| 释义 |
▪ I. overflow, n.|ˈəʊvəfləʊ|
[over- 9, 5.]
1. The act or fact of overflowing; an inundation, a flood. Also fig.
1589Greene Menaphon (Arb.) 62 Ouerwhelmed with the ouerflowe of a second aduersitie. 1600J. Pory tr. Leo's Africa viii. 299 The inundation or ouerflow of Nilus. 1610Holland Camden's Brit. i. 130 Some, by overflowes and flouds, are growen to be that sea, which at this day they call Zuider-Sea. 1849Murchison Siluria iii. 53 The relations are obscured by an..overflow of igneous rocks.
2. a. A flowing over from a vessel which is too full; that which flows over. lit. and fig.: applied esp. to an excess of attendance or population.
1640J. Stoughton Def. Divinity i. 53 From the overflow of this place all parts of the kingdom are full of knowledge. 1823Examiner 89/2 The house, full to overflow. 1825Southey in Q. Rev. XXXI. 384 Every garden has its tank..the overflow of one being conducted..to another. 1852C. M. Yonge Cameos I. i. 4 The overflow of Teutons came very early thither.
b. Prosody. (See quot. 1885.)
1885E. Gosse Fr. Shaks. to Pope 6 Mr. Austin Dobson has proposed to me the term overflow for these verses in which the sense is not concluded at the end of one line or of one couplet, but straggles on,..until it naturally closes;..equivalent to the vers enjambé of the French. Ibid. 55 In thirty-two lines [of Waller's ‘To the King’] we find but one overflow. 1894Verity Milton's P.L. Introd. 59 Further it [blank verse] never extended till Marlowe..broke up the fetters of the couplet-form, and by the process of over⁓flow carried on the rhythm from verse to verse as the sense required.
c. Telephony. A situation in which more calls are directed to a group of switches or lines than they are able to handle; a call so directed. Usu. attrib.
1924J. G. Mitchell Mech. Manual Switching i. 27 When the traffic reaches a peak so high as to prevent the prompt dispatch of calls by the operators on duty, those lines which are not receiving service will display a continuous signal on the overflow section. 1934G. S. Berkeley Traffic & Trunking Princ. Automatic Telephony vii. 146 The overflow meter..records the number of calls lost due to the insufficiency of the plant. Ibid. 147 One overflow meter is provided to record the number of overflows occurring on the two levels. 1962J. Riordan Stochastic Service Syst. iii. 39 Turn now to the size of over⁓flow traffic, and write Pn(t; r) for the stationary probability that in an interval of length t, whose initial point is an arbitrarily chosen point, there are n overflow calls from the first r servers. 1972Guardian 19 Feb. 8/6 The BBC..recorded 4,300 overflow calls. 1974R. N. Renton Internat. Telex Service x. 383/2 Calls failing to find a free outlet in the level will hunt to the 11th bank contact, receive the appropriate service signal and operate the overflow meter. Ibid., Tables of critical overflow are published.
d. Computers. The generation of a number having more digits than the capacity of the device holding it; also, the excess digit(s). Freq. attrib.
1951Proc. IRE XXXIX. 275/1 Overflow. (1) The condition which arises when the result of an arithmetic operation exceeds the capacity of the number representation in a digital computer. (2) The carry digit arising from this condition. 1959J. Jeenel Programming for Digital Computers iv. 187 The instruction..will cause program execution to proceed from 0104 to 0105 regardless of whether the overflow indicator is on or off. 1965Swallow & Price Elem. Computer Programming xv. 279 The arithmetic operations of addition and subtraction are slightly more complex in the IBM 1401 than in the 141. One difference is in the handling of overflows. Ibid. 287 Whenever an overflow bit is carried into the zone of the high-order digit during an add or subtract operation, this indicator is turned on. 1969P. B. Jordain Condensed Computer Encycl. 364 The most significant digit(s) are considered to be overflow. 1973C. W. Gear Introd. Computer Sci. vi. 241 Most systems provide monitor sub⁓routines that can be called to specify what is to happen in the case of overflow or underflow.
