Etymologically
Log in

overcome

Etymology and origin of the English word overcome

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
c. 725
From
Old English ofercuman

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˌəʊ.vəˈkʌm/ (UK); /ˌoʊ.vəɹˈkʌm/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Old English ofercuman (“to reach, overtake; to conquer”),[2][3][4] from ofer (“over”) (see over) and cuman (“to come”) (see come).[2][3] It is a common Germanic compound: compare Middle Dutch overcomen and Old High German ubarqueman.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

To come upon, reach or overtake: about 725, in Beowulf, and before 800 in the Corpus Glossary;[2] the OED has this sense only in Old English.[5]

Semantic evolution

To overpower, conquer or defeat, especially the Devil, sin or temptation, is from about 893.[5][3] To overwhelm or render helpless, of emotion, drink or fumes, is late Old English,[3] and to surmount a difficulty or obstacle is from about 1200.[3] Etymonline notes that the civil-rights anthem We Shall Overcome was put together in the 1950s from Charles Tindley's spiritual I'll Overcome Some Day (1901).[3] In Scots, overcome was also a noun, a surplus or the refrain of a song.[6][5]

Timeline

  • c. 725 – to reach, overtake.[2]
  • c. 893 – to conquer.[5]
  • late Old English – to overwhelm.[3]
  • c. 1200 – to surmount a difficulty.[3]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To defeat in a conflict or contest; to conquer.
  2. To succeed in dealing with a problem or obstacle; to surmount.
  3. To overpower with emotion, exhaustion or the like: overcome by fumes.

Word family

  • overcomer
  • unovercome

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press

Related etymologies

  • crystal · also from Old English
  • butter · also from Old English
  • crack · also from Old English
  • narrow · also from Old English
  • bench · also from Old English
  • nowhere · also from Old English
  • forth · also from Old English
  • bid · also from Old English
Cite this entry

“Overcome.” Etymologically, 16 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/overcome. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·