Overtest

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To subject something to testing beyond what is required or reasonable
2. To conduct more tests on something than needed to determine its properties or function
3. To examine or try something through an excessive number of tests or trials

Etymology: "Overtest" is a plain English compound: the prefix "over-" attached to "test." The prefix descends from Old English "ofer," meaning "above, beyond, across," a word that also gave modern English "over" and whose ancestry reaches back to a Germanic form of the same sense. In this word, "over-" carries the sense of doing something too much or beyond the proper limit, so an overtest is a test carried out to excess, pushing a thing past the point of ordinary use or strain. The prefix itself has been productive in English for centuries, which is why it attaches so readily to verbs like "test." The meaning of "over-" shifts from the literal sense of position ("over the hill") to the figurative sense of excess ("overeat," "overwork"), and this compound follows that same pattern. Because the formation is transparent, the word needs no special story; its meaning can be read directly from its two parts.