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单词 over
释义

† overn.1

Forms: Old English ofer, Old English ofor, Middle English ofre, Middle English ouere, Middle English oure.
Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.
Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian ōvera, ōver, Middle Dutch oever (Dutch oever), Middle Low German ōver, ȫver, Middle High German uover (German Ufer), probably < the same Indo-European base as ancient Greek ἤπειρος (Doric πειρος) dry land, mainland; further etymology uncertain.Frequently found as an element in place names.
Obsolete.
A border, a margin; spec. the bank of a river; the shore of the sea.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > land mass > shore or bank > [noun]
staithec893
cliffeOE
overeOE
wartha1000
strandc1000
brimc1275
brinka1300
rivagec1330
water bankc1384
cleevea1387
watersidea1387
clifta1398
rival?a1400
shorec1400
water breach1495
common shorea1568
verge1606
praia1682
riva1819
splash zone1933
eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) i. xliv. 108 Smire mid þa ofras þær hit readige.
OE Beowulf 1371 Ær he feorh seleð, aldor on ofre.
OE Old Eng. Hexateuch: Gen. (Claud.) xli. 3 Seofon oxan..eodon be þære ea ofrun on grenum stowum.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) 4281 He ferde ut of Doure bi þe sæ-oure [c1300 Otho see-ofre].
c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 321 (MED) He..dede leden hire to doure, Þat standeth on þe seis oure.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) i. 4300 Cassibelan was redy at Douere & rengid him bi þe ses ouere [a1450 Lamb. by þe ouere].
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2004; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

overn.3

Brit. /ˈəʊvə/, U.S. /ˈoʊvər/
Forms: see over adv.
Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: over adv.
Etymology: < over adv. In sense 2 after over adv. 1.With sense 5 compare post-classical Latin omne quod est nimium vertitur in vitium everything which is in excess is turned into evil (recorded from the first half of the 12th cent.; cited as proverbial from the second half of the 12th cent.).
I. Technical and specific uses.
†1. In hunting: a fence or other obstacle which must be leapt over. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunting with hounds > [noun] > riding after hounds > type of fence > other obstacles
over1591
water1840
1591 T. Cokayne Short Treat. Hunting sig. B4v At euery ouer putting off the hounds, or small stop, euery huntsman that hath a horne ought to begin his rechate.
1883 Pall Mall Gaz. 30 July 5/1 The downfall of the front rank at an over.
2. Cricket. A sequence of balls bowled by a bowler from one end of the pitch, after which another bowler takes over from the other end.Under the earliest Laws of Cricket the over consisted of four balls. Usage has varied over the years, with the number of balls in an over now (2000 Code) fixed at six, as has been more or less standard since 1900. For further details see M. Rundell Dict. Cricket (1985) s.v. over.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > bowling > [noun] > alternation of ends in
over1833
1833 New Sporting Mag. 5 325 The Anglesea are in the field, And Floyer bowls the over.
1850 ‘Bat’ Cricketer's Man. (rev. ed.) 48 Some clubs make it a rule to mark the number of ‘overs’ that each bowler gives, at the foot of the scoring papers.
1899 Westm. Gaz. 18 Nov. 2/3 The first alteration proposed—the substitution of six balls for five in an over.
1921 Ld. Harris Few Short Runs xi. 284 Under such circumstances how we welcome the umpire's ‘Last over, gentlemen.’
1974 B. Johnston It's been Lot of Fun xvi. 116 ‘Stick to the play, Percy, and keep that sort of chat for between the overs,’ said the producer.
2002 Gulf News (Nexis) 8 Feb. In the last over before lunch Afridi took 16 runs off Ramnarine.
3.
a. In plural. Money in excess, or remaining over. Frequently spec. (see quots. 1950, 1974, 1974).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > that which is left or remainder > [noun] > what remains in excess
surplusc1374
overplusa1387
thrifta1387
surplusagec1407
surplusagec1407
superplusage1436
overdealc1440
overcome1445
superplusa1450
superfluities1483
upperplus1578
super1626
reserve1646
overs1864
overmatter1887
1864 J. C. Hotten Slang Dict. (new ed.) Overs, the odd money remaining after the daily accounts are made up at a banking-house,—usually divided amongst the clerks.
1873 M. C. Ames Ten Years in Washington xxxii. 333 A statement..containing the net amount found due to the owner, the aggregate of the ‘shorts’, the ‘overs’, the ‘counterfeits’ discovered and the amount claimed.
1882 Pall Mall Gaz. 10 Oct. 3 It does not appear in the accounts, nor does ‘overs’.
1950 D. W. Maurer Lang. Underworld (1981) 189/2 Overs, bets which have been overlooked; a sleeper.
1974 S. Terkel Working iv. 199 A good day is about forty-five on the meter and ten in overs, as we call tips.
1977 D. Powis Signs of Crime 195 Overs, surplus of property or money after a theft that can itself be stolen by trusted persons.
b. In plural. Printing. Copies printed in excess of the number ordered, to allow for wastage.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > printed matter > [noun] > amount printed > excess
overprint1876
overs1888
1888 C. T. Jacobi Printers' Vocab. 92 Overs, the ‘plus’ copies beyond a certain number.
1901 D. Cockerell Bookbinding i. ii. 36 The printers usually keep a number of ‘overs’ in order to make good such imperfections.
1946 J. A. Eisler in H. Whetton Pract. Printing & Binding xxvii. 328/2 Finding the net amount of paper entailed in the production of a job (exclusive of overs) should present few difficulties to the man familiar with ordinary paper usage.
1961 T. Landau Encycl. Librarianship (ed. 2) 269/2 Overs. The number of sound copies over after the printing of the net number of copies ordered.
4. Military colloquial. A bullet, shell, or other missile that passes beyond its target.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > discharge of firearms > [noun] > a shot > type of shot
hail-shot1569
random shot1598
long shot1767
snapshot1808
point-blanker1824
pot-shot1843
snap1851
hip shot1874
pop shot1880
sighter1897
pot1914
over1915
short1922
snipe1969
1915 W. H. L. Watson Adventures Despatch Rider v. 66 He believes the Uhlans were North Irish Horse and the bullets ‘overs’.
1944 A. Jacob Traveller's War 238 Men on the fringe of the battle area..receive the ‘overs’ and keep ducking flat as they hear the hissing approach of tank ammo, that has missed its mark.
1969 I. Kemp Brit. G.I. in Vietnam vi. 140 I..laid them behind a tree..; they should be moderately safe there from ‘overs’.
1979 R. Fullick & G. Powell Suez: Double War xii. 150 ‘Overs’ from the British guns firing at Port Said fell in Port Fuad, much to the consternation of the men..who assumed that their own ships were firing at them.
II. General uses.
5. Scottish. That which is excessive; an excess, an extreme (only in proverbial use). Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > excessive amount or degree > [noun] > something excessive or extreme
superstitionc1230
over1597
overstretch1749
overkill1964
1597 A. Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 422 All owers ar recknit to be vice, ore hic, ore law, ore rich, ore wyis [etc.].
a1598 D. Fergusson Sc. Prov. (1641) sig. B All overs are ill.
1710 T. Ruddiman in G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneis (new ed.) Gloss. at Our A owres spills..i.e. omne nimium vertitur in vitium.
1904 N.E.D. at Over sb.2 Mod. Sc. A' owres is ill (i.e. All excesses are evil).
6. gen. That which is left over; an extra, a surplus. Frequently in plural.
ΚΠ
1905 To-Day 8 Mar. 182/1 ‘'Ave this,’ he said, giving her..a Bath bun..‘It's an over.’
1960 V. Williams Walk Egypt 239 ‘It run much?’ ‘Thirty-two gallons. I gave John the over for grinding.’
1986 Daily Tel. 27 Jan. 8/7 Mothers and fathers took their children to church..on Sunday morning and returned to cold meals, overs from Saturday.

Compounds

General attributive (in sense 2), as over rate.
ΚΠ
1960 E. W. Swanton W. Indies Revisited 282 The over-rate during the First Test was higher than in any subsequent one.
2001 Times 24 Apr. i. 28/3 Durham..narrowly escaped being the first county to be docked a quarter of a County Championship point for a slow over rate.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

overadj.n.2

Brit. /ˈəʊvə/, U.S. /ˈoʊvər/
Forms:

α. Old English ufara, Old English ufera, Old English ufere (feminine and neuter), Old English uferra, Old English uferre (feminine and neuter), Old English ufora, Old English ufore (feminine and neuter), Old English ufra, Old English ufre (feminine and neuter), Old English ufyrra, Old English yfera, Old English yfere (feminine and neuter), Old English yferra, late Old English uuera, early Middle English ufe (transmission error), early Middle English ufer, early Middle English ufere, early Middle English uferre, early Middle English uuer, early Middle English uuere, early Middle English vfere, early Middle English vuer, early Middle English vuere, Middle English vver (northern); English regional 1700s– uvver, 1800s uvvor; Scottish pre-1700 uer, pre-1700 uffir, pre-1700 uner (transmission error), pre-1700 uuir, pre-1700 uvir, pre-1700 uvyr, pre-1700 vuer, pre-1700 vuir, pre-1700 wuyr, pre-1700 wver, pre-1700 wvir, pre-1700 wvyr, pre-1700 1800s uver, 1700s– iver, 1800s– ever, 1900s– eever (northern and north-eastern), 1900s– ivver (northern and north-eastern).

β. early Middle English ofer, Middle English houer, Middle English hover, Middle English offere, Middle English oouer, Middle English oouere, Middle English ouere, Middle English ouir, Middle English ouyr, Middle English ouyre, Middle English overe, Middle English ovir, Middle English ovyr, Middle English–1600s ouer, Middle English– over; English regional 1800s– ovver, 1800s– ower; Scottish pre-1700 ouir, pre-1700 ouyr, pre-1700 ovir, pre-1700 ovire, pre-1700 ovyr, pre-1700 owar, pre-1700 owir, pre-1700 owyre, pre-1700 1700s oure, pre-1700 1700s– over, pre-1700 (1800s Orkney and Shetland) ouer, pre-1700 1800s– ower, 1700s– o'er, 1800s oar (Shetland), 1800s our, 1900s– owre.

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.
Etymology: Cognate with Middle Low German ȫver , Old High German obaro (Middle High German ober , German ober ), and probably also (with slightly different suffixation) Old Icelandic øfri , Old Swedish öfre , yfre (Swedish övre ), Danish øvre < the Germanic base of Old High German oba above (Middle High German obe , ob , German ob ), Old Icelandic of over, above, Gothic uf beneath, and the first element of oveward adj. (also from the same base compare Old English ufan : see ovenon adv., anoven adv. and prep.) + a Germanic comparative suffix (see -er suffix1); for Indo-European cognates of this base see over adv., an Indo-European comparative formation ultimately from the same base. In Middle English largely remodelled after over adv.Early examples of β. forms may have arisen purely as graphic variants of α. forms, intended to disambiguate consecutive letters formed with minim strokes (as also in above , dove , love , etc.). However, in the course of the Middle English period the pronunciation was evidently remodelled after that of over adv., probably in large part as a result of the ambiguity of compounds which could be interpreted as showing either the adjective or the adverb (see over- prefix). Such ambiguity gives rise to variation such as that shown by different manuscripts in the following example (compare overlip n.): ▸ c1387–95 G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. 133 Hir ouer [c1430 Camb. Gg.4.27. ouere] lippe [c1410 Harl. 7334 ouerlippe] wyped she so clene. This identification with the adverbial prefix is reflected in the development of senses 3 and 4. For comparative and superlative formations on the (originally comparative) base of over adj., see overer adj., overest adj., and overmore adj., overmost adj. Frequently in place names in sense 1b, e.g.:1232 in M. Gelling & D. M. Stenton Place-Names Oxfordshire (1954) II. 358 Uuer Cudincton.1300 in T. F. Dukes Antiq. Shropshire (1844) App. p. xix Ville de Acton Burnell,..Over Stanwey, Nether Stanwey, [etc.].1372 in J. M. Thomson Registrum Magni Sigilli Scotorum (1912) I. 151 In baronia de Uvyrcrelyne.1424 in J. Robertson Illustr. Topogr. & Antiq. Aberdeen & Banff (1847) II. 381 Neithir Bulgny, Wvir Bulgny, Midlmas Bulgny.1495 in J. Robertson Illustr. Topogr. & Antiq. Aberdeen & Banff (1862) IV. 439 Terrarum de Vuer Towiis, Nethir Towiis.1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 14 In vuir Clydisdale and in nethir Clidisdale.1912 N.E.D. at Thorter Forming part of local names: there is in Dundee a ‘Thorter Row’, which ‘crosses’ between the Nethergate and Overgate.
attributive.
1.
a. Upper, higher in position. Also occasionally as n. Now rare (regional in later use).Only in attributive use, preceded by the or another determiner, and used of one of two things (the other being the nether, lower, or under). In earlier uses, frequently applied to parts of the body, such as the lips, teeth, or jaws (cf. overlip n.). See also over-end n., overpart n., overside n., over vert at vert n.1 1c.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > high position > [adjective] > in higher position
overeOE
ovewardeOE
higherOE
overmorec1350
overhighera1382
overerc1400
upper1467
superior1632
overriding1883
α.
eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter (1965) ciii. 3 Qui tegis in aquis superiora eius : ðu biðeces in wetrum ða uferran his.
eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) iii. 33 [Crist] se ðe ealne ðon[e] wisdom ðara uferrenna gæsta. oferstigð.
eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) v. ii. 388 Him næfre nænig feax in ðæm uferan dæle ðæs heafdes acenned beon meahte.
?a1200 (?OE) Peri Didaxeon (1896) 21 Þa ufe wæte of þan heafod fylþ uppan þa teþ.
c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 170 Te twa grindelstanes ne schulde namon twinnin... Þe vuere [a1300 Caius upere] stan bitacneð hope.
1703 R. Thoresby Let. 27 Apr. in J. Ray Corr. (1848) 429 Uvver, for upper, or over.
1788 W. Marshall Provincialisms E. Yorks. in Rural Econ. Yorks. II. 362 Uvver, upper; as the uvver lip.
1824 W. Carr Horæ Momenta Cravenæ 8 Th' uvver side o' th' Gill.
1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants. Words II. 372 ‘Give me a bit of the uvver crust.’ ‘The be-ast are gwon a' th' uvver side of the clus;’ the beasts are gone on the upper side of the close.
1882 G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. 463 Uvver,..who lives i' the uvver 'ouse now?
1928 A. E. Pease Dict. Dial. N. Riding Yorks. at Uvver Ye mun gan ti t'uvver rig o' t'mooer.
β. ?a1300 Vision St. Paul (Digby) 96 in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1879) 62 404/1 (MED) Some..stondeþ in to heere knee, Some to heere middil þei, And some to heere ouere [a1300 Jesus Oxf. vuere] brei.a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 29 Hete..bringeþ and lediþ þe neþir þinges to þe ouere..he dissolueþ & turneþ what is erþy & turneþ in to watery, And watery in to aiery, and aiery in to fury, And so he bringiþ þe neþir and þe middel in to þe ouere.a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 540 Þe ouer fir gis man his sight, Þat ouer air of hering might.c1450 Treat. Fishing in J. McDonald et al. Origins of Angling (1963) 151 (MED) Than arme ȝowur crop at þe ovir ende down to the frete with a lyn of vj herys.a1475 Bk. Curtasye (Sloane 1986) l. 36 in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 300 Pare þy brede and kerue in two, Tho ouer crust þo nether fro.1526 R. Whitford tr. Martiloge (1893) 161 Theyr ouer tethe knocked out.1583 P. Barrough Methode of Phisicke i. xxxi. 40 With your left hand lifte vp the ouer eyelidde.a1600 Sonnge Sir A. Barton in J. Raine Vol. Eng. Misc. N. Counties Eng. (1890) 71 He shoott throughe his over decke.1661 W. Cramond in D. Donaldson Cramondiana (1965) 85 The miller must have the keeping of the overstone of the same.1724 in W. McFarlane Geogr. Coll. Scotl. (1906) I. 33 It has a fountain on the very summit without any current from it on the oure side.1790 E. Halsted Hist. & Topogr. Kent II. 173 [It was] a four-square building, the over part timber, the nether part stone.a1903 L. C. Musters in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1903) IV. 384/2 [Nottinghamshire] The ovver one of the two.
†b. Of a geographical feature (frequently of a country, district, hamlet, farm, etc.): that is higher in position, upper. Cf. upper adj. 1a, nether adj. 4a. Obsolete.In place names, used in distinguishing between several places with the same name; Upper is now more usually used for this purpose. For examples of use in place names see etymological note above.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > landscape > high land > [adjective]
overOE
upa1400
uppera1400
high?a1425
uplandsa1525
uplandish1551
highland1595
upland1610
high country1612
uphill1613
Highlandish1632
uplying1877
OE Charter: Bp. Oswald to Eadric (Sawyer 1310) in A. J. Robertson Anglo-Saxon Charters (1956) 88 Æt Eanulfestune oþer healf hid & æt Uferan Strætforda on þære gesyndredan hide þone oþerne æcer.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 125 Galilea is a londe bytwene Indea and Palestina, and is double, þe ouer [?a1475 anon. tr. superior; L. superior] Galilea and þe neþer Galilea.
1511 in M. Livingstone Reg. Secreti Sigilli Regum Scotorum (1908) I. 342 Litera..super terris de le Uver part de Lany.
1550 in R. Renwick Abstr. Protocols Town Clerks Glasgow (1894) I. 18 The foir uvyr hows, viz., hall, chalmer and wairdrop, with the peis waist.
1715 A. Pennecuik Geogr., Hist. Descr. Tweeddale 13 An Herds house called Blair-Bog, and then Rommano, Grange Over and Nether.
1743 Caledonian Mercury 10 Jan. in Sc. National Dict. (1965) VI. 522/2 The Over-Ward of the shire of Clydesdale.
1845 New Statist. Acct. Scotl. IX. 586 The garden ground of this monastery seems to have been immediately around the building, as is still indicated by the name, viz. the orchard and over-yards.
c. Placed so as, or serving, to cover something else; upper, outer. Chiefly with reference to layers of clothing.Now usually in compounds; see over- prefix 1h(c), and also overblouse n., overcloth n., overclothes n., overclothing n., overcoat n., overgarment n., etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > [adjective]
overeOE
covering1535
integent1661
theeking1846
eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) ii. xxviii. 224 Þæt uferre hrif.
OE Antwerp Gloss. (1955) 244 Ependeten, cop uel hoppada, uel ufrescrud.
c1395 G. Chaucer Canon's Yeoman's Tale 633 His ouersloppe [v.rr. ouerslope, ouersclope, ouer slop; ouer clothe] nys nat worth a myte..It is al baudy and to tore also.
c1440 Liber de Diversis Med. 33 (MED) Tak þe ȝonge syons þat growes by þe erthe of þe ellere tree & schafe of þe ouer barke & schafe of þe grene barke.
c1450 in W. R. Dawson Leechbk. (1934) 48 Take the rynde of a tre that men callen Wich ethir elme, schaue of the ouer rynd aboue & kest it away & take þe jnner rynd & [etc.].
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Exod. xxviii. 25 The two shulders of the ouer body cote.
1598 in F. Collins Wills & Admin. Knaresborough Court Rolls (1902) I. 216 One paire of over britches.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. 518 The ouer rind or barke would be taken away.
1889 John Bull 2 Mar. 150/1 A skirt of black satin with over drapery of guipure lace.
1917 L. T. Coates Amer. Dressmaking Step by Step viii Sometimes one desires to use embroidery, insertion, or beading to make the over-portion of the joining band.
†d. Further away, more distant; (in early use esp.) subsequent, later, in the future. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > [adjective] > later
overeOE
latterOE
posterior1534
later1542
lateward1577
elder1597
inferior1641
ulterior1646
eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) iv. v. 90 Þy læs hit monn uferan dogore wræce.
OE Beowulf 2200 Eft þæt geiode ufaran dogrum.
lOE Revival of Monasticism in T. O. Cockayne Leechdoms, Wortcunning, & Starcraft (1866) III. 438 Þæt wile þincan ungeleaflic eallum þæm þe þa stowe on uferum tidum geseoð.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) 13873 Þe kaisere wende Walwain to scende þat he miht an uuere daȝe [c1300 þar-after] ȝelpen uor þere deden.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 127 (MED) Cedar is a londe yn þe ouerside of Palestina.
1435 in W. H. Stevenson Rec. Borough Nottingham (1883) II. 360 A porche yat standes on ye comon ground at ye west end of ye Tymber Rawe on ye corner of ye houer end of Qwelwright Gate.
†2. Higher in rank or authority; greater in power; superior, senior. Obsolete.Recorded earliest in overhand n. For use in other fixed compounds see over- prefix 1b, and overking n., overlord n., overman n., etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > [adjective] > having superior or predominant authority
moreeOE
overc1175
surmontantc1400
upper1477
predominant1575
predominate1591
overswaying1601
predominated1800
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 5458 To winnenn oferrhannd off uss.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 14v Þe ouer ordres [of angels] wiþoute mene fongiþ purgacioun þat þey beþ clene..þe ouer angels purgiþ, illumineþ & makeþ parfite þe neþir aungels.
a1402 J. Trevisa tr. Dialogus Militem et Clericum (Harl.) 13 (MED) For þe apostle Poule ad Titum seiþ: ‘Euereche soule schal be suget to þe ouer power.’
c1443 R. Pecock Reule of Crysten Religioun (1927) 278 Oure fredom forto reule vs silf bi oure owne resoun and wil..wiþoute an oþer man to be ouer comaunder or constreyner.
?c1500 Wisdom (Digby) 300 Se that the nether parte of reason In no wyse ther-to lende, than the ouer parte shall haue fre domynacion.
1780 Voy. to Japan in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 70 App. 2 These Over Banjoses may be compared to the Mandarins of China... They inspect every thing.
1874 Act 37 & 38 Vict. c. 94 §7 No consolidation..shall..extend the rights or interests of any over superior.
†3. Surplus, extra; that is in excess or in addition; remaining beyond the normal amount. Now chiefly as in over- prefix 1s. See over adv. 9. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > excessive amount or degree > [adjective] > excessive or too great in amount or degree > excessive in degree
unmeasurablea1398
dismeasurec1400
dismeasurable1477
dismeasured1483
over1494
endlya1513
intolerable1544
wide1574
overloading1576
unconscionable1576
meanless1587
powerable1588
hyperbolical1589
extravagant1598
grievous1632
flagrant1634
exorbitant1648
overbearinga1708
unbalanced1712
well-favoured1746
steep1856
thick1884
ripe1918
the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > that which is left or remainder > [adjective] > remaining in excess
remanent1443
over1494
subsecive1613
overplus1640
surplus1641
leftover1864
1494 Act 11 Hen. VII c. 13 The half-deal of the over Price of her, being above vi.s. viii.d. to be to the King.
1819 P. Wakefield Excursions in North Amer. 78 And, by dint of industry, at over hours, had acquired a considerable fund of knowledge.
1832 H. Martineau Homes Abroad v. 74 I am soon to begin building you a house at over hours.
1896 Daily News 21 Nov. 3/3 He knew nothing about the practice..whether over or spoiled copies were given to the employés.
†4. Excessive, too great; that is in excess of what is right or proper. Obsolete.Earliest and chiefly in compounds that have become fixed, e.g. overcare n., over-curiousness n., over-hastiness n. For use in other fixed compounds see over- prefix 2b(c) and overcompensation n., overconfidence n., overkill n., oversimplification n., etc.
ΚΠ
1573 J. Daus tr. H. Bullinger Hundred Serm. vpon Apocalipse (rev. ed.) f. 69v Through our owne ouer curiousnesse in searchyng and siftyng Gods workes.
1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 105 Thair ouir haistines, and ouer bent to reuenge.
1710 E. Ward Vulgus Britannicus 1st Pt. 38 To..cool him after two Hours sweating, With over Pains, and over Prating.
1758 S. Hayward Seventeen Serm. xvi. 469 Occasioned by an over thirst for government.
1801 ‘Gabrielli’ Mysterious Husband IV. 45 Had my over precautions rendered you..miserable.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

overv.