3. Such a quantity as runs over; excess, superfluity, superabundance.
1589Nashe Pref. Greene's Menaphon (Arb.) 6 The ingrafted overflow of some Kilcow conceipt. 1595Shakes. Rich. II, v. iii. 64 Thy ouerflow of good, conuerts to bad. 1725Broome in Pope's Odyss. Notes (J.), The expression may be ascribed to an overflow of gratitude. 1817Miss Mitford in L'Estrange Life (1870) II. i. 5 A prodigious overflow of stupid faces, royal and other.
4. a. Short for overflow-pipe or -drain, a pipe or drain for carrying off excess of water.
1895Daily News 17 Oct. 2/6 When the rainfall is more than ordinarily heavy, the storm overflows carry off the flow of water with sufficient rapidity to prevent any overflow into houses from the sewers.
b. Geol. A natural notch or channel formed by water overflowing from a lake.
1902Q. Jrnl. Geol. Soc. LVIII. 481 When the watershed is very uniform in height, and the ice has at one stage actually surmounted it, then several parallel overflows may be developed out of the gutters which are trenched in the outer slope by water flowing off the ice itself. The overflows..which cut through the Northern Cleveland watershed above the village of Egton are typical of this arrangement. 1973R. J. Price Glacial & Fluvioglacial Landforms v. 128 So long as evidence for the existence of the ice-dammed lakes does not simply consist of the meltwater channels themselves, the interpretation of such meltwater channels as overflows cannot be disputed.
5. attrib. and Comb., as overflow condition, overflow incontinence, overflow meeting, overflow population, overflow work; overflow-basin, overflow-gauge, overflow-pipe; overflow-bug (U.S.), a caraboid beetle, Platynus maculicollis, occasionally appearing in vast swarms in southern California; overflow channel Geol. = sense 4 b above; overflow table, a table used to accommodate extra people attending a dinner, meeting, etc.
1869E. A. Parkes Pract. Hygiene (ed. 3) 68 When the overflow-pipe of a cistern opens into the sewers. 1875Knight Dict. Mech., Overflow-basin, one having a pipe to convey away excess of water and prevent it running over the brim. 1880Daily News 4 Feb. 3/1 Hengler's was filled to the brim..and an ‘overflow’ meeting was immediately organized at the Drill Shed hard by. 1897Westm. Gaz. 15 Mar. 3/3 Their great want was new territory fit for the overflow population to settle in permanently. 1898Engineering Mag. XVI. 107/1 The shallow, widespread overflow-floods which occur in some parts of India can hardly be controlled at all. 1899Allbutt's Syst. Med. VII. 15 If the distended bladder be left unrelieved, the sphincter yields, and the excess of urine comes away, forming the so-called ‘overflow incontinence’. 1902Q. Jrnl. Geol. Soc. LVIII. 473 The criteria by which ancient extra-morainic lakes can be recognized are mainly four:—(1) beaches; (2) deltas; (3) floor-deposits; and (4) overflow-channels. 1923Radio Times 28 Sept. 2/1 The voice of a public man has been..made to operate loud-speakers of overflow meetings. 1969Bennison & Wright Geol. Hist. Brit. Isles xvi. 356 Associated water-cut channels (called overflow channels) from ice-dammed lakes generally thought to result from water flowing marginally along ice sheets may, in many cases, also be a product of subglacial drainage. 1973A. Behrend Samarai Affair i. 14 There was a smaller overflow table where the members of the Pilotage Committee..liked to congregate. 1974Times 20 Feb. 1/1 Two eggs were hurled at Mr Wilson as he struggled through a crowd to enter Oxford Town Hall last night to address an overflow meeting of more than 1,000 people. The eggs went wide.
▪ II. overflow, v.|əʊvəˈfləʊ|
pa. pple. 1–7 -flowen, 6–9 -flown, 6– flowed: see flow v.
