overstring 4207 
OVerstring (o-vi'T- string'), ''. In /J/IIH, ,!',/,- 
miil.iiii/. In ;ifttin<' tlic strings in two sets, one 
(il \vhirh crosses obliquely over the other. 
OVerstringing (6'ver-sti-ingmg), . In ;,/- 
fortf-miik-iny, the act, process, or result of ar- Overtake (6-vcr-tiik'), v. ' 
overthwart 
Treason begins In the heart before it appears In overt -Syn, t Overpower, Overwhelm, etc. (see defeat), over- 
fiicijt, Gulliver ' Travels, L 7. come, master, worst, crush. Subvert, etc. See overturn. 
ranging the strings in two sets, one of which, 
nsiinlly eompriaiiur the largest and longest 
strings, crosses obliquely over the other. This 
arrangement makes the Instrument more compact and 
linnxs the tensions into better opposition to each other, 
overstrow (6-ver-stro'), v. t. Same as <i<-< i - 
K/l-l II'. 
overstrung (6-ver-struug'), 1. Too highly 
strung ; too sensitively organized. 
Many women will, no doubt, resent that one should take 
as a type a personality so excessive, soali*<irlc<l and enam- 
ored of itself, noentruny and overbalanced. 
Scribner'a May., VI. 633. 
It Is but seldom that any one overt act produce* hostll- 
Itles between two nations. Irving, Sketcb-Book, p. 73. 
[< ME. oeertul:, ; 
Tr + take.] 1. To come up with in travel- 
ing the same way, or in pursuit (with or with- 
out the idea of passing the person or thing 
overtaken); catch up with in any course of 
thought or action. 
Spes spakllch hym spedde, spede if he myjte, 
To ouertake hym and talke to hym ar thel to toun come. 
Piers Plowman (B), xvit 82. 
Is this true ? or Is It else your pleasure. 
Like pleasant travellers, to break a jest 
Upon the company you overtake! 
Shak., T. of the S., Iv. 5. 73. 
I walked on so fast that even he could hardly have over- 
2. Noting a pianoforte in which the strings are Mmme llad 1>B tried - Charlotte Bronte; Jane Eyre, Mil. 
arranged in two sets, one crossing obliquely 
over the other. 
overstudied (6-ver-stud'id), a. Excessively 
learned ; too carefully taught. 
Fondly ooemtudied In useless controversies. 
Milton, Church-Government^ 11., Conclusion. 
overstudy (6'ver-stud-i), n. Excessive study. 
There is a case of eyes spoiled for life by over-stud;/. 
H. Spencer, Education, p. 41. 
oversumt (6'ver-sum), n. A surplus. 
Whatsoeuer ouer-summe of the liquor did accrue to him 
by leases and other excheats, wherof also I haue seen 
mention. UoKnshed, Descrip. of Britain, xviiL 
oversup (6-ver-sup'), v. i. [< ME. oversopen; < 
over + sup.] To eat or drink to excess. 
And ouer-soped at my soper. Piers Plowman (C), vii. 429. 
oversupply (6'ver-su-pli'), v. t. To supply in 
excess of demand. 
oversupply (6'ver-su-pli'), n. A supply in ex- 
cess of demand. 
A general over-supply or excess of all commodities above 
the demand, so far as demand consists in means of pay- 
ment, is thus shown to be an Impossibility. 
2. To take by surprise ; come upon unexpect- 
edly ; surprise and overcome ; carry away. 
If a man, through the fraUty of humane Nature, or the ,_ . . , . 
sudden surprise of a Temptation, be overtaken In a fault, over-throw (6' ver 
do not, salth he, trample upon him, nor Insult over him. f f , Jl JlUUfc . 
StiUimjfleet, Sermons, II. vil. 
All so overtaken with this good news. 
Pepyi, Diary, June 6, 1668. 
He walk'd abroad, o'ertalten in the rain. 
Confer, Conversation, 1. 277. 
Hence 3. To overpower the senses of. 
If her beauties have so overtaken yon, It becomes a true 
lover to have your heart more set upon her good than your 
Overthrow (o'ver-tliro), H. [MK. i,n iihmii; ; 
< iii-trtlinnc, v.] The act of overthrowing, or 
the state of being overthrown ; subversion ; de- 
struction; discomfiture; defeat; conquest: as, 
the overthrow of a tower, of a city, of plans, of 
one's reason. 
Sundrye victories hadde bee, and sometimme mierthruwet. 
Sir T. More, Works, p. SI. 
What ! shall we curse the planets of mishap, 
That plotted thus our glory's overthrow f 
Shak., 1 Hen. VI., I. 1. M. 
To give the overthrow, to defeat; overthrow. 
Manle of them which now do offer to take Armour for 
your sake, yf occasion be ottered, will be the fyrst to stryke 
yo"-, to pine yo the ocerthrowc. 
Boot* of Precedence (E. E. T. 8., extra ter.X t 74. 
Let them set on at once ; for I perceive 
But cold demeanour In Octavlus' wing. 
And sudden push gives them the overthrow. 
Shak.,J.C.,r.ia. 
8yn._ Prostration, wreck, rout See defeat, v. (. 