Brit. /ˈəʊvə/, U.S. /ˈoʊvər/
Forms: Old English oferian, Old English uferian, Old English uffrian, early Middle English ufere, 1500s–1600s ouer, 1700s– over, 1900s– ovah (Caribbean); English regional (northern) 1800s oe'r, 1800s– oher, 1800s– owad (Yorkshire, past participle), 1800s– ower, 1900s– ovver; Scottish pre-1700 ouir, pre-1700 our, pre-1700 1800s– over, 1700s–1800s owre, 1800s owr, 1800s– ower.
Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: over adv.
Etymology: < over adv. With sense 1 perhaps compare Old High German obarōn to delay, put off. With sense 2 perhaps compare Middle High German oberen to have the upper hand, to triumph over, or classical Latin superāre to surpass, prevail over, surmount (see superate v.).Each sense below probably represents an independent formation. In Old English the prefixed form geuferian is more commonly attested.
Now regional.
†1. transitive. To make higher, exalt; to make later, delay, put off. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > upward movement > raising > make to go up or cause to rise [verb (transitive)]
overOE
mountc1330
risec1384
raise?c1425
to get upa1500
to screw up?1614
sublime1616
altify1643
OE Aldhelm Glosses (Brussels 1650) in L. Goossens Old Eng. Glosses of MS Brussels, Royal Libr. 1650 (1974) 329 Sublimatus est : wæs uffred.
OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) xii. 45 Min hlaford uferaþ [c1200 Hatton ufereð] hys cyme.
2.
†a. intransitive. To overcome, be victorious. Obsolete. rare.In quot. lOE the glossator has misunderstood the Latin text.
ΚΠ
lOE Canterbury Psalter: Canticles iii. 4 Arcus fortium superatus est : bogæ stræng oferigende is.
b. transitive. Scottish. To get the better of, to master. Also reflexive: to control, regulate, or manage oneself; to bestir oneself. Cf. owerance n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > mastery or superiority > have or gain mastery or superiority over [verb (transitive)]
overcomeeOE
forecomec1000
overwieldlOE
masterc1225
overmaistrie1340
overmatcha1375
overpassa1382
surmount1390
to have the fairer (of)c1400
maistriec1400
overmasterc1425
winc1440
overc1485
bestride1526
rixlec1540
overreach1555
control1567
overmate1567
govern1593
to give (a person) the lurch1598
get1600
to gain cope of1614
top1633
to fetch overa1640
down1641
to have the whip hand (of)1680
carberry1692
to cut down1713
to be more than a match for1762
outflank1773
outmaster1799
outgeneral1831
weather1834
best1839
fore-reach1845
to beat a person at his (also her, etc.) own game1849
scoop1850
euchrec1866
bemaster1871
negotiate1888
to do down1900
to get (someone) wetc1926
lick1946
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 214 A seke man yat may nocht our him self jn syk a rageand malady.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 255 Gif ony of thame may our his falow, be ony habilitee or strenthe or suteltee.
c1540 J. Bellenden tr. H. Boece Hyst. & Cron. Scotl. (1821) I. lxi The body is..sa opprest with superflew metis and drinkis that it may nothir weild nor yit ouir the self.
a1628 J. Carmichaell Coll. Prov. in Scots (1957) No. 1683 Wo is them that thow may over, and that is puir I.
1824 J. Mactaggart Sc. Gallovidian Encycl. 493 He always said—‘he could not help it’, which was true, for he could not ‘owre himsell’, as is said when man wants self-control.
1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. at Owr one's self I wiss I may be able to owr mysell in the business.
1840 G. Webster Ingliston xxx A puir widow woman that canna ower hersel.
1920 in Sc. National Dict. (1965) VI. 522/3 He wadna ower himsel for onybody.
†3. transitive. To make (an amount) larger; to raise, increase. Obsolete.In quot. 1602 intransitive: to go to a higher figure (by so much).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > increase in quantity, amount, or degree > [verb (transitive)]
echeOE
ekec1200
multiplya1275
morea1300
increase13..
vaunce1303
enlargec1380
augmenta1400
accrease1402
alargea1425
amply?a1425
great?1440
hainc1440
creasec1475
grow1481
amplea1500
to get upa1500
improve1509
ampliatea1513
auge1542
over1546
amplify1549
raise1583
grand1602
swell1602
magnoperate1610
greaten1613
accresce1626
aggrandize1638
majoratea1651
adauge1657
protend1659
reinforce1660
examplify1677
pluralize1750
to drive up1817
to whoop up1856
to jack up1884
upbuild1890
steepen1909
up1934
1546 Supplic. Poor Commons sig. b.vii Ouerynge bothe fynes and rentes beyonde all reasone and conscience.
1550 R. Crowley One & Thyrtye Epigrammes sig. Dvv To leauye greate fines or to ouer the rent.
1602 R. Carew Surv. Cornwall i. f. 37v They will rather take bargaines, at these excessiue fines, then a tolerable improued rent, being in no sort willing to ouer a penny.
4.
a. transitive. regional. To get over; to recover from (an illness, misfortune, etc.); (also) to survive, last.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > source or principle of life > continuance or tenacity of life > continue in life [verb (transitive)]
overliveeOE
overbideOE
outlive1472
survive1572
overa1800
the world > action or operation > easiness > find no difficulty in [verb (transitive)] > surmount (difficulty or disaster)
overcomea1225
surmount1484
compass1561
superate1598
to get above ——1603
to get over ——1618
overa1800
to tide over1821
the world > health and disease > healing > recovery > recover (health) [verb (transitive)] > recover from (an illness)
recoverc1330
overseta1600
to come through ——1655
to get over ——1662
overgeta1729
overa1800
overcast1830
the world > action or operation > safety > escape > escape from [verb (transitive)] > pass through (danger or adversity)
passa1325
to wear out1617
weathera1631
to come through ——1655
survive1717
to live out1719
overa1800
the world > action or operation > amending > restoration > restoration of a person > recovery from misfortune, error, etc. > [verb (transitive)]
overcomea1225
recoverc1330
overputa1382
overpassa1387
passa1500
digest1577
to put over1593
outwear1598
overseta1600
to make a saving game of it1600
repassa1631
to get over ——1662
overgeta1729
overcast1788
overa1800
a1800 S. Pegge Suppl. Grose's Provinc. Gloss. (1814) (at cited word) I am afraid he'll not over it.
1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. (at cited word) ‘He never over'd the loss of that bairn’.
1843 W. Carleton Traits & Stories Irish Peasantry (new ed.) I. 86 He lent Larry two guineas, which..enabled them to over their difficulties.
1870 Nation 28 July 57 To be ‘overing the bilious’ is to be getting well of the bilious fever.
1928 A. E. Pease Dict. Dial. N. Riding Yorks. 91/1 Ah thowt he nivver wad ha ower'd t'neet.
c1933 C. P. Miller Lamb in his Bosom 24 He believed that she would over it [sc. a snakebite].
1975 D. McC. Newell If Nothin' don't Happen 75 Uncle fed him [sc. a dog] a bellyful of pot likker and greased him with lard and sulphur and he overed it.
1979 J. Morrow Confessions Proinsias O'Toole in B. Share Slanguage (1997) 205/2 Some oul' goat of a Priest..gave her a rub of the relic and she says she's niver overed it.
1996 M. Flaws & G. Lamb Orkney Dict. 46/2 Wir owered the 'flu for a mercy.
b. transitive. English regional (northern) and Caribbean. In passive. To pass, come to an end, finish; to become less severe. Also intransitive.
ΚΠ
1847 A. Brontë Agnes Grey xi. 163 I was sore distressed Miss Grey—thank God it's owered now.
1847 A. Brontë Agnes Grey xii. 185 You'll both stay while this shower gets owered.
1876 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Words Whitby ‘It ower'd a bit,’ ceased awhile; said of rain.
1928 A. E. Pease Dict. Dial. N. Riding Yorks. 91/1 T'rāăn's owered a bit... Weel, it's ower'd wi' him noo.
1941 ‘J. Canoe’ Country Cousin 15 Nutten wi' hender dis war ovahin' as quick as ever.
1967 V. S. Naipaul Mimic Men 110 School overs at three and I have to be home by half past four.
5. transitive. To jump or fly over; to clear, vault. Now rare (English regional and U.S. regional in later use).
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > upward movement > leaping, springing, or jumping > cause to jump [verb (transitive)] > leap, spring, or jump over
leapc900
overleapeOE
freea1578
overjump1604
jump1609
overskip1629
fly1719
top1735
spring?a1775
clear1791
overbound1813
over1837
overspring1847
leap-frog1872
vault1884
1837 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers xxviii*. 302 Playing at leap-frog with the tombstones,..overing the highest among them, one after the other, with the most marvellous dexterity.
1882 Society 28 Oct. 19/1 You never made mud pies, or played at tipcat, or ‘overed’ a post.
1956 W. L. McAtee Some Dial. N. Carolina 57 The bird overed the house.
1974 W. Leeds Herefordshire Speech 82 The boys overed the tombstones.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

overadv.int.

Brit. /ˈəʊvə/, U.S. /ˈoʊvər/
Forms:

α. Old English ufer, Old English–early Middle English ufor, early Middle English uferr ( Ormulum); English regional 1800s– uvver.

β. Old English obaer, Old English ober, Old English ofaer, Old English ofær, Old English ofere, Old English ofir, Old English ofor, Old English–early Middle English ofer, Old English–1600s ouer, Old English (rare)– over, early Middle English oferr ( Ormulum), early Middle English offerr ( Ormulum), early Middle English offr ( Ormulum), Middle English aure (north-west midlands), Middle English awr, Middle English euer (transmission error), Middle English oferre, Middle English oouer, Middle English oþer (transmission error), Middle English ouere, Middle English ouir, Middle English ouire, Middle English ouur, Middle English ouver, Middle English ouyr, Middle English ovar (in a late copy), Middle English overe, Middle English ovre, Middle English ovur, Middle English owuere, Middle English owver, Middle English–1500s houyr, Middle English–1500s ouyre, Middle English–1500s ovir, Middle English–1500s ovyr, 1500s offere; English regional 1800s hover (Devon), 1800s– auver (southern and south-western), 1800s– awver (southern and south-western), 1800s– ovver, 2000s– hauver (Cornwall); U.S. regional (chiefly in African-American usage) 1800s ova, 1800s ove, 1800s– ober, 1900s– obuh, 1900s– ovah, 1900s– ovuh; Scottish pre-1700 ofowr (irregular), pre-1700 ouer, pre-1700 ouir, pre-1700 ouuer, pre-1700 ouyr, pre-1700 ovir, pre-1700 1700s– over.

γ. chiefly northern and north-west midlands Middle English oure, Middle English owere, Middle English owr, Middle English owre, Middle English owur, Middle English owyr, Middle English–1500s our, Middle English–1500s ower; English regional 1700s– ower, 1800s– oher (Lincolnshire), 1800s– ooer (northern), 1800s– oor (northern), 1800s– our (northern), 1800s– owre (northern), 1900s– owr (northern), 1900s– owwer (northern); Scottish pre-1700 ovr, pre-1700 owere, pre-1700 owir, pre-1700 owyr, pre-1700 1700s ou'r, pre-1700 1700s–1800s our, pre-1700 1700s–1800s oure, pre-1700 1700s–1800s owr, pre-1700 1700s– owre, pre-1700 1800s– ower, 1800s oo'r, 1800s ow'r, 1800s– ouer; also Irish English (northern) 1800s owre, 1800s– our, 1800s– ower, 1900s– oure.

δ. late Middle English or, late Middle English–1600s ore, 1500s– o'er Brit. /ˈəʊə/, /ɔː/, U.S. /ˈoʊ(ə)r/, /ɔr/, 1600s 'ore, 1600s–1700s o'r, 1600s–1700s o're; English regional (northern) 1700s or, 1800s oar, 1800s ore; Scottish pre-1700 aur, pre-1700 oe'r, pre-1700 or, pre-1700 ore, pre-1700 o're, pre-1700 1700s–1800s oer, 1700s o'r, 1700s– o'er.

