"delayed or withheld beyond the usual or assigned time," 1845 of unpaid bills, 1890 of unreturned library books, 1970 of menstruation, from over- + due (adj.).
Entries linking to overdue
over-
word-forming element meaning variously "above; highest; across; higher in power or authority; too much; above normal; outer; beyond in time, too long," from Old English ofer (from PIE root *uper "over"). Over and its Germanic relations were widely used as prefixes, and sometimes could be used with negative force. This is rare in Modern English, but compare Gothic ufarmunnon "to forget," ufar-swaran "to swear falsely;" Old English ofercræft "fraud."
In some of its uses, moreover, over is a movable element, which can be prefixed at will to almost any verb or adjective of suitable sense, as freely as an adjective can be placed before a substantive or an adverb before an adjective. [OED]
Among the old words not now existing are Old English oferlufu (Middle English oferlufe), literally "over-love," hence "excessive or immoderate love." Over- in Middle English also could carry a sense of "too little, below normal," as in over-lyght "of too little weight" (c. 1400), overlitel "too small" (mid-14c.), oversmall (mid-13c.), overshort, etc.
due adj.
mid-14c., "customary, regular, right, proper;" late 14c., "owed, payable as an obligation, owing by right of circumstance or condition," from Old French deu, past participle of devoir "to owe," from Latin debere "to owe," originally, "keep something away from someone," from de- "away" (see de-) + habere "to have" (from PIE root *ghabh- "to give or receive").
Of actions, "conscientious, careful," late 14c. Meaning "that is to be expected or looked for" is by 1833. Phrase in due time "at a set time; at an appropriate time" is from late 14c. Due to is from early 15c. as "deserved by, merited by;" also "owing to." It is attested from 1660s as "attributable to as a cause or origin." Its use as a prepositional phrase (much maligned by grammarians) is by 1897.