" n. In cricket, a throw 
te fielder at the 
wicket, so that additional runs are made in Con- 
sequence. 
overthrower (6-ver-thro'er), n. One who over- 
throws, vanquishes, or destroys. 
Snndrle were brought home who were the king's ene- 
mies, vuerthroierrt of the kingdome, and enemies to re- 
ligion. HoKiuhed, Hist Scotland, an. 1678. 
n. r'P. SW^Arcadiaru! overthrowingt (6-ver-thro'ing), p. a. [ME. 
O_you blind men ( with feminine shape oretaken, overthrowing (tr. lui.prcceeps) ; ppr. of overthrow, 
.] Rashly inclined ; headlong; hasty; rash. 
The nature of som man Is ... overthrowenge to yvcl, 
and . . . uncovenable, Chaucer, Boethlus, Iv. prose 6. 
overthrust (6'vfer-thrust), n. In geol. , a faulted 
overfold accompanied by a distinct separation 
of the masses on both sides of the fanlts, which 
are thrust or shoved apart in the direction of 
the line of the fault or thrust-plane. 
overthwart (6-ver-th wart'), adv. and prep. [<' 
Whose amorous hearts are with then- culture shaken. 
Heywood, Dialogues, 111. 
4- SpecificaUy. to overcome with drink; in- 
' I ^ y m Pa8t P^ 61 ? 16 - 
I will not be drunk in the streets ;. . . If I be overtaken, 
it shall be In civil and genteel company. 
Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), L 798. 
I walked here after nine, two miles, and I found a parson 
drunk, lighting with a seaman. . . . It mortified me to see 
a man in my coat so overtaken. 
J S MHl Pol F.cmi Hi 11 
... 1 , . ' . co "'' I1L " *, Journal to Stella, May 5, 1711. ME. overthwart, overthwert, overtwert 
(o-ver-swar mmg), a. Swarm- overtalk(6-ver-tak'),;. I. intrans. To talk too overwhart (=ri.own*icaf = Dan. ov, 
^^o^ty^ior flce SW o7po: 3jRj ^^ " ^^ * ^ 
overrule 
Merlin, overtalk'd and overworn, 
Had yielded, told her all the charm, and slept 
Tennyson, Merlin and Vivien, 
overtask (o-ver-task'), . t. To impose too 
But that great command o'ersways the order, 
She should in ground unsanctitled have lodged 
Till the last trumpet. Shak., Hamlet, v. 1. 261. 
His ungovernable temper had overswayed him to fall In 
his respects to her majesty's person. 
Sm\ft, Change in Queen's Ministry. 
overswell (6-ver-swel'), v. I. trans. To rise 
above the rim, bounds, or banks of ; overflow. 
Fill, Lucius, till the wine o'tmmll the cup ; 
I cannot drink too much of Brutus' love. 
heavy a task or duty upon : as, to overtask a pu- 
pil ; to overtask the memory. 
To find out that, good shepherd, I suppose, 
In such a scant allowance of star-light, 
Would overtask the best land-pilot's art. 
II. intrans. To rise, as a flood ; overflow. 
Let floods o'erswell, and fiends for food howl on ! 
Shak., Hen. V., ii. 1. 97. 
overt (6'vert), a. [< ME. orerte, < OF. overt, 
ouvert, F. ouvert, open, opened, pp. of ovrir, F. 
ouvrir, open, prob. a contraction of OF. aovrir, 
aiivrir = Pr. adubrir, open, ' 
deopeHre, open, uncover, ' " 
rire, cover, perhaps < *ol^ 
frontH- -perire, as in aperfre, uncover : see aperi- 
ent. The two forms appear to have been some- 
what confused, and OF. ovrir, if not < aovrir, 
must be considered a var. of avrir, < L. aperire, 
open.] If. Open ; yielding easy passage. 
The air therto is so overte . . . 
That every soun mot to hit pace. 
Chaucer, House of Fame, 1. 718. 
2. Plain to the view; apparent; not covert; 
open; manifest. 
In sauter Is sayd a verce ouerte 
That spekes a poynt determynable. 
Alliterative Poems (ed. Morris), t. 592. 
Overt and apparent virtues bring forth praise. Bacon. 
To vouch this Is no proof, 
Without more wider and more overt test 
Than these thin habits and poor likelihoods 
Of modern seeming do prefer against him. 
Shak., Othello, i. 3. 107. 
The possibility of co-operation depends on fulfilment of 
contract, tacit or overt. H. Spencer, Man vs. State, p. 99. 
3. In her. : (a) Having the wings spread : said 
of a bird. The wings are represented with the 
points downward unless blazoned as overt ele- 
vated, (b) Open: said of anything that is com- 
monly shut: as, a purse overt Letters overt See 
letters. Market overt. See market. Overt act, as 
commonly denned, an open or manifest act from which 
criminality is inferred; but the better opinion is that 
open and manifest are here used in contrast not to secret 
and concealed acts, but to intent and words. The writ- 
ing and sending of a letter may be an overt act, however 
secretly done. 