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.
Etymology: Cognate with (usually as both adverb and preposition (see over prep.) and as adverbial prefix: see over- prefix) Old Frisian over , Middle Dutch ōver (Dutch over ), Old Saxon oƀar , oƀer , ofer (Middle Low German ȫver , ōver ), Old High German ubar , (also ubari , ubiri , adverb; Middle High German über , German über ), Old Icelandic yfer (also ofar , adverb), Old Swedish övir , yvir (Swedish över ), Danish over , Gothic ufar < the same Indo-European base as Sanskrit upari over, above, ancient Greek ὑπέρ over, and (apparently with extended form of the base) classical Latin super above < the Indo-European base of Sanskrit upa towards, near, ancient Greek ὑπό under, Gothic uf (see over adj. for other cognates in Germanic languages), and (apparently with extended form of the base) classical Latin sub under + an Indo-European comparative suffix.The α. forms apparently show failure of the lowering of Germanic u to o , as also does Old English ufan (see over adj.). The Old English forms ufor , ofor apparently show suffix substitution (see -er suffix3). The Middle English form aure is attested only from the mid 15th-cent. MS Princeton Taylor 9 (olim Ireland-Blackburne), where it is the usual form of the word. The contracted form o'er Brit. /ˈəʊə/, /ɔː/, U.S. /ˈoʊ(ə)r/, /ɔr/ is now poetic and rhetorical. Over is used idiomatically with many verbs, as give v., pass v., put v., throw v.1, etc.
A. adv.
†I. With comparative sense.
1. Higher; later. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 240 Supra, wiðufan, superius, ufor, supreme, ufemest.
OE Ælfric Interrogationes Sigewulfi in Genesin (Corpus Cambr. 162) xxi, in Anglia (1884) 7 14 Heora [sc. the planets] ælc gæð on his agenum ryne, hwilon ufor, hwilon nyþor, & ne synd na fæste on þære rodorlican heofonan swa swa oðre tunglan.
OE Menologium 179 Fif nihtum ufor.
lOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Bodl.) xxv. 57 Swa hie [sc. seo sunne] ufor & ufor [stigð] oððe hio cymð swa up swa hire yfemest gecynde bið.
c1175 ( Ælfric's Homily on Nativity of Christ (Bodl. 343) in A. O. Belfour 12th Cent. Homilies in MS Bodl. 343 (1909) 80 Men þe summe læddræ aræreð..& wule þonne stiȝan ufor butan stafæ, þonne fællæð he stedeleas for his stuntnesse.
II. With reference to position: above; in a higher or projecting position.
2.
a. Above, on high; on top. Now rare (English regional in later use).In the first quot. the adverb following the pronoun is equivalent in meaning to a construction with the preposition preceding it: ‘be to us the brightness over’, i.e. be the brightness over us.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > high position > [adverb]
upc888
highOE
highlyOE
thereupc1000
anovenOE
overOE
boveOE
on, upon (the) lofta1100
aloftc1175
bibufennc1175
on higha1200
abovec1225
anovenonc1300
in heighta1340
on or upon height1340
ahighc1350
outh1389
over loftc1430
aheight1477
supernally1596
lofty-like1604
sublimely1625
way up1843
thereabove1891
OE Paris Psalter (1932) lxxxix. 19 Wese us beorhtnes ofer bliðan drihtnes, ures þæs godan godes.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) 2 Esd. viii. 5 Esdras openede þe booc beforn al þe puple; vp on al þe puple forsoþe he stood ouer [L. super universum quippe populum eminebat], & whan he hadde opened it, al þe puple stood.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 21639 (MED) Ouer and vnder, right and left, In þis compas godd all has left.
c1440 (?a1400) Morte Arthure 1145 Thai tiltine to-gederz; Whilome Arthure ouer, and other-while vndyre.
1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene v. iv. sig. Pp6 As when a Beare hath seiz'd her cruell clawes Vppon the carkasse of some beast too weake, Proudly stands ouer, and a while doth pause. View more context for this quotation
1819 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto I cliii. 79 Search them under, over.
1886 H. Cunliffe Gloss. Rochdale-with-Rossendale Words & Phrases 64 Ower, above. Seldom used except on the borders of the locality.
1900 P. Tennant Village Notes 60 I heerd it come from over, and as I went along it went too.
†b. In a book or on a page: above, previously. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > a written composition > parts of a written composition > [adverb] > mentioned above or previously
herebefore805
abovelOE
overc1485
supra1616
ante1688
therein before1827
hereabove1892
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 31 We haue our sene, how the kirk, and the cristyn faith has bene.
1874 Trans. Amer. Philol. Assoc. 1873 94 We have already pointed out that sonant spirants would be most likely to appear in the middle and not at the beginning of words. (See over, p. 91.)
c. After verbs such as hang, jut, and the like (in reference to the space beneath: see over prep. 1).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > high position > overhanging > [adverb]
overc1494
c1494 Article Henry VII in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (1790) 126 The font to bee hanged with a riche siller over.
1546 T. Langley tr. P. Vergil Abridgem. Notable Worke iii. x. 77 a The plomline whereby the Euenes of the Squares bee tried whether they batter or hang ouer.
1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes The extending or iutting of a thing out or ouer.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. viii. xlv. 225 [The cattle] of Caria..are illfavoured to be seen, having between their necks & shoulders a tumor or swelling hanging over.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Souspendu,..hung ouer: iuttied, or set out beyond.
1679 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. ix. Explan. Terms 165 Coping over, is a sort of hanging over, but not square to its upright.
1808 J. Mayne Siller Gun (new ed.) iii. 60 Beneath yon cliff, high beetling owr, Is chaste Diana's maiden bow'r.
1856 H. Mayhew Upper Rhine 107 The broad eaves project so far over that they remind you almost of a lady's ‘ugly’.
1869 R. D. Blackmore Lorna Doone II. ix. 100 The rock fell sheer below them twenty feet..while overhead it towered three hundred, and so jutted over that nothing could be cast upon them.
1937 Amer. Home Apr. 22/2 A vertical wall..with a low hedge at the top and a few vines hanging over.
1991 G. Ehrlich Islands, Universe, Home i. 5 The black sky hangs over like a frown.
d. Away from the vertical, or (more generally) from the normal or expected position.Used to convey a degree of displacement or movement away from the normal position which falls short of complete inversion (cf. sense A. 7b) or of loss of balance or position (cf. sense A. 7c).
ΚΠ
1834 F. Marryat Peter Simple I. xv. 230 We heeled over so much when we lurched, that the guns were wholly supported by the breechings and tackles.
1880 T. Hardy Fellow-townsmen iv, in New Q. Mag. 3 353 The wind shifted with a sudden gust, the boat listed over, and it was thought they were both drowned.
1881 W. W. Greener Gun & its Devel. 432 Most gun-stocks are twisted over, that is to say, the toe of the butt is more out of truth with the barrels than the heel.
1898 H. C. Porter tr. E. Strasburger et al. Text-bk. Bot. 258 When a geotropic organ, which has become curved over toward its parent axis, turns itself about so as to face outwards.
1908 Bull. Amer. Geogr. Soc. 40 658 Wonderful conveyances these trolleys are. They..lean over until one's baggage slides out, but they never upset.
1996 Amateur Gardening 25 May 52/4 The weight of the large saucer seedheads can cause it to bend over.
e. Of a room or another part of a building: on top, above.
ΚΠ
1840 Cottager's Man. 26 in Libr. Useful Knowl., Husb. III The perspective elevation shows the bee-house, with pigeon-house over.
1931 D. L. Sayers Five Red Herrings iii. 26 The usual bat and ben with a bedroom over.
1977 West Briton 25 Aug. 27/9 (advt.) Small area of garden lies to the rear of the property together with a double garage and barn over providing an extremely useful facility.
2001 Oxoniensia 65 71 The back yard consisted of a double coach house..and a saddle room with granary, loft and groom's room over.
f. With reference to a horse's knee overhanging the lower leg. Frequently in over at the knees. Also in extended use.
ΚΠ
1869 F. Fitzwygram Horses & Stables (1901) ix. lx. §901 Horses, which stand over at the knees, generally do so from effect of severe and constant work.
1887 C. E. L. Riddell Nun's Curse I. iv. 66 The knight's knees were a little ‘over’, after the fashion of a horse that has been hard driven.
1897 Longman's Mag. June 139 Spavins were not unfamiliar to him, and he was always a little over at the knees.
1938 S. Sassoon Old Cent. (1986) i. x. 166 The new horse..had done a lot of work and was very much over at the knees.
1985 Horse & Hound 11 Jan. 33/3 Horses that are ‘over at the knee’ are those whose cannons slope to the rear below the joint, the knee seeming to be inclined forwards as a result.
1992 St. Louis (Missouri) Post-Dispatch (Nexis) 3 May (PD Mag.) 8 They bred these great beefy creatures [sc. basset hounds] that were so over-at-the-knees they couldn't get across the back yard, much less a field.
3. Above so as to cover a surface, or so as to affect the whole surface of something: with verbs such as brush, cover, paint, plaster, rub, etc. See also all over adv. and prep.to do (someone) over: see to do over 4 at do v. Phrasal verbs 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > [adverb] > so as to cover
overa1382
upc1400
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > [adverb] > so as to cover > so as to cover completely
overa1382
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Exod. xxviii. 37 And thow shalt bynde it with a iacynctyne filete, and it shal be vpon the coyif stondinge ouer [L. imminens] to the forheed of the bishop.
1463 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 19 (MED) Item, the bulle and the busshoppees seelys, the wiche I get, be set in a loker of burde for brekyng of the seelys, and curyd ovir.
c1475 (a1400) Awntyrs Arthure (Taylor) in J. Robson Three Early Eng. Metrical Romances (1842) 15 (MED) His gloues and his gamesuns gloet as the gledes, A-rayet aure with rebans, rychist of raye.
a1525 (c1448) R. Holland Bk. Howlat l. 673 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 116 Cled our with clene clathis Railit full of richass.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 3409 A sadill serklyt with golde, ffret ouer with fyne perle.
1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 50 And war the warld..Cled ouer with gold.
a1605 (c1422) T. Hoccleve Dialogus (Durh.: Stowe) l. 170 in Minor Poems (1970) i. 116 That venem ovar wyde and brod[e] spredethe.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost viii. 83 Gird the Sphear With Centric and Eccentric scribl'd o're . View more context for this quotation
1701 N. Rowe Ambitious Step-mother i. i Thy function too will varnish o're our Arts.
1786 S. Henley tr. W. Beckford Arabian Tale 152 The ground strewed over with orange blossoms and jasmines.
1811 L.-M. Hawkins Countess & Gertrude I. ii. 26 Cover her neck over that I may not see the wheals on it.
1877 W. W. Fowler Woman on Amer. Frontier iii. 66 The snow became crusted over, to the depth of two inches, with ice.
1891 Leeds Mercury 27 Apr. 4/7 The..sleeves studded thickly over with tiny silver sequins.
1919 J. Conrad Arrow of Gold i. i. 11 A black dress sewn over with gold half moons.
1990 Connoisseur Sept. 38/2 She was smuggled to the border with her family..in a cart covered over with corn husks.
III. With reference to position: to, on the other side, across.
4.
a. With reference to motion or course: so as to pass across or above something, usually rising on one side and descending on the other; (also) so as to cross a line or other boundary.With verbs such as climb, flow, jump, run, throw, etc.; also with verbs in which motion is less directly implied, as boil, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement over, across, through, or past > [adverb] > passing or crossing above
overeOE
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement over, across, through, or past > [adverb] > past > past and to the other side
overeOE
eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) v. xii. 128 He eode to ðære burge wealle & fleah ut ofer.
a1250 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Nero) (1952) 266 Nule he nout..wenden ouer, auh wule sitten ful ueste.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) Ps. xlv. 3 Wee shul not dreden whil þe erþe shal ben disturbid & hillis shuln ben born ouer in to þe herte of þe se.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 43 Boylyn ouyr, as pottys on þe fyre, Ebullio.
c1450 (a1425) Metrical Paraphr. Old Test. (Selden) 12204 (MED) All þo vessels ware fyld so full þat oyle went ouer.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Luke vi. f. lxxxiijv Goode measure, pressed doune, shaken to gedder, and runnynge over, shall men geve.
1610 Bible (Douay) II. Isa. li. 23 Thou hast layd thy bodie as the ground, and as a way to them that passe ouer.
1651 J. French Art Distillation ii. 50 Distill them..and there will come over a water of no small vertue.
1720 D. Defoe Mem. Cavalier 104 The King..lays over his Bridge.
1758 A. Reid tr. P. J. Macquer Elements Theory & Pract. Chym. I. 247 Its contents swell, and might run over without this precaution.
1773 Gentleman's Mag. 43 539 When crossing any plash of water, she lifted him over.
1841 F. Marryat Joseph Rushbrook I. i. 8 If we were to toss him..over..the bridge... Shall we over with him?
1878 T. Hardy Return of Native III. v. iv Leaping over, he came up, touched her with his finger, and said [etc.].
1909 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Avonlea x. 98 Anne..went to the wellbox and peered over. The bucket sat on the shelf inside.
1973 I. Murdoch Black Prince i. 54 There are moments, I know, when I must seem to you like..a man brimming over with delusions of grandeur.
1992 Sat. Night (Toronto) May 80/3 Between Atikokan and Fort Frances ragged Vs of geese flew over.
b. So as to pass above or beyond something, instead of reaching or hitting it. Chiefly with reference to the firing of shot, missiles, etc.In quot. 1626 used figuratively
ΚΠ
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) iii. vii. 120 You haue shot ouer . View more context for this quotation
1626 R. Harris Hezekiah's Recov. 4 The Orator spake not over, when he intimated that Ingratitude was a kinde of Unjustice.
1681 J. Dryden Spanish Fryar i. i. 4 Bid'em, for shame, Level their Cannon lower:... They're all corrupted with the Gold of Barbary To carry over, and not hurt the Moor.
1796 in Ld. Nelson Dispatches & Lett. (1846) VII. p. xxxiii Many shot went over, but none struck us.
1890 Field 1 Nov. 671/2 Hewitt soon after had a chance to equalise but shot over.
1969 P. Gallico Foolish Immortals (rev. ed.) xxv. 154 They placed one [shell] short and one over.
5.
a. From one point to another across an intervening space.Originally used with reference to crossing the surface of the sea or other water (cf. over prep. 16a), a street, a field, or other defined area; later used more generally of crossing the space or distance between two places. Hence with some sense of completion (of a journey, etc., esp. one whose goal is familiar to the participants in the discourse) when used with verbs in which this is not intrinsic, as go, come, run, take, etc. Also in predicative use in the sense ‘having made such a journey’. With ask, have, invite, etc., now implying ‘to the place where one lives’.move over: see to move over at move v. Phrasal verbs. pull over: see to pull over 1 at pull v. Phrasal verbs.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement over, across, through, or past > [adverb] > over an interjacent space
overeOE
eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) ii. v. 48 Him þa to com an fiscere & uneaþe hiene ænne ofer brohte.
lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough interpolation) anno 1114 On þæs ylcan tyme feorde se cyng toweard þone sæ & ofer wolde, ac wæder him lætte.
a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 141 Sunnedei siriat [read smat] Moyses þe rede see, and þe see to-eode and þet iraelisce folc wende ouer.
c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (1973) 2030 (MED) Ne mahte ha na mare; ah dude hire adun swiðe, & forð, wiðuten fearlac, ouer þiderwardes.
c1300 (c1250) Floris & Blauncheflur (Cambr.) (1966) l. 72 Þe mariner[s] he ȝaf largeliche Þat broȝte him ouer bluþeliche Þer hi wolden hemself alonde [read alende].
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) 2 Esd. ii. 14 I passede ouer [L. transivi] to þe ȝate of þe welle & to þe water condute of þe king, & þer was no place to þe beeste þat I sat on þat he myȝte passen ouer [L. transiret].
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 59 (MED) Whan þe erle was exiled, his sonnes tille Irland ouer, William þe Normant aryued vp at Douer.
c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 1028 In-to þe coste of Calodone, he comes him ouer first.
a1500 Eng. Conquest Ireland (Rawl.) (1896) 131 (MED) In the Somer Hugh went ouer [a1525 Trin. Dub. owr] Into England.
1567 J. Maplet Greene Forest f. 97 To sende ouer Owles to Athens.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) v. v. 123 Ile ouer then to England with this newes. View more context for this quotation
1677 A. Marvell Let. 10 Mar. in Poems & Lett. (1971) II. 186 Whose opinion was, that he ought to be sent for ouer.
1705 Boston News-let. 29 Oct. 2/2 His Father in London..sent over Money largely to recompence and pay them for what they had done.
1742 H. Fielding Joseph Andrews I. ii. iv. 176 I positively assure you, at the first Opera I saw since I came over, I mistook the English Ladies for Chambermaids. View more context for this quotation
1787 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 284 Ance ye were streekit owre frae bank to bank!
1803 W. Tatham Rep. Impediments Thames 71 At this place there is a water-main which crosses over to the Middlesex shore.
1874 A. Trollope Phineas Redux II. iv. 28 There was a cloud of witnesses over from Tankerville.
1894 A. Robertson Nuggets 156 My mother will send over every day to inquire how Miss McLean is.
1915 D. H. Lawrence Rainbow vi. 154 He came over to her, and touched her delicately.
1930 Morning Post 12 June 5 I considered that I had not time to pull over to my near side.
1937 D. Thomas Let. 6 Aug. (1987) 256 A young man living in Truro, got hold of my address somehow & invited himself over.
1954 J. I. Lloyd Beagling 142 Hold over!, command to hounds to keep to the side of a road.
1966 L. Bruce How to Talk Dirty xiii. 91 He walked over and exchanged a few words with them.
1988 M. Atwood Cat's Eye (1989) xl. 215 My brother sometimes has friends over.
1998 K. Eshun More Brilliant than Sun vii. 115 Turn it all the way up so it's totally distorted and pan it over to the right side so you really can't even hear it.
†b. Of measurement: across from side to side; in outside measurement. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > breadth or width > [adverb]
over1584
latitudinally1853
1584 A. Barlowe in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (1589) iii. 733 There appeareth another great Sea, containing in bredth in some places fortie, and in some fiftie, in some twentie miles ouer, before you come vnto the continent.
1585–6 Earl of Leicester Corr. (1844) 477 The breadthe therof, in the narrowest place, is a mylle over.
1624 J. Pory in J. Smith Gen. Hist. Virginia iv. 142 The land is not two daies iourny ouer in the broadest place.
1663 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders 69 If the Ballisters be two inches over, it is two shillings a doozen.
1699 M. Lister Journey to Paris (new ed.) 124 I saw a Picture here of about 6 inches over, finely painted in Mosaic.
1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 210 The Cave..might be about twelve Foot over.
1845 H. W. Herbert Warwick Woodlands 22 There was an opening just before me between a stumpy thick thorn-bush..and a dwarf cedar—it was not two yards over—he glanced across it!—he was gone.
1872 Routledge's Every Boy's Ann. 10/1 A small sixty sized [flower] pot, which is about three inches over.
6.
a. On the other side of something (such as a sea, river, street, etc.) intervening; at some distance; beyond, yonder. Also used (esp. in over here) to convey that the location under consideration is distant from or contrasts with some other location.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > distance > distance or farness > [adverb] > on the more distant side or beyond
beyondc1000
overOE
yonside1681
the world > space > place > here, there, etc. > here or there [preposition] > over at
over1896
OE Vision of Leofric in Rev. Eng. Stud. (2012) 63 548 ‘Ne forhta þu, eaðe þu þa bricge oferferest.’ Mid þam þa wearð he sona ofere, nyste he hu.
c1390 Life St. Alexius (Vernon) (1878) 82 (MED) Whon he was ouere on þe sond, he was in an vnkouþ lond.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 219 (MED) In to þe watere he straied, & passed wele þat flode; Whan Edward was ouere graciously and wele, He hoped haf recouere at Wigemore castele.
a1530 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Royal) ii. 685 Oure fra him be-yhonde a se He kend lyand a gret cuntre.
1592 T. Nashe Pierce Penilesse (Brit. Libr. copy) sig. G3 If he haue been ouer and visited a towne of Garrison, as a trauailer or passenger.
1730 in Portland Papers (Hist. MSS. Comm.) VI. 35 He is a Limb of the Law and will be over here [i.e. at York] at our Assizes.
1823 J. G. Lockhart Song of Galley in Anc. Spanish Ballads vi It is a narrow strait, I see the blue hills over.
