English
overleave
Overleave comes from Old English oferlǣfan ‘to leave over’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *laibijaną.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*laibijaną1‘to leave behind, to leave remaining’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*laibijan2‘to leave’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150lǣfan3‘to leave’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150oferlǣfan4‘to leave over’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500overleven4
- Englishearliest quotation 1999overleave4
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *laibijan
- 2 Wiktionary, Old English læfan
- 3 Wiktionary, Old English oferlæfan
- 4 Wiktionary, English overleave
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1999, Saint Edmund Campion, James V. Holleran: “And of such force was this verity, so fresh…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*laibijanąWiktionary, Proto-West Germanic *laibijan‘to leave behind, to leave remaining’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*laibijanWiktionary, Old English læfan‘to leave’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150lǣfanWiktionary, Old English oferlæfan‘to leave’
- Old Englishc. 450–1150oferlǣfanWiktionary, English overleave‘to leave over’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500overlevenWiktionary, English overleave
- Englishearliest quotation 1999overleaveWiktionary, English overleave. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1999, Saint Edmund Campion, James V. Holleran: “And of such force was this verity, so fresh…”
Linked words
through Old English lǣfan ‘to leave’
Today it means
verb To leave (something) over; cause to remain or be left.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “overleave”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-West Germanic *laibijan, Old English læfan, Old English oferlæfan. 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 *laibijaną / overleave