Overexplain

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To clarify or describe a topic with more detail than necessary, often leading to redundancy
2. To provide information or reasons about something in a way that is overly thorough, surpassing what is needed
3. To elaborate on a subject with excessive explanation beyond what is required for understanding

Etymology: Overexplain is a plain compound: the prefix "over-" attached to the verb "explain." The prefix traces back through Old English "ofer" and Proto-Germanic "uberi" to a very old root meaning "over" or "above," which also gave English "over" itself. The verb "explain" came into English from Latin "explanare," meaning "to make level or plain," built from "ex-" (out) and "planus" (flat, level). So the underlying image is of smoothing something until it is flat and easy to see, and "overexplain" adds the sense of going past that point. The prefix "over-" in this sense means "to excess" or "too much," which is why the compound reads as doing a thing more than is needed. Compounds like this are a common way English builds new verbs from existing parts, so the word is a straightforward combination rather than a single coinage.

Synonyms: overelaborate