o'er

The word 'o'er' is a poetic contraction of the English preposition and adverb 'over'. It arose in the 16th century as a literary device to reduce the two-syllable word 'over' to a single syllable, thereby fitting the metrical requirements of verse and song. The apostrophe indicates the elision of the 'v' sound. Its use preserves the core meaning of 'over' but carries a distinctly archaic or lyrical tone, famously employed by poets like Shakespeare and in traditional hymns.

This is a contracted poetic form. It is not composed of multiple distinct morphemes in its current state.