The spelling of the word "wrought over" can be confusing to those unfamiliar with the English language's complex phonetics. The first syllable, "wrought," is pronounced with the vowel sound /ɔː/, as in thought or bought. The second syllable, "over," uses the schwa vowel sound /ə/, which is the most common vowel sound in the English language. So, the correct pronunciation of "wrought over" is /rɔːt əʊvə/. Despite its unusual spelling, "wrought over" is a common phrase that means to consider or contemplate deeply.
The phrase "wrought over" does not have a specific etymology as a standalone phrase. However, each word in the phrase has individual origins.
The word "wrought" is the past participle of the verb "work" and comes from Middle English "wroght" which was derived from Old English "geworht". It has the sense of something being made or created through labor or effort.
The word "over" is a preposition that originated in Old English as "ofer" and shares the same root as the German "über". It denotes movement or position above or across something.
When combined, "wrought over" could imply the act of working on or improving something, perhaps suggesting that a specific task or project has been thoroughly completed or extensively addressed.