the.com/overload

The same word, doing different jobs, still refusing a raise.

means To put more into or onto something than it can safely handle, whether that's an electrical circuit, a schedule, or a person's patience.

from Built from "over-" (beyond, in excess) plus "load," a word going back to Old English "lad" meaning a course or way, which drifted into meaning the thing a vehicle or beast carries. "Overload" as a verb shows up in the 1600s for literally loading too much onto a ship or wagon; the electrical sense (too much current for a circuit) and the figurative sense (too much information, too much work) both rode in later on that same image of a burden exceeding what the carrier was built for.

in engineering
too much current, something melts or trips
in programming
same function name, different arguments, different behavior
in psychology
too much information, decisions get worse not better
common thread
a system given more than it was built for
the.com · every word