1845 R. Browning How they brought Good News in Bells & Pomegranates No. VII: Dramatic Romances & Lyrics vii. 3 Over by Dalhem a dome-spire sprang white.
1876 ‘M. Twain’ Adventures Tom Sawyer xiii It [sc. an island] lay far over toward the further shore.
1896 Dial. Notes 1 421 He lives over Meriden way.
1911 E. Wharton Ethan Frome 193 She..stayed with Ethan over to the minister's.
1940 A. M. Lindbergh Diary 30 May in War within & Without (1980) 95 C. goes off to have lunch with Carrel and Détroyat (over here on a mission to get planes).
1960 E. S. Aarons Assignment Mora Tirana (1966) iii. 28 An informer came to our drop in Vienna, from over in Bratislava.
1977 Irish Press 29 Sept. 11/7 Papa was postmaster over in Richmond.
2002 Electronic Gaming Monthly Feb. 142/2 (caption) The RE gurus over at Capcom had little to do with the movie's bio-terror screenplay.
b. Preceding a preposition. †over about: surrounding; over against (also †again, anent): †surrounding (obsolete); adjacent to, facing, opposite (in later use also figurative). See also over-right prep.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > opposite position > [adverb]
anenteOE
theregainsc1330
aforyena1400
overa1400
overthwarta1425
fornent1548
overright against1565
oppositelyc1593
opposite1609
over-right1618
squarely1802
en regard1909
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 2844 (MED) Sodome and gomor wit al þe land þat our a-boute þam lai ner hand..es noþer leued, ne tre, ne gress.
?a1425 MS Hunterian 95 f. 92v (MED) Sprede it þick apon a cloþe þat mowe comprehende þe wounde & alle þe parties wele oferre aboute þe wounde.
?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 46 Ouerynentes þe forsaid well es ane ymage of stane.
c1450 Mandeville's Trav. (Coventry) (MED) The quene of Amozein, Hir londe ys ham oueragayn.
1517 R. Torkington Oldest Diarie Englysshe Trav. (1884) 19 Over a gens the forseyd yle of Cirigo.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Mark xiii. f. lxiiii As he sate on mounte olivete over ayenst the temple.
1589 R. Lane in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations iii. 744 Not onely in the Islande, but also at Addesmocopeia in the mayne, within two leagues ouer against vs.
1622 J. Brinsley Consol. Gram. School 67 Hauing the Latin set ouer-against the Greek.
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. iv. 139 Perah is ouer against Constantinople.
1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 261. ⁋1 The Wheat-Sheaf over-against Tom's Coffee-house.
1756 W. Toldervy Hist. Two Orphans II. 57 Thou build a stage over-a-munst my door.
1855 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Yorks. Words 122 Ower-anenst, over-against, opposite.
1887 T. Darlington Folk-speech S. Cheshire I sit just-a-meet o'er-anenst him, an' I could hear every word as he said.
1921 A. H. Hannay & R. G. Collingwood tr. G. de Ruggiero Mod. Philos. 201 Over against this actualistic concept of life,..we find maintained..an absolutely intellectualistic conception.
1966 Listener 1 Sept. 317/3 Over against Bruner's ‘mechanical account’—‘a child looking at empty and full beakers cannot dissociate his reactions from feelings about fullness and emptiness’.
1974 W. Leeds Herefordshire Speech 82 Over anunt, adjoining.
1990 Vital Speeches 1 June 490/2 They are divided among themselves..on moral and political issues which pit personal freedom over against equality of persons.
c. Scottish and Irish English (northern). figurative. Falling or having fallen asleep.
ΚΠ
1866 St. Andrews Gaz. 20 Jan. in Sc. National Dict. VI. 521/3 A carter..after turning his horse homeward lay down in his cart, and was soon over asleep.
1876 S. R. Whitehead Daft Davie (1894) 133 I'm such an awful sound sleeper..that when once I'm ower, I ken nothing about what I'm lying on.
a1908 H. C. Hart MS Coll. Ulster Words in M. Traynor Eng. Dial. Donegal (1953) 204/2 The child's just over.
1918 M. Findlater & J. Findlater Penny Monypenny iii. xi. 341 Just going over, Aunt Deb, my eyes won't keep open a minute longer.
1945 Scots Mag. Apr. 39 Och, juist a hameowre wee sang I made for Angus. It pits him owre to sleep.
d. Originally North American. Further away in the same direction, within a sequence of specified items (as blocks of buildings, etc.).
ΚΠ
1904 N.Y. Times 8 May 7/2 Two blocks over the jangle of a horse car's bells once more broke the deathlike stillness of the night.
1960 L. Gilkes Cora Crane viii. 313 An area of nearly two square miles..had gone up in the big blaze of May 3, 1901. But two blocks over on Ward Street most of ‘the line’ had not burned.
1992 K. S. Robinson Red Mars (1993) 150 They..viewed the results from the next trailer over.
7.
a. Over an edge or brink and down; forward and down. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > [adverb] > over the edge and down
overc1425
c1425 (c1400) Laud Troy-bk. 5743 Ayax rod to Ector fast, that bothe his speres In-souder brast; Ther hors fel doun and thei ȝede ouer.
c1475 (?c1425) Avowing of King Arthur (1984) l. 662 He iopput him aure on his play, Þat heuy horse on him lay.
a1500 (?a1325) Otuel & Roland (1935) 1081 (MED) Olyuer with a good spere þoruȝ þe hert gan hym bere, Ryȝt ouer at hys hors-tayle.
1726 J. Swift Gulliver I. ii. ii. 42 He provided a Table sixty Foot in diameter..and palisadoed it around three Foot from the edge..to prevent my falling over.
1815 W. Scott Lord of Isles iii. xv. 100 For from the mountain hoar..Loose crags had toppled o'er.
1893 Scribner's Mag. Aug. 174/2 Madeline, don't go so close to the edge of the rock, you'll fall over if you're not careful.
1920 Flight 12 808/2 A novel descent made by ‘double parachute’ where the ‘chutist’ will jump over and descend so far with one parachute [etc.].
1992 Independent on Sunday (Nexis) 13 Dec. 21 At the point where gaiety topples over into derangement.
b. So as to make what was an upper surface a lower one, by turning it forward (or laterally) and downwards, or to turn something upside down. Also reduplicated to indicate repetition of such motion, as over and over.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > inversion > [adverb]
upa1300
nevelinga1387
kew-kaw1399
overc1425
topsy-turvy1530
arsy-versy1545
upside down1569
overhand1579
bottom-up1598
downside up1603
top to bottom1624
inversely1657
invertedly1657
belly-up1749
topsy versy1767
topsy-turvily1886
c1425 (c1400) Laud Troy-bk. 6742 (MED) He smot Paris that he doun reled Ouer and ouer as were a snayl.
1545 R. Ascham Toxophilus i. f. 14v To tumble ouer and ouer, to toppe ouer tayle..may be also holesome for the body.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Richard III f. xxixv He tourned ouer the leffe, and began an order of a new life.
a1586 (a1500) Freiris Berwik 504 in W. A. Craigie Maitland Folio MS (1919) I. 147 Freyr robert..tuik his buik... And turnit our the levis bissaly.
1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing v. ii. 33 They were neuer so truly turnd ouer and ouer as my poore selfe in loue. View more context for this quotation
1658 T. Meriton Love & War iii. iii. sig. G. (stage direction) Quer. turns the bodies over and over, to see whether they be dead or no.
1674 R. Godfrey Var. Injuries in Physick 6 We..who have tumbled over so many Volumes.
1710 J. Addison Tatler No. 243. ⁋3 He turned himself over hastily in his Bed.
1796 H. Hunter tr. J.-H. B. de Saint-Pierre Stud. Nature (1799) III. 341 A mountain of water which approached us from the Sea, rolling itself over and over.
1798 S. Lee Young Lady's Tale in H. Lee Canterbury Tales II. 405 In turning over his papers.., Sir Edward laid his hand on the will.
1807 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 17 176 (note) Very few..have thought it worth their while to tumble over the dirty pages of this publication.
1839 C. Darwin in R. Fitzroy & C. Darwin Narr. Surv. Voy. H.M.S. Adventure & Beagle III. vi. 131 In an instant the ostrich rolled over and over, its legs fairly lashed together by the thong.
1840 D. Lardner Treat. Geom. xxii. 309 If the curve VP were folded over on VP′, the point P would fall upon P′.
1878 T. Hardy Return of Native III. v. vii. 192 He turned it over and over, and fancied that the writing was her husband's, though he could not be sure.
1913 J. Conrad Chance i. i. 15 Mr. Powell..began to turn the leaves of the agreement over.
1987 Kart & Superkart Oct. 18/2 Kennings..made contact with a tyre at the pit hairpin and..flipped over.
1998 Canad. Geographic Jan. 17/1 The white stuff is gradually flipped, rocked and rolled over and over until it forms a ball.
c. So as to move downwards from an upright position, without reference to an edge. Also figurative.Generally with the suggestion of loss of stability or position.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > falling > [adverb] > forward and down
overa1525
a1525 Bk. Sevyne Sagis 441, in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 14 The barnis credill was cassyn owre.
1568 A. Scott Poems (1896) xxxiv. 80 Thay tumyll our [1568 Bannatyne MS woltir oure] lyk swyne.
a1614 J. Melville Autobiogr. & Diary (1842) 169 The stark eall..maid him atteanes to keave ower aslipe.
a1657 G. Daniel Trinarchodia: Henry IV ccciii, in Poems (1878) 76 One single Gunne, tumbles the whole towne ore.
1660 H. More Explan. Grand Myst. Godliness viii. xvii. 441 The leaking vessel of this mortal Body..ready to sink or topple over.
1727 ‘S. Brunt’ Voy. to Cacklogallinia 67 I returned the Compliment with a Wherret of my Fist, which knock'd him over.
1770 H. Brooke Fool of Quality V. 317 The Empress gave a great Shriek, and fell over in a Swoon upon the Bosom of her Husband.
1820 W. Scoresby Acct. Arctic Regions I. 466 The moment life is extinct, it [sc. a whale] always falls over on its side.
1853 E. K. Kane U.S. Grinnell Exped. (1856) xxiv. 196 When these [ice-piles] attain their utmost height,..they topple over.
1884 ‘M. Twain’ Adventures Huckleberry Finn xxxvi. 313 He..keeled over onto the floor amongst the dogs, and begun to groan.
1942 E. Bowen in Listener 24 Dec. 822/2 I kicked over a black bottle, which..gaily and noisily bowled away.
1972 P. Rowlands Fugitive Mind xi. 132 He shouts a lot, he breaks my toys, he pushes me over.
d. = overleaf adv. Cf. sense A. 2b. Chiefly in see over.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > [adverb] > below or hereafter (in a later part of a book, etc.)
hereafterc900
aftereOE
innermorea1387
under1389
underneath1389
hereunder1425
below1645
beneath1668
post1688
infra1740
overleaf1742
therein after1818
over1893
1893 Geogr. Jrnl. 2 (front matter) Summary of Contents. (For Details, see over.)
1905 New Phytologist 4 212 For Description of Plate V. see over.
1939 I. N. Phelps Stokes N.Y. Past & Present (title page) Earliest view of New York (see over)
1956 O. Statler Mod. Japanese Prints p. iii Frontispiece (see over): Impression of a Violinist by Koshiro Onchi.
1975 Economist 15 Nov. 81/2 For economic details, see over.
1991 Guardian (Nexis) 4 Nov. See over for the BCC's response to an article on this page two weeks ago.
1999 ‘Zeek’ Art of Shen Ku (2001) 59 3 + 3 = 6 which is Samantha's birth number & of course unchangeable (see details over).
8.
a. From one person, hand, side, etc., to another; with transference of position, allegiance, ownership, etc.Used idiomatically with many verbs, as give, go, hand, make, take, etc.: see also these verbs.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > transference > [adverb]
overa1438
a1438 Bk. Margery Kempe (1940) i. 64 (MED) The company was wroth & in gret angyr; Þei ȝouyn hir ouyr to þe legate & seyden vttyrly þei woldyn no mor medyl wyth hir.
1441 in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 262 (MED) This acompt made the xxviije day of May..and yoven ouer to vs..the xxviije iour of Juyn.
1478 G. Cely Let. 8 May (1975) 21 I trost to God to make yow houyr at thys marte C li. ster. and mor.
a1572 J. Knox Hist. Reformation Scotl. in Wks. (1848) II. 163 The swerd..we haif willinglie resignit ovir in your handis.
1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie i. ii. 2 b For~getting..that whiche duty & fidelity commanded him, [he] went ouer to the king of Spayne.
1594 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 i. i. 57 The Duches of Anjoy and Mayne, shall be released and deliuered ouer to the King her father.
1608 A. Willet Hexapla in Exodum 461 So might the seruant be sold ouer.
1632 R. Sanderson 12 Serm. iv. 407 If our Inclinations cannot be wonne over to that course.
1687 Bp. G. Burnet Contin. Refl. Mr. Varillas's Hist. Heresies 123 Some went over to the Queen with flying Colours.
1767 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield (new ed.) I. ii. 9 The profits of my living..I made over to the orphans and widows of the clergy of our diocese.
1776 Trial Maha Rajah Nundocomar for Forgery 104/2 The balance..is brought over into this [account].
1844 ‘J. Slick’ High Life N.Y. II. xxii. 54 I writ out my name..and handed it over, curlecues and all.
1894 Temple Bar 101 62 I made over..every farthing of the fortune.
1920 J. Conrad Rescue i. ii. 19 We couldn't talk those fellows over.
1973 I. Murdoch Black Prince i. 68 I felt that old fear of a misunderstanding which amounted to an invasion, a taking over of my thoughts.
1990 J. Masson Final Anal. (1991) ix. 188 To have their analyst surreptitiously hand over their name to an outside source was still, in my books, unethical.
b. colloquial. it is over to ——: it is now the responsibility of ——, it is ——'s turn (to act, speak, etc.). Also simply over to you (used as int.; cf. sense B. 2).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > conversation > [phrase] > it is your turn to speak
over to you1940
1940 ‘Gun Buster’ Return via Dunkirk ii. iv. 117 X calling Robert Eddy... I can hear you... remain on receive... over to you over.
1959 M. Gee in Landfall June 132 He aimed his habitual punch of affection at the horse's ribs and murmured: ‘It's over to you, you goori.’
1967 ‘R. Foley’ Fear of Stranger (1968) x. 105 Over to you, pal, Kay thought in amusement.
1993 Radio News Transcript (BNC) 28 Oct. I'll be back with our late bulletin after News at Ten, but for the rest of the programme, it's over to Anne Dawson.
IV. With reference to quantity.
9.
a. Remaining, left beyond what has been spent or taken; beyond the amount in question; in excess, in addition, more. and over: = and more at more pron. 3b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > excessive amount or degree > [adverb] > in excess
overeOE
overplusa1425
the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > that which is left or remainder > [adverb]
overeOE
eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) i. xvi. 66 Crist lærde Quod superest, date elemosynam..: ðætte ofer seo & to lafe, sellað ælmesse.
OE tr. Medicina de Quadrupedibus (Vitell.) i. 236 Lifes tid him ofer byð [L. sibi vita superest].
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) : Prov. (Bodl. 959) xi. 7 Þe vnpitous man dead, noon hope shal ben ouer [a1425 L.V. ferther; L. ultra], and þe abidynge of besy men shal pershen.
1394 in J. Raine Testamenta Eboracensia (1836) I. 186 (MED) If ther lefe oght ouer, I will al be done whar yhe four will, and principaly to my mayden childer.
1466 in F. W. Weaver Somerset Medieval Wills (1901) 210 (MED) I make my wife Alice myne executrice, she to fulfille my said testament, and the Residue over, that if eny be, she to dispose it for my soule.
c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 126 (MED) Þre cloutis of flexen clooþ: þe firste schal hele þe brusynge & a litil ouer, þe secunde schal be an ynche more in lenkþe & in brede.
a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Comm. on Canticles (Univ. Oxf. 64) in Psalter (1884) 495 Ezechy the kynge, eftire his seknes & grauntynge of life fyften ȝere ouyre, louys god.
1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII iv. ii. 152 That they may haue their wages,..And something ouer to remember me by. View more context for this quotation
1708 Royal Proclam. 26 June in London Gaz. No. 4452 It is..Enacted, That whoever should..first enter with his Fishing-Ship, any Harbour or Creek in Newfoundland, should..reserve so much Beech or Flakes as should be necessary for his Boats, and One over, as a Privilege.
1767 ‘A. Barton’ Disappointment ii. iv. 48 Nine times eleven is an hundred and six and four over; that's too much.
1842 C. Mathews Career Puffer Hopkins xxxviii. 299 The popular mind..searched for a channel through which to vent the enthusiasm, (in such cases there's always a little over) which had not been exhausted in the contest itself.
1854 C. Dickens Hard Times i. ii. 4 The principle that two and two are four, and nothing over.
1890 Catholic News 3 May 7/3 We have now three ‘jubilarians’ who have completed 50 years and over as professed nuns.
1929 J. M. Keynes in Observer 10 Nov. 13/4 By paying the capitalist his full rate and, if anything, a little over.
1977 Listener 2 June 721/2 ‘Went a few minutes over, sorry about that, Jim.’ ‘That's allright, Robin.’
1990 Field Jan. 56/1 The sale of pheasants by shoots traditionally covered the cost of the beaters and left a bit over.
†b. over or under (also short): more or less. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1596 T. Danett tr. P. de Commynes Hist. viii. xiv. 359 At the selfe same time within two moneths ouer or vnder.
1603 C. Heydon Def. Iudiciall Astrol. v. 147 To come neare to it ouer or short is commendable.
1698 Pendragon 148 When introduc'd (over or under) Twill give us about Nine Days Wonder.
1862 J. R. Lowell in Atlantic Rev. Apr. 516 I wuz tempted to think..Ther' wuz reelly a Providence,—over or under,—When..I fust ascertained From the papers up North wut a victory we 'd gained.
†10. Beyond or in addition to what has been said; more than that, moreover, besides, furthermore; further. Chiefly as a sentence adverb. Obsolete (archaic in later use).In later use esp. in over and besides.
ΚΠ
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. xxvii. 37 To þee, sonn myn, after þez, ouer [L. ultra] what schall I done?
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. xlii. 25 Þey schulden fylle þe sackez of hem with whete & liggen aȝeyn þe money of eche in here sackez, ȝeuen, ouer, metez in þe wey.
c1400 J. Wyclif On the Seven Deadly Sins (Bodl. 647) in Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 163 (MED) Bot se we, owver, how þis synne is partid in þo Chirche.
c1450 tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Lyfe Manhode (Cambr.) (1869) 58 And, ouer [Fr. Etencor outre], j sey þee..‘Who so hath [etc.]’.
c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 8 (MED) Putting to, ouer, for lewid men, þat can not þis orisoun, þat þei schal haue as mikil or more indulgencis.
1509 Act 1 Hen. VIII c. 3 And ouer, that it be ordeined [etc.].
1583 T. Stocker tr. Tragicall Hist. Ciuile Warres Lowe Countries iii. 101 a Ouer and besides, they fortified them selues sundry dayes with many Fortes, or trenches.
1594 R. Ashley tr. L. le Roy Interchangeable Course vi. f. 75v They had 200000 men..and ouer and besids iij hundred thousand harnesse of prouision.
1622 J. Mabbe tr. M. Alemán Rogue i. 127 And you must ouer and besides, allow her her wine into the bargaine.
1851 J. Baillie Ethwald i. iii, in Dramatic & Poet. Wks. 138 The Britons and their restless prince..Are now in Mercia, threat'ning all with ruin. And over and besides, God save us all! They are but five leagues off.
11.
a. Beyond what is normal or proper; too much; excessively; too. See also over and above prep. 2. Now chiefly English regional (northern) and Scottish.Modifying adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases, and now usually hyphenated or combined, as in over-anxious, overmuch, etc. (see over- prefix 2b(b), 2b(d), and main entries), except in Scots and northern English, where it tends to be written separately (esp. in the forms ower, owre).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > extremely or exceedingly > excessively
cruellyc1385
overa1400
fullc1400
parlouslyc1425
mortalc1440
perilousc1440
spitefulc1450
devilish1560
pestilently1567
spitefully1567
cruel1573
parlous1575
deadly1589
intolerable?1593
fellc1600
perditlya1632
excessively1634
devilishly1635
desperate1636
woundya1639
woundlya1644
desperately1653
wicked1663
killing1672
woundily1706
wounded1753
mortally1759
dreadful1762
intolerably1768
perishing1776
tremendously1776
terrifically1777
diabolically1792
woundedly1794
thundering1809
all-firedly1833
preponderously1835
painfully1839
deadlilya1843
severely1854
furiously1856
diabolish1858
fiendish1861
demonish1867
sinfully1869
fiendishly1879
thunderingly1885
only too1889
nightmarishly1891
God almighty1906
Christ almighty1945
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 26251 Þi plight es owur vgli.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 36 Bot it was ouer litelle, in alle maner way.
1475 J. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 481 I thynke it wolde be to yow ouyre erksom a labore.
1485 Malory's Morte Darthur (Caxton) x. lxxxv. sig. K.iv That me repenteth said launcelot..for he is ouer good a knyghte to dye suche a shameful dethe.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 34 Na man suld..be our blythe na..be our disconfourt or aferde.
1531 in C. Innes Sketches Early Sc. Hist. (1861) 272 n. Thrawine effekkit eloquens apperand ouyr crafty.
a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) i. f. 16v It is ouer greate a ieopardie.
1584 W. Warner Pan his Syrinx vii. 141 To her selfe then seeming ouer simple a wife for so surlie an husbande.
1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 126 To teach dangers to come on, by ouer early Buckling towards them.
1685–8 J. Renwick Pref., Lect., & Serms. 232 He is over good company to lose.
1766 J. Fordyce Serm. Young Women II. vii. 35 You are over hasty in your apprehension.
