overlook 
2. To rise or be elevated above ; rise so high 
as to afford the means of looking down on. 
Shall . . . 
Our scions, put in wild and savage stuck, 
Spirt up so suddenly into the clouds, 
And overlook their grafters? 
Shak., Hen. V., iii. 5. 9. 
Four gray walls, and four gray towers, 
Overlook a space of flowers. 
Tennyson, Lady of Shalott, i. 
A little heathy mound, 
That overlooked the scrubby woods and low. 
William Morris, Earthly Paradise, I. 348. 
3. To view fully; look over; peruse; read. 
Whan I had red this tale wel, 
And overloked hyt everydel. 
Chaucer, Death of Blanche, 1. 232. 
I would I had o'erlooked the letter. 
Shak., T. G. of V., L 2. 60. 
The time and care that are required 
To overlook and file, and polish well, 
Fright poets from that necessary toil. 
Roscommon, tr. of Horace's Art of Poetry. 
4. To keep an eye on; inspect; superintend; 
oversee ; care for or watch over. 
His sole child, my lord, and bequeathed to my overlook- 
ing. Shak., All's Well, L 1. 45. 
We say " He overlooked the transaction," meaning that 
he gave it his supervision. A. Phelps, English Style, p. 152. 
5. To look beyond or by so as to fail to see, or 
so as to disregard or neglect ; pay no attention 
to; disregard; hence, to pass over indulgently ; 
excuse ; forbear to punish or censure. 
The learned and wise of this world seem to have been 
overlooked by God in the first plantation of the Gospel. 
Bp. Atlerbury, Sermons, I. iv. 
The fault he has I fairly shall reveal 
(Could you o'erlook but that): it is to steal. 
Pope, Imit. of Horace, II. ii. 20. 
Finding that, If he [Dryden] continued to call himself a 
Protestant, his services would be overlooked, he declared 
himself a Papist. Macaulay, Hist Eng., vii. 
6. To bewitch by looking on; confound; un- 
settle. 
Beshrew your eyes ; 
They have o'erlook'd me and divided me. 
Shak., M. of V., iii. 2. 15. 
I tell you she has overlooked me, and all this doctor's 
stuff is no use unless you can say a charm as will undo her 
devil's work. H. Kintjsley, Geoffry Hamlyn, viii. 
overlook (6' ver-luk), . A strong-growing legu- 
minous twining plant of the tropics, Canavalia 
ensiformis. It is so named by the West Indian negroes, 
who plant it to mark boundaries, with the idea that it acts 
as a watchman. 
overlooker (6-ver-luk'er), n. 1. One who over- 
looks or sees. 
Thus must thou couer all thy villanies, 
And keepe them close from ouerlooTcers eyes. 
Eeywood, Edw. IV., ii. 
2. An overseer; a superintendent ; specifically, 
in Australia, a man in charge of convicts. 
Bushrangers, nine or ten devils loose on the upper Mac- 
quarrie, caught the publican at Marryong alone in the 
bush ; he had been an overlooker or some such thing in old 
times. H. Kingsley, Geoffry Hamlyn, xxviii. 
overloopt, [< !> overloop, orlop, < over, over, 
+ loopen, run : see overleap. Cf. orlop.'] Same 
as orlop. 
In extremity we carry our ordnance better than we were 
wont, because our nether overloops are raised commonly 
from the water. Raleigh. 
overlord (6'ver-lord), n. One who is lord over 
another; a feudal superior; a master; specifi- 
cally, in reference to early English history, a 
king of one of the Anglo-Saxon realms who en- 
joyed a preeminence or authority over certain 
other kings or chiefs. 
Champagne and Anjou were the flefs of princes well-nigh 
as powerful as their oner-lord. 
E. A, Freeman, Norm. Conq., III. 78. 
OVerlordship (6'ver-16rd-ship), n. The state, 
office, or dignity of an overlord ; specifically, in 
reference to early English history, the preemi- 
nence or authority of one of the Anglo-Saxon 
kings or kingdoms over certain other kings, 
kingdoms, chiefs, etc. Such an overlordship 
was held at different times by kings of Kent, 
Northumberland, Mereia, and Wessex. 
Summoning the chiefs of the North Welsh before him 
at Hereford, -Whelstan forced them to own his over-lord- 
ship as Mercian king, to pay a yearly tribute of corn and 
cattle, and to accept the Wye as a boundary between 
Welshmen and Englishmen. 
J. B. Green, Conquest of Eng., p. 211. 
overlove (6-ver-luv'), v. t. -To love to excess; 
prize or value too much. 
Pray, leave me ; 
And, as you love me, do not over-love me. 
Fletcher, Valentinian, iv. 2. 
overly (6'ver-li), a. [< over + -Zyl.] 1. Out- 
side ; superficial ; negligent ; inattentive ; casu- 
al. [Old Eng. and Scotch.] 
