Added 9 October 2026
overt
/ə(ʊ)ˈvɜːt/ adjective
Latin root: operire Wiktionary
adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about overt at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
noun
- An action or condition said to be detrimental to one’s own survival and thus unethical; the consciousness of such behaviour.
Origin
From Middle English overt, uverte (“open, uncovered; unfastened; accessible, unobstructed; clear, manifest”), from Anglo-Norman overt, Middle French ouvert, Old French overt, ouvert, uvert (“opened”) (modern French ouvert), past participle of Anglo-Norman, Old French ovrir, ouvrir, uvrir (“to open”), from Late Latin operire, variant of Latin aperīre (“to open”), from aperiō (“to open, uncover”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó (“away; from”) + *h₂wer- (“to cover, shut”). The English word is a doublet of apert and ouvert.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)