surfeit
Meaning
an excessive amount of something
an illness caused by excessive eating or drinking
to supply or fill to excess
Structure
Usage
the market is suffering from a surfeit of cheap imported goods.
he fell ill from a surfeit of rich food and wine.
modern media can surfeit us with information, making it hard to focus.
Etymology
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.
Analysis
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').