overhead

Pronunciation

• IPA: adverb UK /ˌəʊ.vəˈhed/, US /ˌoʊ.vɚˈhed/; noun, adjective UK /ˈəʊ.və.hed/, US /ˈoʊ.vɚ.hed/^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from over- and head, or it survives from Old English oferheafod.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Above one's head, aloft: the mid-15th century in Etymonline, 1532 in the OED.^[2][4]

Semantic evolution

So as to cover the head, as water, is from 1653,^[4] and headlong (before 1578) is an obsolete sense.^[4] In Scots overhead meant on average, taken together.^[4][5] The adjective, situated above, is from 1874,^[2] and the noun, short for overhead costs, by 1914.^[2]

Timeline

• mid-15th century – overhead (adverb).^[2]
• 1532 – up in the air, aloft.^[4]
• 1653 – over one's head (of water).^[4]
• 1874 – overhead (adjective).^[2]
• by 1914 – overheads, running costs.^[2]

Modern meaning

Adverb

1. Above one's head; in the sky.

Adjective

1. Situated or operating above head height: an overhead light.
2. Relating to the running costs of a business.

Noun

1. (also overheads) The regular operating expenses of a business, such as rent and utilities.
2. A stroke played from above head height in racket games.
3. (nautical) The ceiling of a cabin below decks.

Word family

• nonoverhead

Related words

• over
• head
• overhead projector

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 g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ 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)