Shak., J. C.', Iv. 3. 161. OVertai (6-ver-taks'), v. t. 
d-pi 
H -it-,,. Comus, L 309. 
To tax too heavily 
or oppressively ; hence, to exact too much from 
in any way. 
A river is competent to effect Its own purification unless 
overtaxed with pollution. Huxley, Physiography, p. 127. 
We . . . have loved the people well, 
And loathed to see them overtax' d. 
Tennyson, Godiva. 
over+ thwart, a.'] I. adv. 1. Athwart; across; 
crosswise ; from side to side. 
For that pece that wente upright fro the Erthe to the 
Heved was of Cypresse ; and the pece that wente over- 
thicart, to the whiche his Honda weren nayled, was of 
Palme ; and the Stock, that stode within the Erthe, In 
the whiche was made the Morteys, was of Cedre. 
Mandeville, Travels, p. 10. 
Here at this closet dore wlthoute. 
Right overthwart, youre wommen llggen alle. 
Chaucer, Troll us, ill. 685. 
Like a beame, or by the circumference, and that Is over- 
thwart and dyametrally from one side of the circle to 
the other. Puttenham, Arte of Eng. Poesie, p. 81. 
A rich full robe of blue silk girt about her, a mantle of 
silver worn overthieart, full gathered, and descending in 
folds behind. Chapman, Masque of the Middle Temple. 
2. Exceedingly; excessively. 
Ouerthirarl cruel and ryght perilous. 
Som. of Partenay (E. E. T. 8.), 1. 3171. 
n. prep. 1. Across; from side to side of. 
n?' + 2 overteemed (6-ver-temd'), . Wom'ouVor ex~- bS Z^SrS&SSSK* MUgh " d ^ "" 
U.L. I WHC" I l >l I I .jt i 1 Xl-lill tf\f\ Tniislll +nAVn!nsv AW VtAw. 
hausted with too much teeming or bearing. 
And for a robe, 
About her lank and all o'er-tefmed loins, 
A blanket, in the alarm of fear caught up. 
Shak., Hamlet, Ii. 2. 631. 
His [Livy's] mind is a soil which is never overteemed, a 
fountain which never seems to trickle. 
Macaulay, History. 
overthrow (6-ver-thro'), v. t. [< ME. overthrow- 
en; < over + throw 1 .] 1. To overturn; upset. 
His wife overthrew the table when he had invited his 
friends. Jer. Taylor. 
2. To throw down ; prostrate. 
The King and Sir William Kingston ran together, which 
Sir William, though a strong and valorous Knight, yet the 
King overthrew him to the Ground. 
Baker, Chronicles, p. 264. 
Hence (a) To overcome; defeat; vanquish, 
0, sir, you have overthrown Alisander the conqueror! 
Shak,, L. L. L, v. 2. 577. 
The claimants whose pretensions, just or unjust, had dis- 
turbed the new settlement, were overthrown. 
Macaulay, Hallam's Const Hist. 
(6) To subvert ; overturn ; ruin ; spoil. 
Here 's Gloucester, a foe to citizens, . . . 
That seeks to overthrow religion, 
Because he is protector of the realm. 
Shak., 1 Hen. VI., I. 8. 65. 
The Dutch are planted nere Hudsons Bay, and are likely 
to overthrow the trade. 
Bradford, Plymouth Plantation, p. 163. 
(ct) To cast down ; deject 
Goode men beth overthrowtn for drede of my peril. 
Chaucer, Boethius, L prow 4. 
Merlin (E. E. T. S-X UL 653. 
It Is aboue SO. dales tourney to passe ouerlhwart the 
desert Uakluyfi Voyages, L 109. 
They haue a custome, when any of their fathers die, In 
token of lamentation, to draw (as It were) a Leather thong 
ouerlhwart their faces, from one eare to the other. 
Purchai, Pilgrimage, p. 404. 
Thlr Towns and strong holds were spaces of ground 
fenc't about with a Ditch and great Trees fell'd overthicart 
each other. Milton, Hist Eng., ii. 
2. On the other side of. 
Far beyond, and imrthwart the stream, 
That, as with molten glass, Inlays the vale, 
The sloping land recedes Into the clouds. 
Cowper, Task, L 169. 
3. Over against; opposite. 
Do'st thou know the man 
That doth so closely overthwart us stand t 
Greene, Alphousus, L 
[Obsolete or archaic in all uses.] 
overthwartt (6'ver-thwart), a. and n. [< ME. 
n i-flnrart: see overthwart, adv.] I. a. 1. 
Opposite ; situated on the opposite side. 
Falre mlstresse, . . . mine ouerthirart neighbour. 
Greene, Never Too Late. 
We whisper for fear our u'rrthtrart neighbours should 
hear us cry Liberty. Dryden, Cleomenes, v. 2. 
2. Contrary; cross; perverse; contradictory. 
Be not to orped, ne to ouerlhwart. & oothis thon hate. 
Babeet Book (E. E. T. 8-X p. 12. 
If they reply any ouerthwart words, or speake any bitter 
injurie, the hurt Is that you bane a heart to feele it, and 
not strength to renenge It 
Guevara, Letters (tr. by Hellowes, 1577X p. 18S. 
