Oversized

How to spell oversized

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce oversized

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does oversized mean?

1. adjectiveLarger than the usual or standard size.

Oversized in a sentence

• The courier charged extra for the oversized parcel.

• She wore an oversized jumper that hung past her knees.

Where does oversized come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This is a transparent English compound built from the prefix 'over-', a native Old English element meaning 'above' or 'beyond', and the noun 'size'. 'Size' itself reached English in the 1300s from Old French 'sise', a shortened form of 'assise', meaning a sitting, an ordinance, or a fixed standard, which in turn came from the Latin 'assidere', 'to sit beside' (from 'ad', meaning 'to', and 'sedere', 'to sit'). The original sense of a regulated measure or fixed allowance gradually broadened to mean physical dimension or bulk. The adjective 'oversized' was then formed by adding the 'over-' prefix and the participial '-ed' ending to suggest something made larger than the normal or standard measure. Because the word simply stacks familiar parts, the only spelling point worth noting is keeping the single 's' and the silent linking that gives 'over' plus 'sized'.

How the word is built

• over- (above, beyond)
• size (from Old French sise, an assize or fixed measure)
• -ed (adjective suffix)