Overtime

Overtime

Noun / Adverb / Adjective · /ˈəʊ.vəˌtaɪm/

Definition

(Noun) time worked beyond the normal working hours; payment for such extra time; (in sport) extra time played after the end of regulation time to determine a winner. (Adverb) beyond the normal working hours — working overtime. (Adjective) relating to work done beyond normal hours — overtime pay, overtime rate.

Origin

From over- (beyond, in excess of) + time (Old English tīma, a period, a season). Overtime therefore meaning time beyond the normal — the hours worked past the standard working day or week. Appearing in English from the mid-nineteenth century as industrialisation created defined working hours and therefore the concept of time worked beyond them. The labour history of overtime being significant — the struggle for the eight-hour working day and for overtime pay being central themes in trade union history from the mid-nineteenth century onwards.