An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/ober

by Friedrich Kluge

ober (1.), compar., ‘upper, higher,’ from MidHG. obere, OHG. obaro, ‘the superior’; prop. the compar. of ob. From this was formed, even in OHG., a new superl. obarôst (MidHG. oberest).

ober (2.), prep., ‘over, above, beyond,’ of MidG. and LG. origin, as is indicated by the stem vowel, for the o which prevails in MidG. and LG. obar, oƀar, AS. ofer, E. over, and the equiv. Du. over, is always represented in HG. by u. See über and auf.