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overall

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 18:46. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: noun, adjective UK /ˈəʊ.vər.ɔːl/, US /ˈoʊ.vɚ.ɔːl/; adverb UK /ˌəʊ.vərˈɔːl/, US /ˌoʊ.vɚˈɔːl/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English overal,[2] from the Old English phrase ofer eall (“everywhere”),[3][2] from Old English ofer + eall, the sources of over and all.[3][2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The adverb, “everywhere, in every direction”: about 1000.[5][3] Merriam-Webster dates it to the 13th century.[2]

Semantic evolution

The original sense “everywhere” is obsolete,[3] as is “beyond everything, especially” (about 1175).[5] The adverb was long written as two words.[6] The noun, an outer garment, is from the late 18th century:[6] loose trousers worn by workmen over their ordinary clothes from 1782,[5] and an outer covering or cloak from 1815.[5] Merriam-Webster dates the noun to 1797.[7] In Lancashire dialect an overall was a pair of white trousers worn to keep the ordinary ones clean.[8] The adjective, “including everything; considered as a whole”, is from 1894,[3][2] and the adverb in the sense “taking everything into account, generally” from 1958 in the OED.[5]

Timeline

  • c. 1000 – adverb, everywhere.[5]
  • c. 1175 – adverb, especially.[5]
  • 1782 – workmen's loose trousers.[5]
  • 1815 – an outer garment.[5]
  • 1894 – adjective, including everything.[3][2]
  • 1958 – adverb, generally.[5]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Including everything; comprehensive: the overall cost.
  2. Regarded as a whole; general.
  3. From one end to the other: overall length.

Adverb

  1. On the whole; generally.

Noun

  1. (chiefly British) A loose protective coat or smock worn over ordinary clothes.
  2. overalls: Loose trousers of strong cloth, often with a bib and shoulder straps, worn over other clothes.

Word family

  • overalled
  • over
  • all
  • overalls

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)