84 
O V E 
OVERTHROW'ER, f He who overthrows. 
OVERTH WART', adj. Oppolite ; being over-againft. 
—We whifper, for fear our overthuart neighbours fliould 
hear us, and betray us to the government. Dryden .— 
Crofting any thing perpendicularly.—Perverfe ; contradic¬ 
tious; crofs.—Withoute benygynte, trait ouris, overthwarte. 
Wicliffe , 2 Tim. iii.—Alas, what ayle you to be fo o'er- 
theart ? Skelton. —Two or three afts difpofed them to crofs 
and oppofe any propofition ; and that overthwart humour 
was difeovered to rule in the breads of many. Clarendon. 
OVERTHWART', f. A crofs or adverfe circumftance. 
Obfoletc: 
A heart, well flay’d, in overthwarles deep 
Hopeth amends. Ld. Surrey. 
OVERTH WART', prep. Acrofs; as, He laid a plank 
overthwart the brook. This is the original nfe. 
OVERTHWART', v. a. To oppofe.—All the prac¬ 
tice of the church raftily they break and overthuiart. Sta¬ 
pleton's Fort, of the Faith, 1565. 
OVERTHWART'LY, adv. Acrofs; tranfverfely.— 
The brawn of the thigh (hall appear, by drawing fmall 
hair ftrokes from the hip to the knee, (hadowed again 
overthwart. Peacham on Drawing. —Pervicacioufly ; per- 
verfely. 
OVERTHWAR'TNESS, f. Poflure acrofs.—Pervica- 
city; perverfenefs.— My younger filter indeed might have 
been married to a far greater fortune, had not the over- 
thwartnefs offome neighbours interrupted it. Ld. Herbert. 
OVER'TLY, adv. Openly. — Good men are never overtly 
defpifed, but that they are firft calumniated. Dean Young's 
Sermons. 
OV'ERTON, a fmall town and parifli in the Kingfclere- 
divifion of the county of Southampton, is fituated on the 
great weflern road, at the diftance of three miles eaft- 
north-eaft from Whitchurch, and fifty-four miles vveft- 
fouth-weft from London. It was formerly a borough, 
and fent two members to parliament; but loft this privi¬ 
lege by neglect. The parifli contains the tythings of 
Pollhampton, Quidhampton, and Southington; and, ac¬ 
cording to the population-returns of i8it, the houfes 
were computed at 231, and the inhabitants at 1178, in 
number. 
The market, if it fubfifts, is on Monday ; but Wilkes’s 
Directory fays that it is difeontinued ; that the market- 
lioufe is entirely taken away ; and thatlpart of Sapley-farm, 
which is half a mile from the town, is built with fome of 
the materials. The church is about a quarter of a mile 
from the heart of the place, and ftands upon a rifing 
ground. 
The foil about Overton for miles every way is extremely 
good for barley; and large quantities of excellent malt 
are made here and in the neighbouring villages and towns; 
particularly at Kingfclere, which lends a great deal to 
London every leafon. Here is a fine ftream for trout, 
which rifes in a marlhy ground in the parifli of Afhe, 
about a mile from Overton. It drives three corn-mills, 
and a very large filk-mill. The (ilk-mill was built in the 
year 1769 by Thomas Streatwells and Thomas Adkins, 
efqrs. It is a curious piece of building, in the form of a 
long fquare, and employs a great number of men, women, 
and children. Here is alfo a paper-mill. There ace four 
fairs in a year, viz. the 4th of May, Whit-Monday, the 
18tli of July, and the 22d of Oftober, all principally for 
(heep and lambs ; that on the 18 th of July is the molt ca¬ 
pital fair for lambs in the county. 
OV'ERTON, a village in Flintfhire, North Wales, 
eight miles fouth of Wrexham ; it has four fairs, on Mon¬ 
day before Holy Tburfday, June n, Auguft 29, and Oc¬ 
tober 18. 