4202 
Therefore no marvaile ii they abate contrition, by ac- 
quiring onely a sufficient and enough, a kiude of overly 
desire to serve God anew. 
Bp. Mountatju, Appeal to Crcsar, xxxvi. 
So have we seen a hawk cast off at an hernshaw to look 
and fli quite other way, and, after many careless and overly 
fetches, to toure up unto the prey intended. 
Bp. Hall, Quo Vadis, 15. 
2. Excessive; too much. Coleridge. (Imp. Diet.) 
overly (6'ver-li), adv. [< ME. overly, superfi- 
cially (also excessively ?), < AS. oferlice, ex- 
cessively, < ofer, over, + -lice, E. -ly 2 .] If. 
Superficially. Prompt. Pan., p. 373. 2. Ex- 
cessively ; too much ; too : used independently 
instead of the usual over- in composition: as, 
not overly good; overfy particular. [Colloq.] 
Ther' was n't overly much pie et 
Durin' the Army. 
J. W. ROey, The Century, XXXIX. 480. 
overman (o'ver-man), n.; pi. overmen (-men). 
In coal-mining, the person having charge of the 
work below ground. [Great Britain.] 
overman (6-ver-man '),v.t. To employ too many 
men on or in, as on a ship. 
Either Scotland is ridiculously overmanned, or England 
is absurdly undermanned, as regards official medical visi- 
tation of the insane. Lancet, No. 3429, p. 994. 
The sequence of events that have led to the present im- 
petus in adopting magazine arms in the over-manned and 
under-armed armies of Europe is more or less amusing. 
Scribner'i Mag., VL 367. 
overmanned (o'ver-man'er), adv. [ME. over 
maner.] Above measure ; excessively. 
For ouer maner we weren greued ouer-myght so that it 
anoiede us ghe to lyue. Wyclif, 2 Cor. i. 8. 
overmantel (6'ver-man-tl), n. In furniture- 
making, the frame of shelves, decorative panels, 
or the like, often including a mirror, which 
covers the chimney-breast above the mantel- 
shelf. 
overmarch (6-ver-march'), v. t. To fatigue or 
exhaust by too much marching; cause to march 
too far. 
The Prince's Horse were so over-marched, and the Foot 
so beaten off their Legs by long Marches, that he found 
his Men not very able to engage anew. 
Phillips, in Baker's Chronicles, p. 488. 
OVermask (6-ver-mask'), v. t. To cover with or 
as with a mask; hide. 
The lift was clad with cloudes gray, 
And owermaskit was the moone. 
Battle of Balrinnes (Child's Ballads, VII. 218). 
overmast (6-ver-mast'), v. t. To furnish with a 
mast or with masts that are too long or too 
heavy. 
The one [matter] . . . respecting the ship (as afterwards 
was found) was that she was over-masted; which when she 
came to her trim in that respect she did well. 
N. Morton, New England's Memorial, p. 31. 
overmaster (6-ver-mas'ter), v. t. [< ME. over- 
maistren; < over + master 1 .'] 1. To overpower; 
subdue; vanquish. 
For your desire to know what is between us, 
O'ermaster 't as you may. Shak., Hamlet, i. 5. 140. 
He had fought fiercely with overmastering inclinations. 
George Eliot, Mill on the Floss, vi. 13. 
2f. To retain by superior force ; have in one's 
power. 
How comes it then that thou art call'd a king, 
When living blood doth in these temples beat 
Which owe the crown that thou o'ermasterest' 
Shak., K. John, ii. 1. 109. 
overmatch (6-ver-mach'), v. i. [< ME. over- 
macchen; < over + match' 1 .'] 1. To be more 
than a match for; oppose with superior force, 
numbers, skill, etc. ; surpass; outdo: common- 
ly in the past participle. 
Here is Sir William Lucy, who with me 
Set from our o'ermatch'd forces forth for aid. 
Shak., 1 Hen. VI., iv. 4. 11. 
It was indeed impossible for any intelligent and candid 
Roman Catholic to deny that the champions of his Church 
were in every talent and acquirement completely over- 
matched. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., vi. 
2. To give in marriage above one's station. 
If a yeoman have one sole daughter, he must over-match 
her above her birth and calling to a gentleman forsooth. 
Burton, Anat of Mel., p. 579. 
overmatch (6'ver-mach), n. One who or that 
which is more than a match ; one who or that 
which is too powerful, skilful, difficult, etc., to 
be overcome. 
Pompey vaunted him self for Sylla's overmatch. 
Bacon, Friendship. 
There is in my apprehension much danger that sensi- 
bility will be an overmatch for policy. 
A. Hamilton, in H. Cabot Lodge, p. 259. 
OVermeasure (6'yer-mezh"ur), n. Excess of 
measure ; something that exceeds the measure 
proposed. 
overname 
OVermeasure (6-ver-mezh'ur), r. t. To mea- 
sure or estimate too largely. Bacm, Kingdoms 
and Estates. 
overmeritt (o'ver-mer'it), n. Excessive merit. 
