People Are Just Now Learning There's A Word For The Day After Tomorrow

Saying "the day after tomorrow" when making arrangements is on par in terms of annoyance as having to say the second cous in cous cous. If only there was a simpler way to convey you are talking about the day after tomorrow without having to say such a mouthful.

Well good news, because there is a word for that, it has just fallen out of use in recent years. People on the Internet have recently rediscovered the word, and are hoping to bring it back.

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That word is "overmorrow", coming from "over" (above) and the old English word for morning ( morrow ). The first documented use of "overmorrow" comes from a version of the Bible produced in 1535, spelled then as "ouermorow".

"Then spake Tobias unto the virgin, and said: Up Sara, let us make our prayer unto God today, tomorrow, and overmorrow," a modern-day translation of the text reads. "For these three nights will we reconcile ourselves with God, and when the third holy night is past, we shall join together in the duty of marriage."

This version of the Bible –  the Coverdale Bible, the first English translation of the Bible to contain both old and new testaments – also contains another archaic term for the day before yesterday which could be a real timesaver.

"And Iacob behelde Labans countenaunce, & beholde, it was not towarde him as yesterdaye and yeryesterdaye," the text reads , "but the God of my father hath bene with me".

"Overmorrow" fell out of common use pretty quickly, before the end of the 16th Century , with people for some reason preferring to use four words instead of one. However, it cropped up in the UK Parliament as late as 1925, when Sir W. Joynson-Hicks said "we can go not overmorrow, but on Thursday" during one debate.

In German, the word "übermorgen" is used for the day after tomorrow, while French uses "surlendemain" for the same concept. Perhaps, as the Internet seems keen, it is time to bring back these time-saving words. And then we can move on to that irritating second cous.