[OE. oferflówan = MLG. overvlôjen, MDu., Du. overvloeien: see over- 9, 5.]
I. trans.
1. a. To flow over; to overspread or cover with water or other liquid; to flood, inundate. Said of water; in quot. 1741 causatively of a person.
c893K. ælfred Oros. i. iii. §1 Seo ea ælce ᵹeare þæt land middeweard oferfleow mid fotes þicce flode. c1250Gen. & Ex. 556 Ðo wex a flod ðis werlde wid-hin, and ouer-flowȝed men & deres kin. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) xvi. 72 It es like as it schuld ouerflowe all þe land. 1477J. Paston in P. Lett. III. 175 The causey..is so over flowyn that ther is no man that may on ethe passe it. c1585in Willis & Clark Cambridge (1886) II. 411 Trinitie Colledge greene..is in the winter time overflowne with water. 1600J. Pory tr. Leo's Africa vii. 290 At the inundation of Niger all the fields of this region are ouerflowed. 1673Ray Journ. Low C., Rome 385 Ravenna..lies indeed very low, yet I believe nowadays is never overflown. 1741Compl. Fam. Piece ii. iii. 524 Over⁓flow Meadows, and drain your Corn-fields by cutting Water⁓furrows. 1863Bates Nat. Amazon ix. (1864) 263 The beaches..during most months of the year are partly over⁓flown by the river. 1886Hall Caine Son of Hagar ii. xv, The river had overflowed the meadows.
†b. To flow over or across. Obs.
c1400Destr. Troy 10660 Myche watur he weppit of his wale ene, Ouer-flowet his face, fell on his brest.
2. transf. and fig.
a. To pass or spread over like a flood, so as to pervade, fill, cover, submerge, overwhelm, etc.
1533More Apol. 266 The fayth of Cryste shall never be overflowen with heresyes. c1611Chapman Iliad v. 708 With which his spirit flew, And darkness over-flew his eyes. 1635–56Cowley Davideis i. 350 A Place o'erflown with hallowed Light. 1712Pope Messiah 103 One tide of glory, one unclouded blaze O'erflow thy courts. 1749–51G. Lavington Enthus. Meth. & Papists (1820) 382, I was overflowed with joy. 1830Tennyson Madeline iii, The flush of anger'd shame O'erflows thy calmer glances. 1899R. Kipling Stalky, Little Prep. 171 So they overflowed his house, smoked his cigars, and drank his health.
†b. in pa. pple. Overcome with excess of liquor; drunk. Obs.
1607Middleton Phoenix iv. ii, I was overflown when I spoke it, I could ne'er ha' said it else. 1642R. Carpenter Experience i. vii. 21 A cloud settles in his [the drunkard's] eyes, and the whole body being overflowne, they seeme to float in the floud.
3. a. To flow over (the brim, banks, or sides). Also fig.
a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VII 36 Thinking that the vessel of oyle..would overflowe the brymmes. 1592Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 92 Rain..Perforce will force it [a river] overflow the bank. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 394 The Dregs that overflow the Brims. 1709Tatler No. 43 ⁋12 The Loire having overflowed its Banks, hath laid the Country under Water for 300 Miles together. 1890Forum (N.Y.) VIII. vi. 700 The fiery lava of passion overflowing the appointed bounds. 1916G. B. Shaw Androcles & Lion p. cviii, The causes which have produced this sudden clearing of the air include the transformation of many modern States, notably..the tight little Island of Britain, into empires which overflow the frontiers of all the Churches. 1973R. J. Williams in D. J. Wiseman Peoples of Old Testament Times iv. 80 Fed by the yearly rains in the Abyssinian highlands, the river [sc. the Nile] rose steadily and overflowed its banks.
b. To cause to overflow; to fill (a vessel) so full that it runs over. Also fig.
a1667Jer. Taylor (J.), Sure that some excellent fortune would relieve..thee so as to overflow all thy hopes. 1868F. Williams Lives Eng. Card. I. 137 This outrage overflowed the cup of bitterness that had been presented to the Pope. 1894R. Bridges Shorter Poems 42 Again shall pleasure overflow Thy cup with sweetness.