OV'ERTON, a village in Gloucefterfliire, near Ar- 
lingham. 
OV'ERTON, a county of North America, in Weft 
Tenneflee; containing 5643 inhabitants, of whom 355 
are (laves. 
O V E 
O'VERTURE, _/i [ overture , Fr.] An opening; an aper¬ 
ture; an open place.—The foundations, the walls, the 
apertions or overtures. Wotton on ArchiteMure. —In the 
center of the earth there is nothing but perfect darknefs; 
nearer the upper region of that great body, where any 
overture is made, there is a kind of imperfeft twilight. 
Bp. Hall’s Remains. 
Under its bafe there is an overture, 
Which fummer-weeds do render fo obfeure, 
Thecarelels traveller may pafs, and ne’er 
Difcover. Cottons Wonders of the Peak. 
Opening; difclofure; difeovery : 
I wifli you’d in your filent judgment try’d it. 
Without more overture. ShakeJpeare's Wint. Tale. 
Propofal; fomething offered to confideration. — With- 
ftand the overtures of ill, and be intent and ferious in 
good. Fell. 
We with open bread 
Stand ready to receive them, if they like 
Our overture, and turn not back perverfe. Milton's P. L. 
Amufical compofition played at the beginning of an ora¬ 
torio, concert, or opera.—The overture difpofes the mind 
to that mood which fits it for the opening of the piece. 
A. Smith on the Tmit. Arts. 
To OVERTUR'N, v. a. To throw down ; to topple 
down ; to fubvert; to ruin.—He is wife in heart and 
mighty in ftrength; which removeth the mountains, and 
overturneth them in his anger. Job. —If we will not encou¬ 
rage public works of beneficence, till we are Cecure that 
no ftorm (hall overturn what we help to build; there is 
no room left for charity. Atterbury. 
A monument of deathiefs fame 
A woman’s hand o'erturns. Rowe. 
To overpower; to conquer.—Pain exceflive overturns all 
patience. Milton. 
OVERTUR'N, f. State of being turned upfide down ; 
an overthrow.—No awkward overturns of glades, plates, 
and falt-cellars. Ld. Cheftcrfield's Letters. 
OVERTUR'NABLE, adj. That may be overturned.— 
Sir W. Petty gave an account of a commodious land-car¬ 
riage he had lately contrived, far more fecure than any 
coach; not being overturnable by any bight on which the 
wheels can poffibly move. Hijl. Royal Soc. 
OVERTUR'NER, J’. Subverter.—I have brought be¬ 
fore you a robber of the public treafure, an overturner of 
law and juftice, and the deftruftion of the Sicilian pro¬ 
vince. Swift. 
To OVERWHELM, v. a. To cruftt underneath fome¬ 
thing violent and weighty.—How trifling an apprehenfion 
is the fliame of being laughed at by fools, when com¬ 
pared with that everlafting ftiame and aftonifhmenf which 
(hall overwhelm the (inner when he (hall appear before the 
tribunal of Ciirift. Rogers. 
Back do I tofs thefe treafons to thy head, 
With the hell-hated lie o'erwhelm thy heart. Shalufpaare. 
Blind they rejoice, though now, even now, they fall ; 
Death haftes amain ; one hour o’envhelms them all. Pope. 
To overlook gloomily.— In tatter’d weeds, with over¬ 
whelming brows. Shakefpeare. 
Let the brow o'erwhelm it, 
As fearfully as doth a galled rock 
O’erhang and jutt-y his confounded bafe. ShakeJpeare. 
To put over.—Then I overwhelm a. broader pipe about the 
firft. Dr. Papin's Hijl. R. Soc. 
OVERWHEL'M, f. The aft of overwhelming. Not re¬ 
ceived: 
An overwhelm 
Of wonderful on man’s altonifil’d fight. Young. 
OVERWHELMINGLY, adv. In fuch a manner as to 
overwhelm. Inelegant, and not in nfe. —Men fliould not 
tolerate 
