the word 'surfeit' entered english in the late middle english period, borrowed from the anglo-norman french 'surfet', a noun use of the past participle of 'surfaire', meaning 'to overdo'. this french term is a direct compound of the prefix 'sur-' (from latin 'super', meaning 'over') and the verb 'faire' (from latin 'facere', meaning 'to make or do'). the literal sense of 'over-making' or 'over-doing' evolved to specifically denote an excess, particularly in consumption. the semantic journey reflects a logical progression from the concrete act of doing something to an immoderate degree to the resulting state of excess or the sickness that follows it.

Structure: sur (over) + feit (make) sur- (from old french, from latin 'super-', meaning 'over, above'); -feit (from old french 'fait', past participle of 'faire', from latin 'facere', meaning 'to make, do').