# Where did the "overlord" phrase originate? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 13, 2007, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-overlord-phrase-originate/415466 "2007-08-13T19:22:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2026, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-overlord-phrase-originate/415466/21 "2026-01-14T04:01:59Z")
Rather far from coining it, it was surely used in many ordinary texts such as works of fiction , books, you know, back in time from 1700s etc… 1647 use of “overlord” .. its used as just a general word meaning boss, understandable by anyone, a school child… so its use in 1900s film ,tv is not notable, they aren’t coining it, its an ordinary word required to describe all various feudal /medieval situations … > **[Calender of the State Papers, Relating to Ireland of the Reigns of ...](https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Calender_of_the_State_Papers_Relating_to/PJcbXUq6OSUC?hl=en&gbpv=0&bsq=overlord)** > > Contains Calender of the state papers ... of the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary, and Elizabeth, v. 1-11 (1509-1603); Calender of the state papers ... of the reign of Charles I, v. 1-5 (1603-1625); Calender of the state papers ... of the reign... ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2026, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-overlord-phrase-originate/415466/22 "2026-01-14T06:04:19Z")
Yes, the word itself is very old, dating back almost to Old English. The OED gives the earliest use of the word in a citation from circa 1175. I believe the question in this thread is about the trope phrase “I for one welcome our new X overlords”. I can see no evidence for the claim that the phrase was used in any adaptation of Well’s _Empire of the Ants_. From the evidence I see, it was indeed coined by The Simpsons’ writers. It’s such a goofy phrase, I can’t imagine it being used in any serious context. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2026, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-overlord-phrase-originate/415466/23 "2026-01-15T18:21:11Z")
Anybody remember the [Evil Overlord List](http://www.eviloverlord.com/lists/overlord.html)? It’s a list of things the author wouldn’t do if ever became an E.O. It’s from so far back in the early days of the Web that one entry is “any data file of crucial importance will be padded to 1.45Mb in size.” ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-overlord-phrase-originate/415466/24 "2026-01-16T16:20:11Z")
[Immigrant Song…](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_iFnY2NCGI) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-overlord-phrase-originate/415466/25 "2026-01-17T02:37:50Z")
Relevance? ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2026, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-overlord-phrase-originate/415466/26 "2026-01-17T03:01:19Z")
I believe it’s this: _We come from the land of the ice and snow ♪ From the midnight sun where the hot springs flow_ _How soft your fields so green Can whisper tales of gore ♫ Of how we calmed the tides of war We are your overlords_ But yeah, not particuarly relevant to the phrase. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-overlord-phrase-originate/415466/27 "2026-01-18T14:55:00Z")
The relevance is that it predates a number of the other examples cited above. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-overlord-phrase-originate/415466/28 "2026-01-18T17:12:44Z")
And Adam saying “Madam, I’m Adam” also predates a number of the other examples. Which is completely irrelevant, because, like the Immigrant Song, it doesn’t include the phrase in question. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2026, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-overlord-phrase-originate/415466/29 "2026-01-18T18:04:10Z")
You’ve gotta read past the title of the thread. It’s not where did the phrase “overlord” originate; it’s where did a specific phrase using that word originate. That specific phrase is in the original post. The word predates the Zep song by hundreds of years. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-did-the-overlord-phrase-originate/415466.md?page=1)