Overmanned

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Having a workforce that is larger than what is required for effective task completion
2. Characterized by an excess of staff members, resulting in diminished efficiency in operations
3. Containing a number of employees exceeding what is necessary for the tasks at hand

Etymology: Long before it described a bloated payroll, "overman" meant a superior or master. Middle English speakers used it for a leader or lord, and the word was built simply from "over" and "man." Its later sense took a different turn: to overman a workplace is to staff it beyond what the work requires. The verb "overman" came from the same pairing, and "overmanned" is its past form. The meaning of too many hands for the job arrived through that verb, not through the older noun of rank, so the two senses share a spelling but developed from separate uses. The modern adjective also carries a German echo. The word "Übermensch" was rendered into English as a calque, a word-for-word copy built from familiar parts, which is one reason "superman" and related forms feel so close in construction.

Synonyms: overstaffed, overpopulated

Antonyms: understaffed, undermanned