†4. To overflow with, pour out. Obs. rare.
1598Shakes. Merry W. ii. ii. 157 Such brooks are welcome to mee, that ore'flowes such liquor. 1598B. Jonson Ev. Man in Hum. iii. i, I..take pen, and paper presently, and ouerflow you halfe a score, or a dozen of sonnets, at a sitting.
II. intr.
5. a. To flow over the sides or brim by reason of fullness.
c1000Ags. Gosp. Luke vi. 38 Ofer-flowende hiᵹ syllaþ on eowerne bearm. 1382Wyclif Luke vi. 38 A good mesure, and wel fillid, and shakun to gidere, and ouerflowynge. c1400tr. Higden Harl. Contin. (Rolls) VII. 505 This ȝere twey dayes tofore Octobre the see overflowide and passide the clyves and dreynt many men and tounes. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 94 This tyme at Rome the Ryver of Tiber overflowed exceadingly. a1682Sir T. Browne Tracts 56 Not when the river had overflown. 1838Lardner Hand-bk. Nat. Phil., Hydrost. etc. 47 At the top..there is a small reservoir to receive the mercury, which overflows by expansion.
†b. transf. and fig. To get beyond bounds, to become excessive or inordinate. Obs.
c1200Ormin 10721, & tiss meocnesse iss oferrmett Swa þatt itt oferrfloweþþ. a1547Surrey æneid iv. (1557) F iij b, Loue doth rise and rage againe, And ouerflowes with swellyng stormes of wrath. 1628tr. Mathieu's Powerfull Favorite 146 Hee would not correct the luxury, nor the dissolutenesse which were ouerflowne, by reason of the dis⁓esteeming of the Sumptuary Lawes.
c. To remove from one part to another owing to want of room or other pressure. (In quot. 1858 jocularly of a single person.)
1858Hawthorne Fr. & It. Jrnls. I. 295 When I like, I can overflow into the summer-house or an arbor. 1865Lightfoot Comm. Gal. (1874) 10 The Jewish colonists must in course of time have overflowed into a neighbouring country. 1899Allbutt's Syst. Med. VI. 46 The painful commotion may extend or overflow to higher or lower centres. a1904Mod. The crowd overflowed into the adjoining gardens.
6. a. Said of the containing vessel or the like: To be so full that the contents run over the brim.
c1400tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. 73 Wellys ouer⁓fluen, moistures styen vp to þe croppys of trees. 1588Shakes. Tit. A. iii. i. 222 When heauen doth weepe, doth not the earth oreflow? 1606Heywood 2nd Pt. If you know not me Wks. 1874 I. 297 Come, let our full-crown'd cups oreflow with wine. 1712–14Pope Rape Lock v. 85 Sudden, with starting tears each eye o'erflows. 1884tr. Lotze's Metaph. 324 Like the last drop which makes a cup overflow.
b. transf. and fig. To be filled beyond containing, to be exceedingly full, to superabound.
1601Shakes. All's Well ii. iv. 47 To make the comming houre oreflow with ioy. 1703Maundrell Let. to Sir C. Hedges in Journ. Jerus. (1732) Pref., We are apt to overflow in speaking of it. 1871B. Taylor Faust (1875) I. xxv. 215 The square below And the streets overflow.
Hence overˈflowable a., capable of being overflowed; overˈflowed ppl. a.; overˈflower n., one who or that which overflows.
1668T. Smith Voy. Constantinople in Misc. Cur. (1708) III. 12 The land..of ægypt, lying very low, and easily overflowable. 1822–34Good's Study Med. (ed. 4) I. 645 The overflowed swamps at its feet. 1848Buckley Iliad 392 The plain was all filled with the overflowed water. 1899W. James in Talks to Teachers on Psychol. 215 The final over⁓flowers of our measure. |