Surfeite

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. A quantity far beyond what is needed or wanted ; an illness brought on by eating or drinking too much ; to consume or indulge in something until one has more than enough
2. An overabundant supply that exceeds what is necessary ; the queasy ill feeling that follows excessive eating or drinking ; to gorge oneself or someone else past the point of satisfaction
3. A glut or excess beyond requirement ; a nausea or sickness resulting from too much food or drink ; to overindulge or stuff with more than is healthy

Etymology: Its French ancestor was a verb, "surfaire", formed from "sur", meaning "over", and "faire", meaning "to do". To "surfaire" was to overdo something, and its past participle "surfait" meant done to excess. Middle English took up the idea, and "surfeite" came to name excess itself, especially in eating and drinking. The meaning then narrowed. A surfeit became the sickness that follows overindulgence, the queasy, overfull feeling of having eaten or drunk too much. That bodily sense of being stuffed beyond comfort is the origin of the word's suggestion of nausea.