Those helps were ouerweighed by diuers things that 
made against him. . . . First, an ouer-merit; for conue- 
nient merit, vnto which reward may easily reach, doth 
best with Kings. Bacon, Hist. Hen. VII., p. 133. 
overmickle (6-ver-mik'l), a. and adv. [Also 
overmuckle; < ME. overmikel, overmykel, over- 
muchel, etc. (see overmuch) ; < AS. ofermicel, < 
ofer, over, + micel, mickle, much : see micJcle. 
Cf. overmuch.'] Overmuch. [Old Eng. and 
Scotch.] 
overmodest (6-ver-mod'est), a. Modest to ex- 
cess ; bashful. 
It is the courtier's rule, that overmodest suitors seldom 
speed. Hales, Golden Remains, p. 143. 
overmoneyt, v. t. To bribe. [A nonce-word.] 
Some suspect his oflicers' trust was undermined (or 
over-moneyed rather), whilst others are confident they were 
betrayed by none save their own security. 
Fuller, Worthies, Lancashire, I. 558. 
overmoret (6-ver-mor'), adv. [ME., < over + 
more.] Beyond; also; moreover. 
"And gut on poynt," quath Peers, "ich praye jow over- 
more; 
Loke 36 tene no tenaunt bote yf Treuth wolle assente." 
Piers Plowman (C\ ix. 35. 
And ouermore destreyned with sekenesse 
Besyde al this he was ful grevously. 
Lydgate, Complaint of the Black Knight, 1. 134. 
over-morrowt (6'ver-mor"6), n. [= D. over- 
morgen = MLG. overmorne = MHG. G. uber- 
morgen = Sw. ofvermorgon = Dan. overmorgen; 
as over + morrow."] The day after to-morrow. 
Vp Sara, let vs make our prayer vnto God to daye, to 
morrowe, and ouermorowe; for these thre nightes wyll we 
reconcyle our selues with God. Bible 0/1551, Tobit viii. 
OVermostt (6'ver-most), a. [< ME. overmoste; 
< over + -most.] Uppermost; highest. 
Fro the nethemaate lettre to the overmaste (var. upper- 
este]. Chaucer, Boethius, i prose 1. 
ovennount (6-ver-mount'), v. t. To surmount ; 
go higher than. 
With your theme, I could 
O'ermaunt the lark. Shak., Hen. VIII., ii. 3. 94. 
overmount (6'ver-mount), n. In framing or 
mounting pictures to be covered with glass, a 
piece of stiff paper or board cut to correspond 
with the margin of the engraving or picture to 
be mounted, and laid upon the picture to sepa- 
rate its surface from the glass in the frame ; a 
mat. 
overmuch (6-ver-much'), a. [Early mod. E. 
overmoch; < ME. overmoche, overmiche; < over + 
much. Cf. the earlier overmickle.'] Too much; 
exceeding what is necessary or proper. 
I cold say more, and yet not overmoch. 
Ascham, The Scholemaster, p. 70. 
With aver much studie they affect antiquitie. 
Spenser, Shep. CaL, Ded. 
Neither capable of lies, 
Nor asking overmuch and taking less. 
Tennyson, Enoch Arden. 
overmuch (6-ver-much'), adv. [< ME. over- 
moche; < over + much. Cf. overmickle.'] In 
too great a degree ; too much. 
Be not righteous over much. Eccl. vil. 16. 
O, he hath kept an evil diet long, 
And overmuch consumed his royal person. 
Shak., Rich. III., i. 1. 140. 
I count it crime 
To mourn for any overmuch. 
Tennyson, In Memoriam, Ixxxv. 
OVermuchnesst (6-ver-much'nes), n. Super- 
abundance. 
Superlation and overmuchenesse amplifies. 
B. Jonson, Discoveries. 
overmuckle (6-ver-muk'l), a. and adv. Same 
as overmickle. 
overmultiply (6-ver-mul'ti-pli), v. I. trans. 
To multiply or repeat too often. 
Our Romanists exceed this way, in their devotions to 
the cross, both in over-multiplying and in over-magnify- 
ing of it Bp. Hall, Sermons, Phil. iii. 18, 19. 
II. intrans. To multiply or increase too rap- 
idly or in too great numbers. 
overmultitude (6-ver-mul'ti-tud), v. t. To ex- 
ceed in number; outnumber. [Rare.] 
The herds would over-multitude their lords. 
Milton, Comus, L 781. 
overnamet (6'ver-nam), n. A surname ; a nick- 
name. 
One [emperor] was named Nero the Cruel], the other, 
Antony the Meeke. The which overnames the Romanes 
gaue them, the one of Meeke, because he could not but 
pardon, the other of Cruell, because he neuer ceassed to 
kill. Guevara, Letters (tr. by Hellowes, 1577), p. 4. 