1786 R. Burns Twa Dogs xxi, in Poems 16 Still it's owre true that ye hae said, Sic game is now owre aften play'd.
1807 W. Wordsworth Poems I. 52 Over happy to be proud, Over wealthy in the treasure Of her own exceeding pleasure!
1868 J. C. Atkinson Gloss. Cleveland Dial. 366 He is ower fond for owght.
1871 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues I. 90 Do you understand now what I mean? Not over well.
1883 G. MacDonald Donal Grant I. xvi. 150 He maunna do 't in rage—that's ower near hate—an' hate's the deevil's ain.
1934 ‘L. G. Gibbon’ Grey Granite i. 54 Could you guess what his illness was? You couldn't, you were over innocent and young.
1995 J. M. Sims-Kimbrey Wodds & Doggerybaw: Lincs. Dial. Dict. 214/2 'E's ower big-'eaded, 'e is.
2000 M. Fitt But n Ben A-go-go xxii. 178 He had trauchled owre far tae let a microchip fash him aff balance.
b. English regional and (now esp.) Caribbean. As a simple intensifier: very; to a great extent.In negative constructions indistinguishable from sense A. 11a; cf. too adv. 5e.
ΚΠ
a1794 M. Palmer Dialogue Devonshire Dial. (1837) 3 'Tis a thousand pittes, vor a is a hover good man.
1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants. Words II. 84 Over, very. A superlative expression; as, ‘I am over fond of such a thing.’ ‘They were over civil to me.’
1973 Vincentian 19 May 8 I observed that the dresses of the pupils of the Girls' High School are over too short. Why wear mini to such recognised institutions?
1989 Express (Trinidad & Tobago) 6 Oct. 41 [She] is ‘over-anxious to tell the world what great things Jesus has done.’
1996 in R. Allsopp Dict. Caribbean Eng. Usage 421/1 All-yo[u] show las[t] night was over nice. I really enjoy it.
12.
a. Remaining or left unpaid, unsettled, or uncompleted after the time of settlement; remaining for the time being; until a later time or occasion; esp. with carry, hold, leave (cf. to leave over 2 at leave v.1 Phrasal verbs).
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > untimeliness > [adverb] > late or too late > remaining unsettled
overc1410
c1410 in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1896) II. 451 (MED) Ther þow hast deseruyd euerelastyngliche his wrathe and to be dampned for euere, he putteth-ouer his vengeaunce and..suffreth vs to amende owre defautes and punysscheth vs but a while.
1647 N. Bacon Hist. Disc. Govt. 201 If the Lord faile, he loses his tenure, and the tenant might thence forth disclaime, and hold over for ever.
1788 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 78 420 (table) Carried over 89.
1822 M. Edgeworth Let. 30 May (1971) 404 A beef and pigeon pie that had stood over from the preceding week.
1836 R. M. Bird Sheppard Lee I. ii. ii. 80 The bill will lie over till we can procure a little more evidence.
1853 C. Dickens Bleak House xxviii. 278 I will hold the matter over with him for any reasonable time.
1884 Instr. Mil. Engin. (ed. 3) I. ii. 51 The front ditch..may be left over, in the absence of strong enough working parties.
1904 W. B. Yeats Let. 5 Oct. (1994) III. 662 I shall myself have one or two suggestions on details to make, but they can stand over.
1991 A. Enright Portable Virgin (1992) 155 Stories that wait for the tea to draw and are held over when he can't find the biscuits.
b. Until after some intervening period; esp. (a) until the following day, overnight; (b) chiefly U.S., until after the winter.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > [adverb] > until a later time
over1853
1853 G. Macilwain Mem. J. Abernethy II. xv. 318 Getting a quiet friend or two down on the Saturday to stay over till the Monday.
1861 Trans. Illinois State Agric. Soc. 1859–60 4 317 Old bugs live over, and produce eggs the following season.
1884 J. Hay Bread-winners xi. 172 I am so glad you resolved to stay over.
1899 A. Nicholas Idyl of Wabash (ed. 2) 53 We don't want to winter them steers over.
1953 N. Gordimer Lying Days ii. xx. 168 I was going to sleep over at the house of an old friend of my mother's.
1956 Life 2 Apr. 38/3 Two bases on the edge of the continent..where 163 volunteers will winter over after establishing a beachhead.
1993 R. D. Edwards Clubbed to Death (BNC) 77 Why don't you stay over, Robert? We can stay up late and drink too much.
V. With reference to duration, repetition, completion, resumption, etc.
13.
a. Past, gone by, finished, at an end. See also all over adv. 4.Formerly also with qualification (esp. in a little over): of reduced intensity, force, etc. (obsolete).In quot. a1400 at sense A. 2a: dead.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > end or conclusion > [adverb] > over, finished, or expired
over?c1225
outa1400
upc1400
all up1825
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 176 Hwen hit is al ouere. spit & schakeð þet heaued. feð on forto niuelin & make grim chere.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 282 (MED) A prophecie sais he salle die, & whan he is ouere, After þat day Scotlond may haf gode recouere.
1611 Bible (King James) Song of Sol. ii. 11 For loe, the winter is past, the raine is ouer [1535 Coverdale awaie, 1587 Geneva changed], and gone. View more context for this quotation
1624 F. Quarles Iob Militant sig. H3v O that thy Hand would hide me close..till all thy Wrath were ouer!
a1652 R. Brome New Acad. i. 6 in Five New Playes (1659) [He] will suffer None to come at him, till his sorrowful fit Be somewhat over.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 106 Nor when the War is over, is it Peace. View more context for this quotation
1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 251 After his Astonishment was a little over.
1760–1 C. Lennox Ladies Museum I. 399 As soon as the feast is over, a man appears.
1801 M. Edgeworth Forester in Moral Tales I. 6 The ceremony of dinner is over.
1835 D. P. Thompson Adventures Timothy Peacock i. 8 ‘It is all very clear to me,’ replied Mr. Peacock, after the first shock of his surprize was a little over.
1875 W. Stubbs Constit. Hist. II. xiv. 149 The struggle was not yet over.
1939 G. Greene Confidential Agent i. i. 13 If not, the war might be over before the spring.
1955 L. P. Hartley Perfect Woman xiii. 124 My guessing days are over.
1976 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 15 Oct. 17/4 As I rushed out before the show was completely over.
b. over and done with (later also over with).get it over with: see to get over 3a at get v. Phrasal verbs 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > completing > completed or finished [phrase]
over with1822
(and) that's all she wrote1935
1822 M. Arden Diary in National Mag. (1856) Nov. 54/1 It will be hard work to get through the three months to Cousin Maria's wedding; I wish it were ‘over and done with’.
1884 N.E.D. at Adieu Away!, no longer, no more, all is over with.
1931 W. Faulkner Sanctuary xxvi. 318 ‘What day do you think it will be over with?’ she said.
1938 R. Finlayson Brown Man's Burden 53 The others..were glad when they were free to go, for..the salutations were over and done with.
1955 F. O'Connor Let. 18 May in Habit of Being (1980) 82 I will be real glad when this television thing is over with.
1994 J. Galloway Foreign Parts ii. 18 That was over and done with and this was what you got at the end of it. Yards of bugger all.
1999 T. Parsons Man & Boy (2000) xii. 101 I was shaking and sweating at the checkout, wanting it to be over with, wanting to be out of there.
c. colloquial (originally U.S.). it's not over till the fat lady sings and variants: there is still time for a situation to change, esp. for the better; the outcome of a situation cannot be assumed; = it ain't over till it's over at sense A. 13d. [Apparently with allusion to the notion that operas often end with a final aria by a (stereotypically large) female soprano (compare quots. 19761, 1978), although quot. 19762 may suggest an origin as a proverb in the southern United States.]
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1976 Dallas Morning News 10 Mar. 2 b/2 The Aggies rallied for a 72-72 tie late in the SWC tournament finals... ‘Right,’ said Ralph. ‘The opera ain't over until the fat lady sings.’
1976 F. R. Smith & C. R. Smith in F. R. Shapiro Yale Bk. Quotations 134 Church ain't out 'till the fat lady sings.
1978 Washington Post 3 June b1/4 One day three years ago, Ralph Carpenter,..declared to the press box contingent in Austin, ‘The rodeo ain't over till the bull riders ride.’ Stirred to top that deep insight, San Antonio sports editor Dan Cook countered with, ‘The opera ain't over 'til the fat lady sings.’
1987 P. Muldoon Meeting the British 51 In this, as in so many things, it won't be over till the fat lady sings.
2006 Bristol Evening Post (Nexis) 4 Apr. 67 It's not over until the fat lady sings, but we have to get four points from our next two matches.
d. Originally U.S. it ain't over till it's over and variants: there is still time for a situation to change, esp. for the better.
ΚΠ
1980 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 5 June a22/1 Yogi Berra once said that a baseball game is never over till it's over.
1988 Daily Progress (Charlottesville, Va.) 25 Sept. b4/1 In the battle of who makes the best Brunswick stew, it ain't over till it's over.
1996 F. Popcorn & L. Marigold Clicking iii. 428 As they say, it's not over till it's over. You can't keep a good person down.
e. Originally U.S. colloquial. No longer fashionable; passé.
ΚΠ
1985 B. E. Ellis Less than Zero 95 The Human League are out. Over. Finished.
1995 Time Out N.Y. 18 Oct. 102 There are still a few people ogling one another downstairs but upstairs is over, as they say.
2002 POW Mag. Mar. 6/1 It's certainly not me who might be too over, it's Steve Austin's ‘WHAT?’ gimmick/catch phrase. This thing is so over the crowd doesn't just do it for him, they do it every chance they get.
14.
a. Through its whole extent; to the end; from beginning to end; esp. with read, say, tell, etc. Also (with talk, think, etc.): in detail, considering every aspect.all the year over, the whole day over: see over prep. 19b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > completeness > [adverb] > fully or to full extent or in full > from beginning to end
througha1225
overc1400
throughoutc1450
thoroughc1475
throughly1531
straight1756
c1400 in J. Slater Early Scots Texts (Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Edinb.) (1952) No. 40 At the whilk bathe the kynges may sende their messangers to see them owere entrechaungeably.
a1425 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (1987) ii. 1085 Troilus..sette hym down, and wrot right in this wyse... And radde it over, and gan the lettre folde.
?a1450 in F. J. Furnivall Polit., Relig., & Love Poems (1903) 286 (MED) Red ovyr this book.
c1475 (c1399) Mum & Sothsegger (Cambr. Ll.4.14) (1936) Prol. 55 (MED) If it happe to ȝoure honde, beholde þe book onys..if ȝe sauere sum-dell, se it forth ouere.
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 109 This warld all ouir I cast about.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. ccxxxj Let the poorer sorte oftymes saye ouer theyr Pater noster.
1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream v. i. 77 No, my noble Lord, it is not for you. I haue heard It ouer, and it is nothing, nothing in the world. View more context for this quotation
1651 Ld. Wariston Diary (1919) II. 123 On Tuesday..did wryte over Mononday's notes.
1726 J. Barker Lining of Patch-work Screen 18 We sat talking over our respective Affairs.
1782 F. Burney Cecilia V. ix. x. 187 Cecilia..took the letter, and run it over.
1799 Hull Advertiser 16 Feb. 1/4 At four o' clock the Speaker counted over the House; when only twenty-three Members being present, the House adjourned.
1811 J. Austen Sense & Sensibility I. xv. 192 Elinor was then at liberty to think over the representations of her mother. View more context for this quotation
1845 C. Darwin Jrnl. (ed. 2) viii. 171 The mind is stupified in thinking over the long, absolutely necessary, lapse of years.
1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) III. 605 We talked the matter over.
1892 Law Times 92 146/1 The indorsement was read over to her.
1912 J. Galsworthy Eldest Son i. ii. 31 Well—we must talk it over again.
1958 L. Uris Exodus I. viii. 39 He wanted time to look for a hidden trick. ‘I'll think it over,’ he said.
1990 C. Buckley Wet Work i. ix. 65 Diatri sat at his desk..and read over the 61 on the shooting.
b. U.S. taking——over: considering (a country, etc.) throughout its whole extent.Cf. over prep. 7d.
ΚΠ
1860 A. Lincoln Let. 1 May in G. A. Tracy Uncollected Lett. A. Lincoln (1917) 144 I think S. weaker than B. in our close Legislative districts; but probably not weaker taking the whole State over.
1916 L. M. Terman Measurem. of Intelligence 12 Taking the country over, the ratio of ‘accelerates’ to ‘retardates’ in the school is approximately 1 to 10.
1927 Harper's Mag. Oct. 530 The correlation between scholarship and football eminence, taking the country over, is depressingly low.
1936 J. Tait Medieval Eng. Borough ii. ii. 64 Taking the country over, such a court is a normal burghal feature, but the smaller boroughs of the south-west are exceptions.
15.
a. over and over: repeatedly, many times over. Also over and over again.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > frequency > [adverb] > repeatedly
day and nightOE
morning, noon, and nightc1325
new and newa1425
time after time?a1425
over and overa1470
toties quoties1525
again and again1533
reiteratively1619
over and over again1637
repeatedlya1647
times without number1658
to and again1659
—— in, —— out1815
time and time again1821
day in (and) day out1824
recurringly1828
repetitiously1828
recurrently1841
repetitively1872
ever and again1880
recursively1901
twenty-four hours a day1914
serially1978
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll.) 234 Than they lette clense their woundys with colde whyght wyne, and than they lete anoynte them with bawme over and over.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll.) 686 Sir Brewnys..smote hym over and over.
1575 W. Stevenson Gammer Gurtons Nedle i. v. sig. Aivv Chaue tost and tumbled yender heap our & ouer againe.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) iii. iii. 16 I ha told them ouer and ouer, they lacke no direction. View more context for this quotation
1637 G. Gillespie Dispute against Eng.-Popish Ceremonies iv. i. 1 Vpon this string they harpe over and over again.
1647 R. Stapleton tr. Juvenal Sixteen Satyrs 215 Let rich men do it, ore and ore agen.
1707 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1885) 21 May II. 14 Nothing..but what has been observ'd over and over.
1768 L. Sterne Sentimental Journey I. 15 The captive who lies down counting over and over again the days of his afflictions.
1823 J. Badcock Domest. Amusem. 26 The burning it over and over again..produces a better filtre than at first.
a1860 J. A. Alexander Gospel Jesus Christ (1861) iii. 44 He has over and over refused to accept God's invitation.
1902 J. Conrad Typhoon iii. 31 Must be saying the same things over and over again.
1942 R. C. Fuson & H. R. Snyder Org. Chem. xxvii. 358 Caoutchouc is composed of the isoprene unit repeated over and over.
2000 A. Bourdain Kitchen Confid. (2001) 15 The French played those two songs over and over again.
b. over again: a second time.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > frequency > [adverb] > anew or again
moeOE
of newOE
yetOE
againOE
newlyOE
once morelOE
anewc1305
newa1325
i-gainc1325
againwardc1380
upon new1399
freshlya1413
newlings1440
of the newc1449
afreshc1450
of (also on) fresh1490
for the newc1535
backwardly1552
over againa1568
over1598
de novo1627
all over1811
a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) i. f. 1v Let the childe, by and by, both construe and parse it ouer againe.
a1600 Meaning of Marriage (Sloane 1983B) in Jyl of Breyntford's Test. (1871) 41 Pray doe it over again!
a1682 Sir T. Browne Christian Morals (1716) iii. 117 Men would not live it over again.
1757 P. Bacon Insignificants v. i. 62, in Humorous Ethics If any of 'em should come to life again—they'll never hold it long—we shall soon have the burying of 'em over again!
1772 S. Johnson Let. 6 Oct. (1992) I. 396 Consider what it is that has contributed to your recovery, and do it over again.
1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) I. 218 This is the old, old song over again.
1919 J. Conrad Arrow of Gold 2 If anything it is perhaps a little sympathy that the writer expects for his buried youth, as he lives it over again.
2000 J. Van der Spiegel et al. in R. Rojas & U. Hashagen First Computers ii. 128 Digit trays can..be used over again in the course of a program.
c. With a preceding numeral adverb, expressing repetition.
ΚΠ
1582 G. Whetstone Heptameron Ciuill Disc. iii. sig. L The Subscription..ouercame him with suche a sodayne passion of Ioye, who read, and a hundred times ouer read this..letter.
1595 J. Davidson Memorial of Life & Death of Two Worthye Christians sig. Cv He made me read baith late and are: The whole Psalmes twise ouer in prose.
1608 J. Chamberlain Let. 15 July (1939) I. 262 A gentleman wan a great wager for riding five measured miles..twenty times over in lesse than five howres.
1678 J. Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress 47 I am made to tread those steps thrice over, which I needed not to have trod but once. View more context for this quotation
1731 E. Thomas Pylades & Corinna p. viii Before she was five Years old, she had Read the whole Bible three times over.
1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield I. xiv. 141 He read it twice over.
1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby xl After these and all possible questions had been asked and answered twenty times over, they parted.
1884 Sir W. B. Brett in Law Times Rep. 10 May 315/2 To be verbose and tautologous, and to say the same thing twice over.
1952 J. Lait & L. Mortimer U.S.A. Confidential ii. xi. 97 Though still in his forties, he is a self-made millionaire many times over.
1988 D. Rowe Successful Self iv. 93 He has proved a million times over that he is a better businessman than his father.
d. Again, once more; anew. Now chiefly North American.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > frequency > [adverb] > anew or again
moeOE
of newOE
yetOE
againOE
newlyOE
once morelOE
anewc1305
newa1325
i-gainc1325
againwardc1380
upon new1399
freshlya1413
newlings1440
of the newc1449
afreshc1450
of (also on) fresh1490
for the newc1535
backwardly1552
over againa1568
over1598
de novo1627
all over1811
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost i. i. 33 I can but say their protestation ouer . View more context for this quotation
1606 T. Dekker Seuen Deadly Sinnes London v. sig. E4 An Ape is Zani to a man, doing ouer those trickes..which hee sees done before him.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) v. i. 267 All those sayings, will I ouer sweare. View more context for this quotation
1710 J. Swift Tale of Tub (ed. 5) Apol. sig. a2v He had however a blotted Copy..which he intended to have writ over, with many Alterations.
1872 H. W. Beecher Pop. Lect. Preaching ii. 39 Perhaps he may be able to make himself over.
1889 Scribner's Mag. Aug. 217/2 Old iron rails..are worked over at the rolling mills into crowbars and shovels [etc.].
1910 J. W. Greene Clin. Course Dental Prosthesis 50 Don't object to doing this three-minute job over, for the alternative would be to make the plate from it ‘over’—maybe several times.
1965 C. Brown Manchild in Promised Land i. 31 He had already seen the movie, but it was good, so he was seeing it over.
1989 P. Mailloux Hesitation before Birth xxx. 54 He had gone so long without writing that he obviously felt as if he were starting over.
B. int.
1. Cricket. Used as a command by an umpire at the end of an over (over n.3 2), to indicate to the fielding side that they are to change ends.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > umpiring and scoring > [adverb] > umpire's call at end of over
over1752
1752 Game at Cricket in New Universal Mag. Nov. 582/2 When the four balls are bowl’d, he [sc. the umpire] is to call over.
1849 Laws of Cricket in ‘Bat’ Cricketer's Man. (1850) 59 After the delivery of four balls the umpire must call ‘Over’.
1933 A. G. Macdonell England, their England vii. 108 He called ‘Over’ firmly and marched off to square-leg.
1980 B. Arnold Song of Nightingale ii. 46 The bowler ran up to the wicket and delivered the last ball of his over... The visiting umpire called, ‘Over!’
2. In two-way radio communication: used to indicate that the speaker has finished speaking and is awaiting a reply. over and out: used to indicate that the communication is at an end (cf. out adv. 21c); also figurative and in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > radio communications > interjections in radio communication [interjection]
over1926
out1950
ten-four1962
1926 J. L. Pritchard Bk. Aeroplane viii. 144 ‘Hullo, Croydon,..now passing Biggin Hill. Over!’..The final word ‘Over’ tells the Croydon operator that the pilot is switching his transmitting apparatus over to receiving so that he can hear what Croydon has to say.
1955 E. Waugh Officers & Gentlemen i. ix. 108 He took the instrument. ‘Headquarters to D Troop. Where are you? Over... You can't be... Damn. Out.’
1960 New Yorker 4 June 50/1 God bless Mommy and Daddy. Amen. Over and out.
1972 N. Marsh Tied up in Tinsel v. 123 ‘Well, ta for the tip anyway. Over and out.’ Alleyn hung up.
1976 L. Dills CB Slanguage Dict. (rev. ed.) 51 Over, through transmitting but listening.
1990 S. King Stand (new ed.) ii. lviii. 891 Breaker, breaker, that's a big ten-four, over and out.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2004; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

