Past tense of overshadow; to make something seem less important or impressive because something else nearby is more impressive or dominant.
Compound word: 'over' (Old English ofer) + 'shadow' (Old English sceadwe). The metaphorical use of casting a literal shadow to mean diminishing importance emerged in Middle English.
The word 'overshadow' is perfect because it uses a literal physical image (a shadow blocking light) to describe an abstract social situation (one person being more impressive)—our brains use physical experiences to understand social ones, which is why so much of our abstract language is built on metaphors of space and light.
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