"to get the better of by superior wits, defeat or frustrate by superior ingenuity," 1650s, from out- + wit (n.). Related: Outwitted; outwitting. Middle English had a noun outwit "external powers of perception, bodily senses; knowledge gained by observation or experience" (late 14c.; compare inwit).

1560s, "cause to go down," from down (adv.). Meaning "swallow hastily" is by 1860; football sense of "bring down (an opposing player) by tackling" is attested by 1887. Figurative sense of "defeat, get the better of" is by 1898. Related: Downed; downing.

"act of frustrating, disappointment, defeat," 1550s, from Latin frustrationem (nominative frustratio) "a deception, a disappointment," noun of action from past-participle stem of frustrari "to deceive, disappoint, make vain," from frustra (adv.) "in vain, in error," which is related to fraus "injury, harm," a word of uncertain origin (see fraud). Earlier (mid-15c.) with a now-obsolete sense of "nullification."

mid-15c., disappointen, "dispossess of appointed office," from dis- "reverse, opposite of" + appoint, or else from Old French desapointer "undo the appointment, remove from office" (14c., Modern French from désappointer). Modern sense of "to frustrate the expectations or desires of" is from late 15c. of persons; of plans, etc., "defeat the realization or fulfillment of," from 1570s, perhaps via a secondary meaning of "fail to keep an appointment."

"to emphasize (something) too much," 1933, a metaphor from card games, in to overplay (one's) hand, "to spoil one's hand by bidding in excess of its value" (1926), from over- + play (v.). Earlier (from 1819) in a theatrical sense, "act (a part) with an extravagant and unnatural manner." Middle English had overpleien in the sense of "to outplay, defeat." Related: Overplayed; overplaying.

early 15c., dejecten, "to throw or cast down," a sense now obsolete, from Latin deiectus "a throwing down, felling, fall," past participle of deicere "to cast down, destroy; drive out; kill, slay, defeat," from de- "down" (see de-) + -icere, combining form of iacere "to throw" (from PIE root *ye- "to throw, impel"). The figurative sense of "depress in spirit, discourage, dispirit" is from c. 1500.

late 15c., "defeat," in part from the English verb, in part from Old French repulse, variant of repousse, and in part directly from Latin repulsa "refusal, denial" (as in repulsa petitio "a repulse in soliciting for an office"), noun use of fem. of repulsus, past participle of repellere "to drive back" (see repel).