overprep.conj.

Brit. /ˈəʊvə/, U.S. /ˈoʊvər/
Forms: see over adv.
Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: over adv.
Etymology: < the same Germanic base as over adv. (see cognates at that entry).Old English ofer was construed with dative or, more frequently, accusative, the former originally in the sense of position, the latter in that of motion to. In many senses, however, either case was used with no apparent difference of sense.
A. prep.
I. In sense ‘above’.
1.
a. Above, higher up than. Used of position or motion within the space above; also (after hang, project, jut, lean, etc.) in relation to anything beneath.Used irrespective of whether the lower object is immediately adjacent or distinctly separate, although generally implying closer proximity than above.
ΚΠ
eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) xl. 139 Hi wuniað nu ofer ðæm tunglum.
eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) i. ii. 38 Bræd þonne þæt heafod hider & geond ofer þæt fyr.
OE tr. Orosius Hist. (Tiber.) (1980) i. iii. 23 Ðær wæs standende wæter ofer þam lande.
c1175 ( Homily: Hist. Holy Rood-tree (Bodl. 343) (1894) 30 Heo þa cyrccan aræren het ofer ða ðruh þe ðe lichame inne reste.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 1693 Wass an oferrwerrc Oferr þatt arrke timmbredd.
a1250 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Nero) (1952) 182 Ich holde her hetel sweord ouer þin heaued nor to dealen lif & soule.
a1300 (c1250) Floris & Blauncheflur (Vitell.) (1966) 385 Þe children awoken... And seȝen þe swerd ouer hem adrawe.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) 11489 (MED) Ouer þe hous stood þe stern, þere iesu & his modir wern.
c1450 Inventory in Proc. Somerset Archaeol. & Nat. Hist. Soc. (1858) 7 103 (MED) Item, a chamer over Willm Boucher is shoppe.
c1500 (?a1475) Assembly of Gods (1896) 1608 (MED) Ouer her heede houyd a culuer fayre & whyte.
c1545 R. Copland tr. P. Tommai Art of Memory sig. Bvii She shall absolue the preste holdynge her ryght hande ouer his head.
a1593 C. Marlowe Tragicall Hist. Faustus (1604) sig. D1v Ouer the which foure stately bridges leane.
1611 T. Middleton & T. Dekker Roaring Girle sig. I A boate with a tilt ouer it.
1676 T. Hobbes tr. Homer Iliads ii. 394 The Entrails o're the fire they broiled.
1738 G. Berkeley Disc. Magistrates & Men in Authority 32 Having his house burnt over his head.
1751 C. Labelye Descr. Westm. Bridge 22 Every Arch..is double, the first..built with great Blocks of Portland Stone,..over which there is another Arch..bonded in with the under semicircular Arch.
1802 T. Beddoes Hygëia I. i. 55 To hang a naked sword..over the head during the repast of life.
1820 J. Keats Isabella in Lamia & Other Poems 60 He leant..o'er the balustrade.
1864 G. W. Dasent Jest & Earnest (1873) I. 42 Flitting about like a petrel over those stormy isles.
1891 T. Hardy Group of Noble Dames i. ii. 86 The bed-chamber was over the dining-room.
1925 V. Woolf Mrs. Dalloway 68 Where she lies with the brambles curving over her.
1954 G. Greene Twenty-one Stories 207 A doll over a telephone, a pin-up girl of the period over the double bed.
1993 Discover Diving Apr. 68/1 The clouds of butterflyfish that hang over Hawaii's reefs during the day.
b. In various figurative uses.over one's head: see head n.1 Phrases 1k(a)(ii).
ΚΠ
eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xvii. 109 Iower ege, & broga sie ofer ealle eorðan nitenu.
OE Ælfric Old Eng. Hexateuch: Num. (Claud.) xvi. 46 Godes yrre is ofer hi.
OE King Ælfred tr. Psalms (Paris) (2001) xxxii. 18 Sy, Drihten, þin mildheortnes ofer us.
lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1128 God ælmihtig haue his milce ofer þæt wrecce stede.
a1225 (?OE) MS Vesp. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 233 (MED) Hlaford for þan þe is ȝeie and drednesse is ofer hus.
c1475 tr. C. de Pisan Livre du Corps de Policie (Cambr.) (1977) 72 (MED) Mekenesse sheweth theimselfe..ouer suche as he hathe lordeshipp and powre to punyshe and to forgeue.
1549 H. Latimer 2nd Serm. before Kynges Maiestie 3rd Serm. sig. Hviv He loketh hye ouer the pore.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II ii. i. 259 Reproch and dissolution hangeth ouer him. View more context for this quotation
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxv. 133 The punishment hanging over us for our sins.
a1754 J. MacLaurin Serm. & Ess. (1755) 77 Vengeance was hovering over their guilty heads.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. i. 72 A grave doubt hung over the legitimacy both of Mary and of Elizabeth.
1977 Listener 28 Apr. 535/2 His mother's..puritanism and old-womanishness..seemed to hover over Owen's editorial shoulder.
2001 FourFourTwo Oct. 82/1 With the threat of a two-year ban looming over him.
c. Originally and chiefly U.S. over the signature (also name, etc.) of: (of a piece of writing, esp. journalism) explicitly stated to be by (a given person); attached or attributed to the name of.
ΚΠ
1805 in Spirit of Public Jrnls. (1806) 96 A writer over the signature of Zanga, is another buckram expression.
1826 New-Harmony (Indiana) Gaz. 22 Mar. 207/2 A writer over the signature of ‘A Farmer’..states that he has been completely successful..in saving his wheat [from weevils].
1857 Notes & Queries 1 Aug. 87/2 He says, over his own signature: ‘If in passing the comet [etc.]’.
1875 E. C. Stedman Victorian Poets (ed. 13) 261 Who relieved his eager spirit by incessant poetizing over the pseudonym of ‘Spartacus’.
1908 N.Y. Evening Post 10 Dec. in Dict. Amer. Eng. (1942) III. 1656/2 Mr. Fox, in a statement issued over his signature, says [etc.].
1934 H. G. Wells Exper. in Autobiogr. II. viii. 626 Bennett..wrote much of the little weekly paper, Woman, he was editing..over the signature..of ‘Aunt Ellen’.
1992 Boston Globe 1 Aug. 10/1 A Weld spokesman denied that the governor authorized the Republican State Committee to draft three letters over his signature.
d. Mathematics. Divided by, with allusion to the dividend being written above the divisor, or separated from it by an oblique stroke.
ΚΠ
1910 Amer. Jrnl. Math. 32 44 The ratio of M to N must be a function of u over a function of v.
1966 B. Reckord Skyvers in New Eng. Dramatists IX. 88 Cragge. What's one over five plus two over seven in the winged brackets. They don't mean nutten. Colman... One over five is a fifth.
1977 Lancet 20 Aug. 404/2 There is no doubt that, in English, the colon (in the ratio 1:3, for example) is vocalised as ‘to’ and the oblique stroke (in the fraction 1/3) as ‘in’ ‘of’ ‘out of’, or ‘over’.
1998 Racing Post (Nexis) 5 Aug. 9 As pi is 22 over seven and the circumference of the Roodee is 1,700 yards, r is 600.
e. Medicine. Representing the oblique stroke separating the systolic measurement of blood pressure from the diastolic in medical records.
ΚΠ
1971 N.Y. Times: Abstr. (Nexis) 25 Dec. 6/1 Mr. Nixon's wt is 173 pounds, within the normal range, and his blood pressure was 115 over 72.
1987 Chicago Tribune (Nexis) 8 Mar. 5 c My doctor read my blood pressure at 206 over 166 and told me that if I didn't take off some weight I would not live to see my daughter's 5th birthday.
1998 G. Adams Casualty (BBC TV Production draft) (O.E.D. Archive) 13th Ser. Episode 6. 101 Sean: Pleuritic, chest pain dyspnoea... Pulse? Eve: 140, resps over 35 per min, BP 130 over 70.
2.
a. To a position above; (also, of water) to a point higher than and submerging. Also figurative.In Old English followed by a noun in the accusative or dative.
ΚΠ
OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 274 Qui ascendit super caelos, se þe astah ofer heofenas.
OE King Ælfred tr. Psalms (Paris) (2001) xxiii. 2 He gesette þa eorþan ofer þære sæ.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 587 So wunderlike it [sc. the water] wex & get Ðat fiftene elne it ouer-flet Ouer ilk dune and ouer ilc hil.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) 406 Þe flod..clam uche a clyffe cubites fyftene, Over þe hyȝest hylle.
?a1425 MS Hunterian 95 f. 95 (MED) Put alle in a panne & sette it ouer þe fire & melte þi literge & þi rede lede.
a1500 (?c1414) Paraphr. Seven Penitential Psalms 13 (MED) My gylt is growyn over myn heed.
1584 T. Cogan Hauen of Health cxi. 100 When you will occupie more or lesse, you may put in sugar and set it ouer the fire untill it boyle.
1640 in 11th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1887) App. VII. 100 Some wagg or other hath sett over the parliament doore pray remember the judges as if they had been too long forgotten.
1761 Biogr. Dict. IV. 200 A handsome table monument of blue marble was raised over his [Drayton's] grave.
1898 Saga-bk. of Viking Club II. ii. 337 Asfrid..raised a..gravehaugh over the body of her husband.
1969 Sunday Times 19 Oct. 27 Kode's shares have climbed 36 per cent over issue price.
1999 Herald (Glasgow) 13 May 1/1 To order the Union flag to be raised over the Assembly Hall.
b. In or into a position in which water, or another fluid, rises above (a person's shoes, boots, ears, head, etc.). Also figurative. Chiefly in over head and ears (see head n.1 Phrases 3e(a)). Now somewhat archaic.See also over-shoes adv.
ΚΠ
c1330 (?c1300) Guy of Warwick (Auch.) l. 3663 So mani y-slawe þer be... Þat men miȝt wade ouer þe scho hem In þe blod þat of hem kem.
?1504 S. Hawes Example of Vertu sig. ee.vi He must nedys into this water fall Ouer the heed and be drowned with all.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 725/2 He souced him in the water over heed and eares.
1555 J. Philpot Let. in R. Eden Exam. & Writings J. Philpot (1842) (modernized text) 227 Now I am over the shoes: God send me well out!
1590 R. Harvey Plaine Percevall 8 Another..puls him ouer the pumpes into the same puddle.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) i. i. 24 He [sc. Leander] was more then ouer-shooes in loue. Val. 'Tis true; for you are ouer-bootes in loue, And yet [etc.] . View more context for this quotation
1652 J. Lamont Diary (1830) 49 By diping them in the water ouer head and eares.
1663 S. Pepys Diary 2 Oct. (1971) IV. 322 My wife, who is over head and ears in getting her house up.
1677 R. Gilpin Dæmonol. Sacra i. xiii. 101 To go on and enjoy the fulness of that delight which we have already stoln privately, over Shooes, over Boots.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones II. iv. iii. 17 The poor Lad plumped over Head and Ears into the Water [printed Warer] . View more context for this quotation
1768 T. Gray Let. 27 Aug. in Corr. (1971) III. 1045 I am..over head & ears in writings.
1768 J. Wesley Jrnl. 23 Sept. (1827) III. 336 My horse got into a ditch over his back in water.
1834 D. Macmillan in T. Hughes Mem. (1883) 66 I am always over head and ears with one trouble or another.
1867 A. Trollope Last Chron. Barset II. liii. 103 You are over head and ears in debt.
1914 C. Wells Patty's Suitors iii You know perfectly well that Roger is over head and ears in love with you.
3.
a. Indicating the object of attention, care, gratification, sorrow, etc. (conceived of as occupying a position below the agent).
ΚΠ
eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) lii. 411 Mara gefea wyrð on hefonum..ðonne ofer nigon & hundnigontig ryhtwisra.
eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) l. 391 Mid hu micelre giefe ofer him wacað se Scippend & se Stihtere ealra gesceafta.
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) ii. 193 Þæt he symle wacol sy ofer Godes eowede.
OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) xix. 41 He weop ofer hig.
OE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Cambr. Univ. Libr.) i. vii. 40 Ne wæs he forlæten þæt he ofer him deadum gefege.
c1200 Serm. in Eng. & Germanic Stud. (1961) 7 63 Heorden vakeden ouer heore orf.
1484 W. Caxton tr. G. de la Tour-Landry Bk. Knight of Tower (1971) lxv. 96 That none may haue enuye ouer hym.
1579 W. Fulke Refut. Rastels Confut. in D. Heskins Ouerthrowne 735 The Lords praier..was not said ouer the sacrament.
1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. D3 As the grim Lion fawneth ore his pray. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) i. ii. 121 The poore old man..making such pittiful dole ouer them. View more context for this quotation
1635 R. Sibbes Soules Conflict (1638) ii. 18 Doth not Satan tippe the tongues of the enemies of religion now, to insult over the Church?
a1706 J. Evelyn Hist. Relig. (1850) I. ii. 137 The Almighty's especial vigilance is over the greater societies of men,..yea, and over whole nature.
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 52. ⁋6 When you did me the Honour to be so merry over my Paper.
1759 R. Jackson Hist. Rev. Pennsylvania 233 From the 21st to the 25th..the Governor brooded over the two Bills.
1847 A. Helps Friends in Council I. i. 3 Over this he had wasted two days.
1888 T. Hardy Life's Little Ironies 153 A professional man whose taste in lonely meditation over metaphysical questions had diminished his practice.
1949 S. J. Perelman Let. 22 Feb. in Don't tread on Me (1987) 89 Everyone else has now gone aft and is ululating over a game of deck golf.
1968 E. Cleaver Soul on Ice i. iii. 37 Lovdjieff would weep over a tragic event that had taken place ten thousand years ago.
b. Concerning, as regards, with reference to, in respect of (a subject of discourse, negotiation, etc.).In earlier use, the adverbial phrase introduced by over sometimes complements the verb; in recent use it usually postmodifies a complete expression.
ΚΠ
OE Vercelli Homilies (1992) iii. 77 To middere nihte ic wæs arisende þe to andettanne ofer þa domas þinre rihtwisnesse [L. super iudicia iustificationis tuae].
OE Ælfric Old Eng. Hexateuch: Gen. (Claud.) xvii. 20 Ofer Ismahel eac swylce ic gehealde þe.
c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. xviii. 148 (MED) And þat is charite, my leue childe, to be cher ouer thi soule.
c1430 (c1386) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women 2499 Thyn hostesse..upon yow mot compleyne Over the terme set bytwixe us tweyne, That ye ne holde forward.
1440 J. Capgrave Life St. Norbert (1977) l. 576 If þou wilt þat God ouir þi defautes alle Be propicious, lord of his hie mageste, Whan þou to him for mercy haue nede to calle.
c1440 W. Hilton Mixed Life (Thornton) in G. G. Perry Eng. Prose Treat. (1921) 38 Thow may..thynke ouer thi synnes be-fore donne.
1485 Malory's Morte Darthur (Caxton) ii. xviii. sig. d.viiiv Whan we are buryed in one tombe and the mensyon made ouer vs, how two bretheren slewe eche other, there wille neuer good knyght..see our tombe but they wille pray for our soules.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Lev. xi. 46 This is the lawe ouer ye beestes and foules.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Chron. xx. A He sent messaungers to comforte him ouer his father.
1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) (at cited word) He com ower a boat.
1856 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. iv. 310 Ostlers quarrelled over such questions as they groomed their masters' horses.
1892 Graphic 21 May 598/3 In consequence of the dispute over the suffrage guestion.
1900 A. H. Norway Parson Peter 176 They'm all like wild cats auver Rattenberry gittin' off.
1917 in P. Jones War Lett. (1918) 259 We used to spend hours arguing over anything.
1934 ‘M. J. Farrell’ Devoted Ladies ii. 42 She was just beginning to feel a little restive over Jessica's way of expending vast sums.
1953 Brit. Jrnl. Animal Behaviour 1 91/2 Aggressive behaviour over roosting sites was seen on a few evenings.
1967 Times Rev. Industry Feb. 67/3 British Rail, despite the difficulties over open terminals, are now carrying 1,200 containers a week.
1994 Times Lit. Suppl. 8 May 12/1 The deniers [of the Holocaust] exploit current sensitivities over the First Amendment.
c. English regional, U.S. regional, Scottish, and Irish English (northern). Expressing causation: as a result of, because of, on account of.
ΚΠ
1887 T. Darlington Folk-speech S. Cheshire I got a splent i' my hand o'er pleachin' a hedge.
1892 A. Reid Howetoon 139 Lat his harrans rin to seed owre pure laziness.
1944 Let. in Dict. Amer. Regional Eng. (1996) III. 914/2 Eddie looks bad over the measles.
1996 C. I. Macafee Conc. Ulster Dict. 243/1 Over,..on account of, because of.
4. Indicating the circumstances of an activity.
ΚΠ
1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet iii. v. 174 Vtter your grauity ouer a gossips boule. View more context for this quotation
1671 R. Head & F. Kirkman Eng. Rogue III. xxii. sig. X8v We had good sport over a Bowl of Punch.
1745 Infallible Project Manning Navy 10 We hug our Selves over a Glass of Wine, and a good Fire, in a Tavern.
1791 Gentleman's Mag. Jan. 20/2 Those hours..which others consume..over the bottle.
1811 Countess Granville Lett. (1894) I. 29 If you had seen us..sitting over the fire with Mr. Hughes.
1865 J. W. Carlyle Lett. III. 286 We sit down to breakfast, and talk over it till eleven.
1912 Chambers's Jrnl. Nov. 708/2 Over a drink..the test was made and answered.
1988 P. Cutting Children of Siege xi. 135 ‘The situation’..was the first thing we talked about over breakfast and the last thing we talked about at night.
II. In sense ‘on’, ‘upon’.
5.
a. On the upper or outer surface of; on top of, upon, esp. so as to be supported by, rest on, or cover (part of) the surface. Also: so as to cover (a hole).Not always easily distinguished from sense A. 1a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > covering or so as to cover [preposition]
anoveneOE
overeOE
eOE Laws of Ælfred (Corpus Cambr. 173) xxxvi. 68 Gif mon hafað spere ofer eaxle.
OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Matt. xxi. 5 Sedens super asinam : sittende ofer [OE Rushw. on, OE West Saxon Gospels: Corpus Cambr. uppan] asal.
OE Blickling Homilies 71 Sittende ofor eoselan folan.
OE Blickling Homilies 79 Her ne bið forlæten stan ofor stan.
c1175 ( Ælfric Homily (Bodl. 343) in S. Irvine Old Eng. Homilies (1993) 61 He..smirede mid þam lame ofer þaes blindan eaȝen.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 14567 Ta wass waterr wid. & sid All oferr erþe flowedd.
a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 33 (MED) Ele..wile flotten ouer alle wætes.
c1390 G. Chaucer Man of Law's Tale B. 838 Hir couerchief of hir hed she breyde, And ouer his litel eyen she it leyde.
a1425 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (1987) ii. 781 For evere som mystrust or nice strif Ther is in love, som cloude is over that sonne.
a1450 in R. H. Bowers Three Middle Eng. Relig. Poems (1963) 36 (MED) The hote blod ouer the colde ron.
c1475 (a1400) Sir Amadace (Taylor) in J. Robson Three Early Eng. Metrical Romances (1842) 54 (MED) Ho layd hur downe mekely enuȝhe, A clothe then aure hur enyn thay droȝhe.
?1507 W. Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen (Rouen) in Poems (1998) I. 52 I..drawis my clok forthwart our my face quhit.
1593 W. Shakespeare Venus & Adonis sig. Bv Ouer one arme the lustie coursers raine. View more context for this quotation
1620 tr. G. Boccaccio Decameron II. viii. ix He crossed his armes over his stomacke.
1634 J. Bate Myst. Nature & Art 8 A peece of Leather nayled ouer any hole, hauing a peece of Lead to make it lie close.
1669 A. Browne Ars Pictoria 90 You must..before you lay the silver Cover over the place with a little Juice of Garlick.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Strata..the Layers or Beds of different kind of Earthy Matter, that lie one over another without any regular Order.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Ceiling A Lay, or Covering of Plaister over Laths, nail'd on the Bottom of the Joists that bear the Floor of the upper Room; or on Joists for that purpose.
1783 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 73 92 The Bronchocele..has been seen to increase to such an enormous bulk as to hang down over the breast and belly.
1843 E. A. Poe in Thirteen Tales One of his eyes resembled that of a vulture—a pale blue eye with a film over it.
1870 A. Trollope Phineas Finn 39 Sitting with his hat low down over his eyes.
1891 C. T. Jacobi Printers' Handbk. (ed. 2) 62 Prussian blue and bronze blue printed over crimson lake appear as a very dark.
1929 E. Bowen Last September i. v. 48 He was carrying all the rugs he could find slung over his shoulder.
1967 A. Carter Magic Toyshop v. 108 Two small white beds, the sheets turned down over quilted satin eiderdowns.
1985 E. Leonard Glitz xi. 95 He got two of them, doubles over ice, and brought the drinks out of the happy, crowded little bar.
b. Heraldry. Of a charge: placed upon and partly covering (other charges, ordinaries, etc.). Chiefly in over all.As distinct from above (on a higher part of the shield).
ΚΠ
?1530 T. Tonge Heraldic Visitation Northern Counties (1863) 6 The armes of the house ys golde and azure quarterly, over all a playn crosse sable, borderid gold.
1610 J. Guillim Display of Heraldrie iii. xv. 142 A Lion Iessant..is not subiected to the primary charge, but is borne ouer both the field and primary Charge.
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Northampt. 299 Over all a Batune dexter-ways Argent.
1766 ‘M. A. Porny’ Elem. Heraldry (1787) v. 156 The twelfth is Azure, a Chief Gules over-all a Lion rampant double queued Or.
1969 J. P. Brooke-Little Fox-Davies's Compl. Guide Heraldry xii. 159 The arms of Mr Michael Desmond Seiflow Hubble..are blazoned: or, a chief indented sable, over all a sea stag proper, attired of the first.
6.
a. With reference to motion: to a position over (sense A. 5a); on to the surface or top of; so as to cover (part of); upon.
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eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xlix. 383 Ðæt mon his sweord doo ofer his hype.
eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) ii. ii. 100 Nimað ge min geoc ofer eow.
OE Blickling Homilies 93 Hie cweþaþ to þæm dunum & to þæm hyllum: Feallaþ ofor us.
OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) vii. 24 Se hys hus ofer stan getimbrode.
c1225 (?OE) Soul's Addr. to Body (Worcester) (Fragm. C) l. 27 Þu sete on þine benche.., þu wurpe [cne]ow ofer cneow.
c1375 G. Chaucer Monk's Tale 3904 His mantel ouer his hipes caste he, For no man sholde seen his pryuetee.
c1450 (?a1400) Sege Melayne (1880) 1553 (MED) When he with the sarazenes mett, Full grym strokes he ouer þam sett.
c1450 (a1400) Libeaus Desconus (Calig. A.ii) (1969) 1811 (MED) Þe stones of þe walle Ouer hym gon falle.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) i. l. 241 A soudly courche our hed and nek leit fall.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cccliij They had all put ouer their harnesse white shirtes.
1621 J. Fletcher et al. Trag. of Thierry & Theodoret iii. i. sig. F4 He..layes mee ouer the chops with his clubfist.
1652 C. B. Stapylton tr. Herodian Imperiall Hist. xiv. 114 This hit the Alexandrians o're the Thumbs.
1705 C. Cibber Careless Husband v. ii. 51 Throw my Night-Gown over me.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones I. i. iii. 12 He..put an End to her Terrors, by desiring her to stay without the Door till he had thrown some Cloaths over his Back. View more context for this quotation
1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast viii. 66 Between the tropics there is a slight haziness, like a thin gauze, drawn over the sun.
1882 T. Hardy Two on Tower i. ii. 37 Swithin hung a thick cloth over the window, in addition to the curtains.
1925 V. Woolf Mrs. Dalloway 42 The soft warm air washed over them.
1990 Times 30 Apr. 14/4 Popeye is always hitting people over the head.
b. figurative. Upon, down upon; so as to influence or affect.In quots. OE3, c1450 not exclusive of literal meaning.
ΚΠ
eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) iv. xxvi. 354 On ðinum dagum ðis wite ofer ðas burg ne cymeð.
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) i. 179 Þa becom Godes grama ofer him eallum.
