Overmorrow
noun /OH-ver-mor-oh/ — The day after tomorrow — a word English used to have and should still.
Definition
The day after tomorrow. English once had a word for this. It fell out of use in the 16th century for no good reason. Overmorrow: the day after tomorrow, finally returned.
Beyond the definition
Overmorrow is one of those lost words that makes you feel the gaps in language — the specific spots where precision was available and then abandoned. German kept übermorgen. English let overmorrow go. But the concept is unchanged. There remains a day after tomorrow, and it still has no common English name. Overmorrow would like to be reconsidered.
Origin & history
Old English ofermorgen — from ofer (over, beyond) + morgen (morning, tomorrow). Common until the 16th century, when it fell out of use in favour of the phrase 'the day after tomorrow.'
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
I'll see you overmorrow — the day after tomorrow. We used to have a word for this.
Overmorrow it will be different. Today and tomorrow are still too close.
The English language gave up overmorrow without ceremony. It deserves to come back.
How to use it
This entry uses a noun. Follow the examples for articles and singular or plural forms; not every noun takes “a” or “an.”
Choose “Overmorrow” when the meaning fits your context: The day after tomorrow. English once had a word for this. It fell out of use in the 16th century for no good reason. Overmorrow: the day after tomorrow, finally returned.
Synonyms
the day after tomorrow
Antonyms
yesterday, today
Related words
Word in the Wild
Illustrative story: an imagined scene, not a documented event or interview.
They couldn't leave tomorrow — too much to arrange. They couldn't leave today — it was already afternoon.
"Overmorrow," she said. "What?" "The day after tomorrow. There's a word for it. We'll leave overmorrow."
Overmorrow was once common in English — a companion to "yesterday" and "tomorrow" — but fell out of use around the seventeenth century. German still has übermorgen. Swedish still has övermorgon. English let it go, and now uses four words where one once served. On the drive she kept saying it quietly to herself. It fit the gap perfectly.
Questions about this word
What does "Overmorrow" mean?
Overmorrow is noun meaning: The day after tomorrow — a word English used to have and should still.. The day after tomorrow. English once had a word for this. It fell out of use in the 16th century for no good reason. Overmorrow: the day after tomorrow, finally returned.
Where does the word "Overmorrow" come from?
Old English ofermorgen — from ofer (over, beyond) + morgen (morning, tomorrow). Common until the 16th century, when it fell out of use in favour of the phrase 'the day after tomorrow.'