Overly

How to spell overly

6 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce overly

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does overly mean?

1. adverbTo an excessive degree; more than is suitable or necessary.

Overly in a sentence

• The report was overly long and could have been cut in half.

• She was overly cautious about lending money to anyone.

Where does overly come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

The word overly is built from the native Old English roots that English has carried since its earliest days. The first part, over, comes from the Old English ofer, meaning 'above', 'beyond', or 'too much', and the second part is the familiar adverb-forming suffix -ly, descended from the Old English -lice, meaning 'in the manner of'. Although the combination feels modern, it actually has deep roots: forms of overly appear in Old English as oferlice, but the word then faded from common use for centuries. It was revived and popularised mainly in American English during the nineteenth century, which is why some traditional British style guides still treat it with suspicion. The single l in overly often trips writers who instinctively want to double it, but the spelling is simply over plus ly with nothing added or removed.

How the word is built

• over- (excessively, beyond)
• -ly (adverb suffix)