Overflowen

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Archaic past participle meaning having spilled over the brim or edges of a container, river, or vessel
2. An old form of the past participle describing liquid that has flowed past the limits of its container or banks
3. Obsolete wording for something that has run over its edges, such as water that has spilled beyond its boundary

Etymology: "Overflowen" is a Middle English form of the verb "overflow," used for the past participle (and in some uses the plural), the way "-en" endings marked verb forms in the period. It descends from Old English "oferflōwan," built from "ofer" ("over") and "flōwan" ("to flow"), so the sense of spilling over a brim was already present in the older language.