Overquote

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To state a price or cost that is higher than the true or fair value of the item or service being offered
2. Setting a figure for goods or work that exceeds what it should reasonably be, charging more than is fair
3. Naming an amount for something that is inflated beyond its actual worth when the buyer asks for a quote

Etymology: The verb "overquote" is a plain formation: the prefix "over-", meaning "excessively" or "too much", attached to "quote". Its sense is simply to quote too high a price, or to ask more than a thing is worth, and the pattern is the same as "overcharge" or "overpay". Nothing in its making is unusual, so the interest lies in the prefix itself. "Over-" is one of the most productive prefixes in English, able to join almost any verb to mark excess, and "overquote" follows that habit exactly. The base "quote" comes from Medieval Latin "quotare", meaning to number or mark the chapters of a book, which passed into English through Old French. From the sense of giving a price, the prefix lets speakers name the mistake of naming too much.