'overexploited' originates from the prefix 'over-' (from Old English 'ofer', meaning 'over' or 'beyond') combined with the verb 'exploit', which comes from Old French 'esploit'/'esploiter', where 'esploit' originally meant 'a deed' or 'achievement'.

'exploit' entered Middle English from Old French 'esploit'/'esploiter' and developed into the Modern English verb 'exploit'. The prefix 'over-' was added to form 'overexploit', and the past participle/past tense form became 'overexploited'.

Originally 'exploit' often meant 'a deed' or 'an achievement'; over time it shifted to mean 'to use or take advantage of'. With the prefix 'over-' it evolved to mean 'to use to excess', giving the modern sense of 'overexploited' as 'used excessively or to depletion'.