowan
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Old English oferflowan
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English overflow
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Theſe are they that went ouer Ioꝛden in the…”.

Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*flōanąWiktionary, Old English flowan‘to flow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*flōanWiktionary, Old English flowan‘to flow’reconstructed
  3. Old Englishc. 450–1150flōwanWiktionary, Old English oferflowan‘to flow’
  4. Old Englishc. 450–1150oferflōwanWiktionary, English overflow‘to overflow’
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500overflowenWiktionary, English overflow‘to overflow’
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1611overflowWiktionary, English overflow. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1611, The Holy Bible, London: […] Robert Barker: “Theſe are they that went ouer Ioꝛden in the…”

Formed from over- + flow

Proto-Indo-European *úp

Proto-Indo-European *upér ‘over’

Proto-Germanic *uber ‘over’

English over-

Proto-Germanic *flōaną ‘to flow’

Proto-West Germanic *flōan ‘to flow’

Old English flōwan ‘to flow’

Middle English flowen

Middle English flowe

English flow

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *plew- ‘to fly, flow, run’

fly, flew, pneumonia, plutonium, plough, fowl, flay, plutocracy, plover, 23 more

through Old English flōwan ‘to flow’

flowing, flown, flue, 2 more

Today it means

noun The spillage resultant from overflowing.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “overflow”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Old English flowan, Old English oferflowan. 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 *flōaną / overflow

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