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xii. 275 Hi beheoldon þa tacna þe he worhte, ofer ðam untrumum mannum.
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xxii. 358 Se halga gast com ofer þam apostolon on fyrenum tungum.
a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 15 (MED) Al þas wrake is icumen ouer alle þeode..hit is al for ure sunne.
c1450 in R. L. Greene Early Eng. Carols (1977) 76 (MED) The Holy Gost ouer hym alyght; The Faders vois was herd on hyght, ‘This ys my Son.’
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost v. ii. 278 Lord Longauill said I came ore his hart. View more context for this quotation
1607 T. Walkington Optick Glasse sig. C3v A palpable darknesse, which doth ouer-cast a sable night ouer our vnderstanding.
1636 D. Featley Clavis Mystica ii. 26 Custome in sinne hath drawne a kall over my conscience.
1715 J. Stoddart in W. Edmundson Jrnl. Pref. p. ix A general Apostacy came over Professed Christians.
1762 J. Woolman Jrnl. (1883) viii. 140 A weighty and heavenly care came over my mind.
1858 E. C. Gaskell Manch. Marriage in Househ. Words 7 Dec. 11/1 The very same [eyes] that Norah had watched not half-an-hour ago, till sleep stole softly over them.
1880 T. Hardy Fellow-townsmen v. 41 In a minute or two he noticed what a strange and total silence had come over the upper part of the house.
1902 W. S. Maugham Mrs. Craddock i. 1 The dying year seemed to have cast over all Nature the terror of death.
1934 F. S. Fitzgerald Tender is Night i. ix. 53 A scene in a rôle she had played last year swept over her irresistibly.
1992 P. Berton Niagara: Hist. of Falls (1994) iii. i. 71 She sat on the edge until ‘a kind of dreamy fascination came over me,’ and watched the sun create an iris across the American Falls.
†c. In Old English: up to the top of, up to. Obsolete.
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eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xiv. 81 Ðu ðe wilt godspellian Sion, astig ofer heane munt.
OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 274 Ofer healice dune astih ðu.
7. In or on all or many parts of; everywhere (or here and there) on the surface of; throughout. Often strengthened by all: see all over prep.
a. With reference to position.
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eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) ii. vi. 50 Ofer eall Romana rice seo eorþe wæs cwaciende & berstende.
?a1160 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1140 Þa þestrede þe dæi ouer al landes.
a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 3 Þa wes hit cud ouer al þe burh.
1241 ( Royal Charter: Henry I to Sheriffs & Thegns of London, Essex, Herts., & Middlesex in M. Gibbs Early Charters Cathedral St. Paul (1939) 20 Ic kyþe eow þet ic habbe geunnan Maurice bisceope þæt bissceoperice on Lundone mid saca and mid soka..on minan lande, & on ælces oðres mannes lande ofer eall þæt bisceoperice.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 10754 (MED) He come al forto ber his wand, Als comandid was ouer al þe land.
a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Hist. Holy Grail xviii. 346 (MED) The sown was so wondirful & so hy, That ouer al the world they supposed trewly The Noise Of that horn myht hauen ben herde.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 2 [He] is lufit and redoubtit, our all the warld.
a1500 (?c1400) Sir Triamour (Cambr.) (1937) 349 (MED) Ouyr all þe wode they hur soght.
1568 A. Scott Poems (1896) i. 147 Lairdis vpliftis mennis leifing ouir thy rewme.
1671 J. Archer Every Man his own Doctor ii. iii. 118 A lassitude over the whole body without other cause.
1751 A. McDouall Inst. Laws Scotl. I. 220 One heritor has one ridge..and another the second, and so on interchangeably over the whole parcel of land.
1790 J. Skinner tr. A. N. R. Sanches Hist. Investig. Venereal Dis. vii. 71 Fungous ulcers over the whole surface of the skin.
1816 J. Austen Emma III. xvii. 328 They had calculated..how soon it [sc. the news] would be over Highbury. View more context for this quotation
1895 Sc. Antiquary 10 79 Around the firesides of the cottages, which were studded over the moor.
1927 Jrnl. Hygiene 27 109 An ascending amoebiform growth develops over the whole agar surface.
1955 G. Cansdale Reptiles W. Afr. iii. 49 The Rhinoceros Viper..is found over the same range and in much the same sort of country as the Gaboon Viper.
2005 J. Diamond Collapse (2006) ii. 79 Scattered over both the crater's outer and inner walls are 397 stone statues.
b. With reference to motion.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement over, across, through, or past > [preposition] > across
overeOE
athwartc1470
thorter1533
across?1540
cross1551
eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) ii. ix. 128 Monigra geara tida ofer ealle Breotone ic flyma wæs.
OE Old Eng. Hexateuch: Exod. (Claud.) viii. 5 Alæd upp þa froxas ofer eall Egypta land.
lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1125 Siððon he ferde ofer eall Englalande to ealle þa biscoprices & abbotrices þa wæron on þis lande.
a1275 (?c1200) Prov. Alfred (Trin. Cambr.) (1955) 114 (MED) Þanne maist þu sikerliche seli sittin & faren ouer londe.
c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 577 (MED) Ouer londes he gan fare.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 1922 (MED) Þei lade þis liif..cairende ouer cuntreis as here cas ferde.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) 1293 (MED) Þenne wyth legiounes of ledes over londes he rydes, Herȝez of Israel þe hyrne aboute.
a1450 Castle Perseverance (1969) l. 687 I am mad massenger To lepyn ouyr londys leye Þorwe all þe world.
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1957) ii. v. 88 Eftir lang wandryng and errour our the see.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. I. vii. 156 In the Wynter he vsed to ryde ouer the lande.
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) i. iii. 131 Heele goe along ore the wide world with me. View more context for this quotation
1693 tr. J. Le Clerc Mem. Count Teckely i. 42 Having gain'd the Fort, they could safely run over all the Peninsula that lies between the Mure and the Drave.
1735 W. Somervile Chace iii. 110 The hunter crew wide straggling o'er the plain!
1770 J. Langhorne & W. Langhorne tr. Plutarch Lives (1879) I. 65/2 The poets feign of Hercules, that only with a club and lion's skin he travelled over the world.
1846 J. Ruskin Mod. Painters (ed. 3) I. 406 We may range over Europe, from shore to shore.
1876 T. Hardy Hand of Ethelberta i. vii. 86 I am quite aware as I glance down the papers and prints any morning that Chickerel's eyes have been over the ground before mine.
1901 Rep. Brit. Assoc. 1900 764 The cyclist and motor-carist travel over the whole of the roads of the country.
1943 Triumphs of Engin. 68/2 To distribute it over the country so that it can be available to every one at a moderate charge.
2001 Nat. New Eng. May 13/1 I found the male box turtle that wanders over our woods and fields.
c. With reference to actions and states other than motion or position.When used in relation to the idea of scrutiny or perusal, the meaning approaches that of sense A. 3a.all over the place: see place n.1 Phrases 2e.
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a1450 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Caius 336/725) (1970) 18 (MED) Lete us sue þe formal techinge of G. In libro sectarum & ouer al triapeutice.
1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream iv. ii. 33 Euery man looke ore his part. For..our play is preferd. View more context for this quotation
1641 J. Milton Animadversions 60 You..persecute ingenuous men over all your booke, with this one over-tir'd rubricall conceit still of blushing.
1695 J. Locke Further Considerations conc. Raising Value of Money 91 And thus I have gone over all Mr. Lowndes's Reasons for raising our Coin.
1706 W. Walsh Let. 24 June in Lett. Mr. Pope (1735) I. 57 In looking over my old Italian Books, I find a great many Pastorals and Piscatory Plays.
1773 S. Johnson Let. 17 May (1992) II. 32 A wild notion which extends over marriage more than over any other transaction.
1830 T. Moore Mem. (1854) VI. 108 Took Miss Macdonald to see over new Athenæum.
1892 M. Oliphant Marriage of Elinor III. xxxiv. 20 She would have liked to go over all his notes about his case.
1953 A. Norton Star Rangers viii. 109 He hurried to a medicine case..and began checking over the assortment of plaso-tubes it held.
1983 J. M. Coetzee Life & Times Michael K ii. 188 They want us to put certain questions to him. ‘Haven't they been over him once already?’
d. In the above senses often placed after its object, esp. when this is modified by all or the like (cf. through prep. 4b). Frequently in the world over.For the corresponding use in reference to time, as in ‘all the year over’, in which over may be explained adverbially, see sense A. 19b. Even in the present sense, in phrases such as ‘all the world over’, it is difficult to separate the preposition from the adverb when the associated verb admits of both transitive and intransitive construction: cf. ‘you may search London over (= London from end to end) before you find another like it’.
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c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 18 (MED) Alexsandire..aȝte euyn as his awyn all the werd ouire.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 12498 All flasshet in a ffire the firmament ouer.
1546 J. Bale First Examinacyon A. Askewe sig. A1v That the truth theroff myght be knowne the worlde ouer.
a1593 C. Marlowe Tragicall Hist. Faustus (1604) sig. B3v I should be cald kill diuell all the parish ouer.
1657 A. Sparrow Rationale Bk. Common Prayer (1661) 164 Christ is risen, the usual Morning salutation this day, all the Church over.
1675 London Gaz. No. 1039/3 This inundation is almost general Holland over.
1721 J. Strype Eccl. Memorials II. ii. vii. 297 Six chaplains in ordinary: who should..preach the Gospel all the nation over.
1796 R. Burns Honest Man x. 4 Whan man, and man, the world o'er, Shall brothers be, and a' that.
1832 H. Martineau Life in Wilds ii. 23 A test which holds good all the world over.
1864 A. Trollope Can you forgive Her? II. vii. 57 You want a wife, and you couldn't do better if you searched all England over.
1927 Harper's Mag. Oct. 609/2 The usual attitude of the higher-up officials the country over in the matter of police crime.
1989 Spare Rib (BNC) Apr. This comment from the editors..spells out the dilemma for lesbians the whole world over.
8. Mathematics.
a. Esp. with reference to integration or summation: (performed) at every point of; across the range of; on every member of.
ΚΠ
1863 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 153 27 Extending the integration over the ellipsoid-octant..and taking eight times the result, we have [etc.].
1885 H. W. Watson & S. H. Burbury Math. Theory Electr. & Magn. I. 91 The actual solution of this problem consists in the determination of a function V, the potential of the system, to satisfy the [following] conditions (1) V is constant over C; [etc.].
1931 G. A. Gibson Adv. Calculus ix. 265 The function F(x) is said to be integrable over the interval (a,b).
1936 Nature 16 May 825/2 Summation may be necessary over something like 1,800 points.
1981 A. D. Pierce Acoustics v. 232 The ΦS integration yields 2π; the wS integration can be replaced by one over R.
b. (Defined or expressed) in terms of (the elements of); esp. having coefficients or coordinates in, or having elements with coefficients or coordinates in.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > mathematics > in terms of (something) [preposition]
over1899
1899 Science 21 Apr. 588/1 To get a synectic function w(z) for D we take two single valued functions u(x,y), v(x,y) defined over D and such that for every point in D they [etc.].
1914 Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 15 31 The problem of primitive algebras is the chief outstanding problem in the theory of algebras over a field K.
1972 A. G. Howson Handbk. Terms Algebra & Anal. xi. 55 The polynomials form a subring..called the ring of polynomials over K.
1990 T. Petrie & J. Randall Connections, Definite Forms, & Four-manifolds iv. 42 Let E and F be f-vector bundles over a smooth manifold M.
III. Above in authority, degree, amount, etc.
9. Above in power, rank, or authority; (so as to be) in charge of, in a position to influence or govern. Also with verbs (and corresponding nouns) expressing conquest, victory, etc.
ΚΠ
eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) iii. i. 55 For þæm lytlan sige þe hie þa ofer hie hæfdon.
eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) ii. v. 108 Se hæfde rice ofer ealle Breotone buton Contwarum anum.
OE Blickling Homilies 35 Gif he nære soþ God ofer ealle gesceafta.
OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) xix. 19 Beo þu ofer fif ceastra.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 604 An hæfedd hird..wass. Abufenn alle þoþre. Alls iff itt wære laferrd flocc. Offr alle þoþre flokkess.
a1275 (?c1200) Prov. Alfred (Trin. Cambr.) (1955) 74 (MED) He [sc. Christ] is louird ouir lif.
c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Otho) 2932 And make we of houre feres fifti ferdes, and ouer eche ferde anne cheueteine.
c1390 Castle of Love (Vernon) (1967) 1112 (MED) Nou ouer þe nabbe I no mihte.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 116 Among planetis þe mone..haþ most power ouer disposicioun of mannes body.
a1425 Rule St. Benet (Lansd.) (1902) 4 (MED) Munkis..in cuuent es gadird for to liue in godis pais, vndir reul of dicipline, and a abbot ouir þam.
c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 53v (MED) Malancolie is a suspicioun hauynge lordschipe ouer the soule Y-gendrid of drede & sorowe.
a1500 ( J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. (Rawl.) (1898) 210 Neuer thou spare thyn enemy dedly, but..Show thy Victori ouer hym.
1558 J. Knox First Blast against Monstruous Regiment Women f. 38v I will not, that a woman haue authority, charge or power ouer man.
1611 Bible (King James) Psalms xii. 4 Who is Lord ouer vs? View more context for this quotation
1678 N. Wanley Wonders Little World v. ii. §83. 472/2 Over this Emperour the Christians were Victorious in..the Battel of Lepanto.
1709 R. Steele & J. Addison Tatler No. 147. ⁋3 Venus, the Deity who presides over Love.
1787 T. Jefferson Notes Virginia xvii, in Writings (1984) 285 Our rulers can have authority over such natural rights only as we have submitted to them.
1813 J. Austen Pride & Prejudice II. i. 4 Oh! that my dear mother had more command over herself. View more context for this quotation
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. i. 2 Ireland, cursed by the domination of race over race, and of religion over religion.
1896 Law Times Rep. 73 690/1 This court has no jurisdiction over the property in America.
1934 A. Tate Reactionary Ess. (1936) 93 The Platonic conquest of the world, the confident assertion of control over the forces of nature.
1960 C. Day Lewis Buried Day i. 17 At the election for the Oxford Chair of Poetry in 1951, I attribute my narrow victory over C. S. Lewis to a handful of aged voters.
2001 Wall St. Jrnl. 12 Jan. a1/6 Mr Bush presided over the first lengthy meeting of his new economic team.
10.
a. Above or beyond in degree, quality, or action; in preference to; more than; (also) as compared with.
ΚΠ
eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xviii. 133 Ðæt gold ðe is sua diorwyrðe ofer eall ondweorc.
OE Blickling Homilies 11 Lufian we urne Drihten..ofer ealle oþru þing.
OE tr. Orosius Hist. (Tiber.) (1980) i. v. 23 Ioseph, se þe gin[g]st wæs hys gebroðra & eac gleawra ofer hi ealle.
lOE King Ælfred tr. St. Augustine Soliloquies (Vitell.) (1922) i. 11 Þe anne ic lufige soðlice ofer æalle oðre þing.
lOE tr. R. d'Escures Sermo in Festis Sancte Marie Virginis in R. D.-N. Warner Early Eng. Homilies (1917) 21 Heo wæs þan Hælende to moder gecoren & þehhweðere gehealdene mægeðhade and gebletsod ofer ealle wifen.
a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 39 Þet þu luuie þine drihten ofer þin wif and ofer child and ofer alle eorðliche þing.
a1250 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 3 (MED) Þu ert briht & blisful ouer alle wummen, and god ðu ert & gode leof ouer alle wepmen.
a1300 (c1275) Physiologus (1991) 565 Crist..is faier ouer alle men.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 516 (MED) He so perles is preised ouer princes & oþer.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) Num. xii. 3 Moises forsoþe was most mylde man ouer alle men þat dweltyn on erþe.
a1400 Psalter (Vesp.) xviii. 11 in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1896) II. 151 (MED) Wele swetter to mannes wambe Ouer honi and þe kambe [L. super mel et favum].
a1450 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Lamb.) (1887) i. 10512 (MED) Þe Emperour of Rome..ouer hym [sc. Arthur] ne bar þe blome.
c1475 (a1400) Sir Amadace (Taylor) in J. Robson Three Early Eng. Metrical Romances (1842) 43 (MED) Wold thou luffe him aure alle thing, That wold the owte of thi mournyng bringe?
a1500 (?a1475) Guy of Warwick (Cambr. Ff.2.38) 799 (MED) Y the graunt ouyr all thynge My loue.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection i. sig. Ciiv He neuer suffreth man or woman to be tempted, ouer that they may resiste.
1650 J. Trapp Clavis to Bible (Deut. xvi. 10) 108 So good-cheap is Gods service to us, over what it was to them.
a1759 W. Collins in Trans. Royal Soc. Edinb. (1788) 1 ii. 73 But, O! o'er all, forget not Kilda's race.
1768 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued I. ii. 223 The advantage of virtue over vice and trifle does not lie in the very act, but in the consequences.
1813 J. Austen Pride & Prejudice III. xv. 268 I cannot help giving him the preference even over Wickham. View more context for this quotation
1840 R. W. Emerson in Dial Oct. 155 The least inequality of mixture, the excess of one element over the other..makes the world opaque to the observer.
1885 Dict. National Biogr. at Bromley, William John Smith..was chosen over Bromley by a majority of forty-three votes.
1948 G. Crowther Outl. Money (ed. 2) x. 352 Any excess of Saving over Investment produces disequilibrium.
1962 Ecology 43 444/1 We prefer cassini over the original, more cumbersome cassinii.
2000 A. Karlen Biogr. of Germ (2001) ii. 6 If I were to..choose a writer to bring back from the past for an evening's conversation, I would pick John Aubrey over John Milton.
b. In a position of having exceeded (a numerical limit).
ΚΠ
1802 T. Jefferson Let. 20 Feb. in P. L. Ford Writings (1897) VIII. 133 Virginia is greatly over her due proportion of appointments in the general government.
1882 Nature 9 Nov. 47/1 Mr. Minty..being over the statutable age, was not eligible for a scholarship.
1925 Amer. Mercury Feb. 176/2 Every man over the age of forty should put aside a certain amount of money each year.
1966 Daily Tel. 11 Aug. 26/6 Attempting to drive while over the 80 mg/100 ml. limit.
1992 H. Glennerster Paying for Welfare (BNC) 76 Increasing grants during the year if prices rose or wage settlements reached were over the original target.
c. English regional (midlands). Than.
ΚΠ
1804 J. Duncumb Coll. Hist. County Hereford in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1903) IV. 382/2 This thing is far better over that.
a1903 J. W. Burgon in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1903) IV. 382/2 [Bedfordshire] I am better over you.
d. to have it (also something, etc.) over (a person): to have an advantage over; to be superior to (a person).
ΚΠ
1917 S. Merwin Temperamental Henry 31 He had it all over the banjo-strumming Thomas P. of the unpleasantly rasping voice.
1941 Punch 9 Apr. 341/1 It has never been finally worked out which system is the more disappointing, but it is generally admitted that each has something over the other.
1962 J. Braine Life at Top x. 122 I wasn't Mark, I never could be Mark; but there at least I had it over him.
1963 M. McCarthy Group iii. 63 The Tribune's typography has it all over the Times's.
11.
†a. In addition to, further than; beyond, besides. Cf. over adv. 10. Obsolete. over this, overthat [corresponding to classical Latin praetereā (see preterea n.)] : moreover.
ΚΠ
eOE Laws of Ælfred (Corpus Cambr. 173) Introd. xxxii. 38 Se þe godgeldum onsecge ofer God anne, swelte se deaðe.
OE West Saxon Gospels: Mark (Corpus Cambr.) vii. 12 Ofer þæt ge ne lætað hine ænig þing don his fæder oððe meder.
c1175 ( in A. O. Belfour 12th Cent. Homilies in MS Bodl. 343 (1909) 52 Ne ecæ þu þa synne ofer synne.
c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 180 Þe þe is o rode..wendeð scheome to menske & wa in to wunne & ofearneð for þi hure ouer hure.
c1385 G. Chaucer Knight's Tale 2850 And ouer al this, yet seyde he muchel moore.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) 311 And ouyr þat [a1400 Trin. Cambr. ouer þis] him seluen wroght All thinges quen þat þai war noght.
a1425 (?c1384) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 356 (MED) It were for to wite, over þis, how popis ȝyven þes beneficis.
a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 114 (MED) Somme..þat were wont to pay to his lorde for his tenement..a scute, payith nowe to the kynge ouer þat scute v scutes.
1509 in R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. (1886) I. 477 And ouerthat the saide Provost and scolers covenaunteth and bindeth theym and their successours.
1577 R. Stanyhurst Treat. Descr. Irelande vii. f. 27/1, in R. Holinshed Chron. I Ouer hys exacte knowledge in the common lawes, he was a good oratour.
1592 W. West Symbolæogr.: 1st Pt. §103 C And ouer this the said H. M. for him..doth couenant..that he [etc.].
b. over and besides, over and beyond. Now somewhat formal.See also over and above prep. 2.
ΚΠ
c1443 R. Pecock Reule of Crysten Religioun (1927) 18 (MED) An oþer soort is of hem which ouer and bisidis and wiþ the reding and studiyng in þe bible..admitten, receyuen, and allowen þe reding, studiyng, and vse of oþere bookis.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 281 Preestis..haue..immovable godis..ouer and biȝonde þe xlviij citees and the suburbis of pasturis.
c1533 T. Cranmer Let. 8 Oct. in Remains (1833) I. 58 Over and besides the xvili. with iiiili. more.
1587 in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1827) 2nd Ser. III. 130 The College cannot possibly defray its ordinary expenses without some other help, over and beyond the ordinary revenues.
1607 R. C. tr. H. Estienne World of Wonders 44 Ouer and besides those which they kept at home.
1659 H. L'Estrange Alliance Divine Offices 25 Over and besides the Canonical Scriptures.
1711 Act 10 Anne c. 6 At which Conventicle Assembly or Meeting there shall be Ten Persons or more assembled together over and besides those of the same Houshold.
1874 A. Trollope Lady Anna II. xlvii. 303 So that she might have one bridesmaid over and beyond those provided by the Yoxham aristocracy.
1916 Amer. Jrnl. Sociol. 22 42 These figures..are based on information over and beyond that which has been revealed in court.
1943 Philos. & Phenomenol. Res. 3 318 Pain does not have these qualities, or indeed, any character over and besides its simple painfulness.
1991 P. P. Craig Admin. Law (BNC) 205 The utility of the administrative, judicial, executive, legislative distinctions over and beyond this is difficult to perceive.
†12. Beyond the limitations of (a person's strength, capacity, etc.). Obsolete.
ΚΠ
OE Ælfric's Colloquy (1991) 42 Ualde profunde loqueris et ultra etatem nostram protrahis sermonem : þearle deoplice sprycst & ofer mæþe ure þu forþtyhst spræce.
c1175 ( Ælfric's Homily on Nativity of Christ (Bodl. 343) in A. O. Belfour 12th Cent. Homilies in MS Bodl. 343 (1909) 80 Ne ongin þu to asmeaȝene ofer þine meðe embe þa mycele deopnesse.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 170 (MED) He ne þoleþ þet no vyend ous uondy ouer oure miȝte.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) 2 Cor. i. 8 Ouer maner we ben greuyd aboue vertu [L. supra virtutem].
c1429 Mirour Mans Saluacioune (1986) l. 793 Sho was ouer, craft to telle, humble, pie and devoute.
13. In excess of, above, more than (a stated amount or number).over the odds: see odds n. 5e.
ΚΠ
OE Byrhtferð Enchiridion (Ashm.) (1995) i. ii. 34 Gyf þær byð an ofer þa seofon.
lOE Laws of Æðelstan (Rochester) ii. i. 150 Ærest þæt mon ne sparige nænne þeof þe æt hæbbendre honda gefongen sy, ofer xii winter & ofer eahta peningas.
c1175 ( Homily: Hist. Holy Rood-tree (Bodl. 343) (1894) 2 On þare æfteræ nihte ne durstlæhte he hine þær to ræstene for þam wundre þe he þer iseah, ac ferde þa ðonen ofer ane mile.
c1300 (?c1225) King Horn (Laud) (1901) 332 (MED) Þei Horn were..Hanne ouer a þousond mile, Ne schulde ich him bigile.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 1420 For scrið ne mede ne wold he ðor Ouer on nigt drechen nummor.
a1400 in K. W. Engeroff Untersuchung ‘Usages of Winchester’ (1914) 54 (MED) Euerich chaloun ouer þre ellen of lengþe out of a-syse be forfeted.
1403 in F. C. Hingeston Royal & Hist. Lett. Reign Henry IV (1860) I. 158 (MED) I have nought ylafte with me over two men.
1440 in A. H. Thompson Visitations Relig. Houses Diocese Lincoln (1927) III. 350 We enioyne yow..that ye gyfe no sustere of yours lefe to byde wythe thaire frendes..ouere thre dayes.
a1500 Rule Minoresses in W. W. Seton Two 15th Cent. Franciscan Rules (1914) 98 (MED) It schal be þan ordeynid how many persones may þer putte inne ouer the nombre of olde time.
1519 Sir T. Boleyn in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1824) 1st Ser. I. 147 His realme was to hym six millions yerely, and over that, in value.
1640 T. Fuller Joseph's Coat 173 Had Naaman washed..under or over seven times, would so small a matter have broken any squares?
1660 R. Sharrock Hist. Propagation & Improvem. Veg. 18 By that means you shall gain a year in the growing, over that you should doe if you sowed it the next spring.
1816 J. Austen Emma II. iii. 53 It had not been over five minutes, when in came Harriet. View more context for this quotation
1856 E. B. Kelly Autobiogr. 26 I won over one hundred and fifty dollars.
1896 Law Times Rep. 73 615/1 A distance of over 700 yards.
1910 Contemp. Rev., Suppl. Nov. 11 Two of these ruffians shot over fifty of the rare antelope called Speke's tragelaph.
1948 J. Rosenberg Rembrandt ii. 52 These studies are done on small panels, not over ten inches in height.
1991 Argus (Cape Town) 16 Apr. 10/3 We were confronted by a veritable minefield of over 80 commercial crayfish traps.
IV. Across (above, or on a surface).
14.
a. With reference to motion: so as to traverse or cross (an obstacle, tract of land, etc.); above (something) on the way to the other side; over, across. Also: across and down; down from the edge of. Also in figurative context.Also used with reference to the carrying of a sound across something.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement over, across, through, or past > [preposition] > over on the way to the other side
overeOE
eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xiii. 77 Ðylæs he ofer ðone ðerscold his endebyrdnesse stæppe.
OE King Ælfred tr. Psalms (Paris) (2001) xvii. 28 Ic utgange ofer minre burge weall.
lOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Bodl.) xxxvi. 105 Þæt ic mæg fliogan ofer þone hean hrof þæs heofones.
c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 194 Þe hulles þe beoð lahre..he ouerleapeð..His schadewe lanhure ouergeað & wrið ham hwil he leapeð ouer ham.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) 4697 Ouer þene wal heo clumben.
c1330 Sir Orfeo (Auch.) (1966) 578 (MED) Ouer & ouer þe bord he þrewe & fel adoun to his fet; So dede euerich lord þat þer sete.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 2191 (MED) Þei..sewed him fast, ouer mountaynes & mires.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll.) 210 Sir Idres..pulde up her brydyls and halowed over that champayne.
c1475 (c1399) Mum & Sothsegger (Cambr. Ll.4.14) (1936) iv. 82 Þey had be þrowe ouere þe borde backewarde ichonne.
a1500 (?a1400) Morte Arthur (1903) 1369 Saw I not... The knyght whan thou with poyson sloughe, And..My-selfe ouer the bord hym droughe.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. I. vii. 152 He lept ouer the table and plucked that theefe by the heare of the head to the ground.
1582 Deposition (Dartington, Devon) in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 125 Before this deponent was past downe over the stayres he heard the chamber dore made fast.
1627 R. Sanderson Ten Serm. 404 Like an vnruly Coult, that will ouer hedge and ditch.
1652 J. Lamont Diary (1830) 51 The cart wheele went ouer his breast.
1670 S. Wilson Lassels's Voy. Italy (new ed.) i. 215 That side which throwes, or strikes the Ballon ouer the rayles of the other side, winns the day.
1704 London Gaz. No. 4008/2 Others climbed over the Walls by the help of some Rope-Ladders.
1755 Session Papers in Sc. National Dict. (1965) VI. at Ower I cannot get over the Bed to do it, but put you it in the Fire.
1808 Z. M. Pike Acct. Exped. Sources Mississippi i. App. 50 Springs which form small cascades as they tumble over the cliffs.
1843 Fraser's Mag. 28 230 The sun is peering over the roofs.
1853 C. Dickens Bleak House xviii. 181 She turned..and spoke to him over her shoulder again.
1967 A. Carter Magic Toyshop v. 101 Finn helped her over a fallen-tree stump.
2002 Mandala Mar. 68/2 We walked over the ridge behind our flowery glade to inspect the ruins of a nunnery.
b. Cricket. Of a mode of delivery: with the bowling arm nearest to (the bowler's wicket). Chiefly in over the wicket (contrasted with round the wicket at round prep. 4b). Cf. bowl v.1 4b.
ΚΠ
1854 J. Pycroft Cricket Field (ed. 2) xi. 265 Any round-armed bowler (who does not bowl ‘over the wicket’).
1919 Times 11 July 5/6 Mr W. N. Powys delivered the ball with the left hand, over the wicket.
1955 Times 9 May 15/1 Goddard opened the bowling with him, left arm over the wicket at a gentle medium pace.
2002 Herald Sun (Melbourne) (Nexis) 13 Sept. 105 Malik was hit on the pads by left-arm paceman Chaminda Vaas bowling over the wicket.
†15. figurative. In transgression or violation of; in contravention of; contrary to. Obsolete.Ouer in ouer unwille ( Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (c1275) 347) has been plausibly explained as the 1st or 2nd plural possessive pronoun: see Ess. & Stud. (1937) 22 101.
ΚΠ
eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) vi. xxxv. 153 On þæm dagum gecuron Brettanie Maximianus him to casere ofer his willan.
eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) ii. xvi. 148 Se æfter fæce from him..unrihtlice ofslegen wæs ofer aðas and treowe.
OE Blickling Homilies 91 Þa þing þe we ær ofor his bebod gedydon.
lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 1015 [Eadmund] genam þæt wif ofer þes cynges willan.
c1225 (?c1200) Sawles Warde (Bodl.) (1938) 20 (MED) Na flesches licunge ne licomlich este bringe me ouer þe midel of mesure.
a1350 in R. H. Robbins Hist. Poems 14th & 15th Cent. (1959) 28 Þe knaue..is al for-laped ant lad ouer lawe.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) i. 13 Ouer manere I pursuwide the chirche of God, and fauȝte aȝens it.
c1400 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 392 Freris..bynden hom ouver þo comaundementis of God.
c1443 R. Pecock Reule of Crysten Religioun (1927) 286 (MED) To whom euer y may bere me streit justly..y may bere me habundauntly ouer þis streitnes of justise, and y may wille and do to hym good ouer þis seid streiȝt riȝt.
c1475 tr. A. Chartier Quadrilogue (Univ. Coll. Oxf.) (1974) 201 (MED) [We] abuse and maynteyne oure estates ouere that that mesure yiveth vs.
a1500 (a1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 347 (MED) In holdynge of oure haly-day..we schulde ocupie þe tyme in prechynge and preiynge..and ouer þis, many freris..tellen iapes or lesyngis & leeuen þe gospel.
1502 tr. Ordynarye of Crysten Men (de Worde) ii. i. sig. i.ii We may offende our neyghbour in desyrynge his goodes ouer reason & ayenst Iustyce.
16.
a. From side to side of (a surface or space); across, to the other side of (a sea, river, boundary, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > surface > along the surface of [preposition]
overeOE
alongeOE
afterOE
the world > space > direction > specific directions > [preposition] > across
overeOE
atour1423
thwart1470
athwart1598
across1626
eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) ii. iv. 44 Þa Cirus for ofer þæt londgemære, ofer þa ea þe hatte Araxis.
eOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Parker) anno 895 Þa forleton hie hie & eodon ofer land.
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xxii. 354 God hi lædde ofer þa readan sæ mid drium fotum.
OE West Saxon Gospels: Mark (Corpus Cambr.) v. 1 Ða comen hi ofer þære sæs muðan on þæt rice.
?a1160 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1140 On þis gære for se king Henri ouer sæ.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) 642 Eeuer heo drowen west & norð, ouer þen lac of Siluius, & ouer þen lac of Philisteus.
a1300 (c1275) Physiologus (1991) 234 If he fer fetchen fode & he ouer water ten, wile non at nede oðer flen, Oc on swimmeð bi forn & alle ðe odre folegen.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) Mark v. 1 Thei camen ouer [L. trans] the wawe of the see into the cuntree of Genazareth.
?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 32 Fra þis mount men gase ower a grete valay till anoþer grete mount.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll.) 27 They may..suffir you and youre oste to com over the passage.
a1500 (?a1400) Sir Torrent of Portyngale (1887) 1872 (MED) A Grype..bare her yong son Ouer a water fflood.
1589 J. White in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations 766 These sauages..beat his head in peeces, and fled ouer the water to the maine.
1603 R. Knolles Gen. Hist. Turkes 358 A great part of the Christian army..was speedily transported ouer the river.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 105 Thus o're th' Elean Plains, thy well-breath'd Horse Sustains the goring Spurs.
1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 76 It [sc. a cart] went directly over the Street also toward the Church.
1777 S. J. Pratt Liberal Opinions VI. cxxviii. 86 Gim me my daughter I say, or I'll send you over the herring-pond, take my word for't.
1822 W. Hazlitt Table-talk II. iii. 45 A girl who had ferried me over the Severn.
1885 Law Rep.: Queen's Bench Div. 14 918 The footpath ran over an open moor and was unfenced.
1936 J. Buchan Island of Sheep ii. 36 We had a peculiarly unpleasant walk over the crab grass.
1995 Guardian 25 May ii. 9/4 A good-time girl who cannot even haul herself over the road to vote.
b. Along (a channel of communication); by means of, through the medium of (a telephone, a radio or television broadcast, the internet, etc.).
ΚΠ
1847 Sci. Amer. 11 Sept. 405/3 A message was received at New York on Saturday, over the telegraph wires, from Montreal.
1869 Galaxy July 116 A telegraph sent to New Orleans..by one of Commodore Foster's subordinates..over the inland line.
1899 Pall Mall Mag. Mar. 326 A report has come over the wire that [etc.].
1928 E. Blunden Undertones of War iv. 43 Persons who, speaking over the field telephones, gave away any information at all..would be court-martialled.
1929 Radio Times 8 Nov. 387 ‘Pickwick’, and other such novels, should be read serially over the microphone.
1958 Times 8 Jan. 6/7 After warnings in Kikuyu had been given over a loudhailer and ignored.
1967 S. Terkel Division Street vii. 168 Twice in my lifetime I cried to her over the phone.
2002 Time Out N.Y. 9 May 170/1 Webcasters were bound to have to pay something for playing recorded music over the Net.
17.
a. Of position: on the other side of; across.
ΚΠ
eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) i. i. 13 Be norþan him ofer þa westenne is Cwenland.
OE tr. Orosius Hist. (Tiber.) (1980) i. i. 19 Se ðridda [lið] norðwest..ongean Scotland ofer ðone sæs earm.
OE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Cambr. Univ. Libr.) i. xi. 50 Þæt hi Seaxna þeode ofer þam sælicum dælum him on fultum gecygdon.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 165v He [sc. a mountain] is in þe bak of þe londes of fenix..and streccheþ ouer Jordan anoone to..the londe of seon kynge A moreys.
a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) 6111 (MED) An ermyte woned fer ouer a doune.
a1450 York Plays (1885) 339 (MED) I haue bene garre make Þis crosse..Of þat laye ouere þe lake.
1517 R. Torkington Oldest Diarie Englysshe Trav. (1884) 64 Ovyr the watyr on the other syd,..ys the yle of Cecyll.
a1586 Peblis to Play in W. A. Craigie Maitland Folio MS (1919) I. 177 Quhen þai wer our the wald.
1615 in H. M. Paton Accts. Masters of Wks. (1957) I. 364 To Robert Holme for feching ane maissoun from ovir the watter.
1691 R. Ames Last Search after Claret 1 He fancied it would be no difficult Matter, To meet with some Special just over the Water.
c1737 H. Walpole Let. in Lett. to G. Montagu (1818) 9 A dame over the way, that has just locked in her boarders.
1769 T. Gray Let. 24 June in Corr. (1971) III. 1066 I have a bed over the way offer'd me at 3 half-crowns a night.
1833 C. Williams Fall River iii. 41 It will be more convenient to meet me at the Methodist meeting house in Somersett just over the ferry.
1897 H. James Spoils of Poynton vi. 115 On finding that her destination was only over the way he dismissed his vehicle.
1967 Connecticut Hist. Soc. Ann. Rep. 33 Watrous was a toy manufacturer in Andover in 1869, though actually his shop was just over the line in North Coventry.
1994 I. Welsh Acid House 208 You can move intae ma room, over the road with Simmy and Cliff.
b. Having reached the end of (an experience, esp. an adverse one); having recovered from. Also colloquial: no longer preoccupied with or troubled in respect of (a former lover, sweetheart, etc.).See also to get over —— 1c at get v. Phrasal verbs 2.
ΚΠ
1863 A. Trollope Small House at Allington in Cornhill Mag. Sept. 275 On that day Lily was over the worst of the fever.
1894 ‘L. Keith’ 'Lisbeth ii, in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1903) IV. 382/2 One of the women can do it for you when they're over the throng of their work.
1929 ‘S. N. D.’ Sir W. Howard, Visct. Stafford iii. 29 He was in England, just over an illness, and straitened for lack of money in the autumn of 1646.
1953 M. Traynor Eng. Dial. Donegal 204/2 He's over the heavy part of the work now.
1964 L. Deighton Funeral in Berlin xviii. 109 Finally there is not being in love and liking that—you are over it then—cured.
1985 ‘A. T. Ellis’ Unexplained Laughter 44 I'm over Finn..I was upset for a while, but I don't seem to care any more.
c. colloquial (originally U.S.). Weary of or no longer wanting to deal with (something, esp. in one's current circumstances); reluctant to engage or persist with (an ongoing situation). Frequently with it, as in I'm over it. Sometimes difficult to distinguish from sense A. 17b, but this usage typically refers to present rather than past predicaments.
ΚΠ
1974 Newsweek 28 Oct. 14/2 I think it's funny that I've earned my fame and fortune by becoming a widow... But I want to get off this trip now—I'm over it.
1995 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 2 Apr. 47/5 Isaac Mizrahi, a ringmaster among [fashion] designers, is deliberately playing down the showmanship this season... ‘I'm over the whole chaotic, uncivilized mess—people don't absorb what they see and the collection itself gets lost on a giant runway.’
2021 @Hdz1Efren 8 June in twitter.com (accessed 15 June 2021) Barely the second week of summer class and i'm over it.
V. Of time.Examples in the sense ‘in excess of, more than’ as applied to time are included with other examples at sense A. 13.
18. After; beyond in time. Now rare (English regional (East Anglian) in later use).
ΚΠ
eOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Parker) anno 878 Her hiene bestęl se here on midne winter ofer tuel[f]tan niht to Cippanhamme.
OE Charter: Bp. Eadnoð to Beorhtnoð (Sawyer 1387) in A. S. Napier & W. H. Stevenson Crawford Coll. Early Charters & Documents (1895) 9 Ic gesealde hym ane gyrde landes to underwedde be cridian to þam forewerdon, þæt he hæbbe his dæg, & ofer his dæg becweðe þone sceat þam þe him leofost beo þe on þam lande stent.
OE Ælfric Old Eng. Hexateuch: Gen. (Claud.) iii. 8 He eode on neorxnawange ofer midne dæg.
lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 1101 Se eorl syððan oð ðet ofer sancte Michaeles mæsse her on lande wunode.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. xxxviii. 26 Sche is more riȝtwis þann I, for I haue not taken here to Sela my sonn, & neuer þe later ouer [L. ultra] þat tyme he knewȝ here not.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) 15944 Bi þis tyme hit was past ouer mydnyȝ & more.
?c1430 (c1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 57 Ȝif þe salt be fonnyd, it is not worthi ouer þis but ȝif it be to be cast out & be defoulid of men.
a1450 (?a1300) Richard Coer de Lyon (Caius) (1810) 5949 Ovyr this ilke dayes thre, Myself schal thy bane be.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 2 Chron. x. 5 Come to me agayne ouer thre dayes.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 265 He ertid to an end egurly fast, Þat no tarying shuld tyde ouer a tyme set.
1581–2 in J. Maidment Chron. Perth (1831) 54 They had drunken out the ale that was left over Maiges fathers supper.
a1903 in Eng. Dial. Dict. 382/2 [Mid-Essex] Sir, we shall want some hay over a few days.
19.
a. Throughout the whole period of; all through. Now only in overnight adv. 1.
ΚΠ
eOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Parker) anno 855 Her hęþne men ærest on Sceapige ofer winter sætun.
OE Ælfric De Temporibus Anni (Cambr. Gg.3.28) ix. §7. 68 He went abutan hwilon up, hwilon adune, ofer dæg, & ofer niht.
lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1123 Ða ferde se kyng þenen to Portesmuðe, & læi þære eall ofer Pentecoste wuce.
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) iii. 4317 (MED) Þe faire of chaunge lasteth ouer ȝere, But it is foly for to byen to dere Þilke tresour.
c1450 (c1400) Julian of Norwich Revelations Divine Love: Shorter Version (1978) 70 (MED) Man lengthes his pacyence owere the tyme of his lyffynge for vnknawynge of his tyme of passynge.
a1475 Liber Cocorum (Sloane) (1862) 33 (MED) To save venysone fresshe over þe ȝer.
a1580 Chron. Fortirgall in C. Innes Black Bk. Taymouth (1855) 147 Be drynking of vyne owyr nyght.
a1600 ( W. Stewart tr. H. Boece Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) I. 22 Withoutin tarie ouir nycht ouir day To Spanȝe lande tha tuke the narrest way.
b. In postmodifying position, in the same sense. Chiefly with all, the whole, or the like. Now rare.In the temporal use, over, being appended to a phrase which is itself an adverbial adjunct, may with equal propriety be viewed as an adverb; cf. ‘he works in the field all day’, with ‘he sings at his work all day over’, i.e. all day from beginning to end. Cf. sense A. 7d. [In later use probably after colloquial German constructions with über, as das ganze Jahr über all through the year.]
ΚΠ
1423 in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 135 (MED) We presente William Emery for leynge of dong in the hye wey all the ȝere ouer.
?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 71 He gert his men wake all þe nyght ouer.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 12530 There he lay..the long night ouer, Till the derke was done.
1572 (a1500) Taill of Rauf Coilȝear (1882) 330 Ane thousand, and ma, of fensabill men War wanderand all the nicht ouir.
a1692 R. Kirk in R. J. Stewart Walker between Worlds (1990) 37 Not unlike to the faint life of bees and some sort of birds, that sleep all the winter over and revive in the spring.
1701 J. Brand Brief Descr. Orkney, Zetland 101 All the night over.
1904 N.E.D. (at cited word) I remained the whole day over near the spot. Some persons bathe in the Serpentine daily all the year over.
1991 Re: Potatoes! in soc.culture.german (Usenet newsgroup) 24 Aug. Cultivated strawberries are today available all the year over.
c. In the course of, during.Often used after verbs allowing of a spatial rather than a temporal interpretation; cf. senses A. 6b, A. 16a.
ΚΠ
1825 L. Aikin Mem. in A. L. Barbauld Wks. I. p. xxxv When the productions of a writer extend over so long a period as nearly sixty years, they become in some measure the record of any age.
1866 Rural Amer. (Utica, N.Y.) 15 Mar. 88/1 [It] ripens its fruit over a long period.
1895 Law Times Rep. 72 817/1 The case is governed by a line of authorities extending over a century.
1951 G. Greene End of Affair i. vi. 36 Over twenty years I have probably averaged five hundred words a day for five days a week.
1969 L. P. Ullmann & L. Krasner Psychol. Approach Abnormal Behavior ii. xxi. 417/1 A person may gradually progress from hypomania to delirious mania over time.
2002 Times 12 Sept. i. 2/6 It would be virtually impossible to bring out Green Goddesses and the armed forces for one or two days repeatedly over several weeks.
20. During or in the course of the (evening or night) preceding; on the preceding (evening or night). Now only in overnight adv. 2.
ΚΠ
a1450 in T. Austin Two 15th-cent. Cookery-bks. (1888) 20 (MED) Take fowre pounde of Almaundys & ley in Water ouer eue.
a1475 Liber Cocorum (Sloane) (1862) 51 (MED) Fyrst sly þy capon over þo nyȝght.
c1475 (c1399) Mum & Sothsegger (Cambr. Ll.4.14) (1936) iv. 55 (MED) Some had ysoupid with Symond ouere euen.
c1500 in F. J. Furnivall Gild of St. Mary, Lichfield (1920) 15 The days next folloyng that they haue monyshion by the bell-man ouer Evyn.
1528 W. Tyndale Obed. Christen Man f. xxxvv Otherwise are we desposed..over even, & other wise in the morninge: ye somtymes altered .vj. tymes in an howre.
21. Till the end of; (now esp.) for a period that includes.When the object is a named day or season, this sense is sometimes indistinguishable from use of over adv. 6a with the name as an adverbial adjunct. Cf. also over adv. 12b.
ΚΠ
1722 D. Defoe Moll Flanders 123 They did not expect that he could live over the next Night.
1777 J. Adams Let. 5 July in William & Mary Q. (1945) 2 255 Congress determined to adjourn over that day and to dine together.
1800 J. Plumptre Jrnl. in James Plumptre's Brit. (1992) 202 I went over on the Thursday and stai'd over Sunday at the Pub. House.
1806 J. Beresford Miseries Human Life I. vii. 167 To stay over the farce after a play.
1845 E. H. Noel tr. J. P. F. Richter Flower Pieces 79 If we only live over to-day.
1874 A. Trollope Phineas Redux I. xix. 153 I'm expected home to dinner, and I don't know much whether they'll like me to stop over Sunday.
1941 Jrnl. Negro Hist. 26 206 The session began Dec. 7, 1835, but the House adjourned over the first week-end, so that Dec. 16th was the seventh legislative day of the session.
1968 Brit. Jrnl. Psychiatry 114 1015/2 G.W. aged 43..took entire supply of tablets on day of discharge, had to be washed out and kept over the weekend.
1992 Daily Mirror (BNC) Staff..volunteered to work over the bank holiday to prepare special oxygen machines to be flown out next week.
†B. conj.
Above or beyond what. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1450 J. Fastolf in Paston Lett. & Papers (2005) III. 84 The world ys chaunged gretely ouer it was.
1628 R. Sanderson Two Serm. Paules-Crosse 105 Natural Conscience..will boggle now & then at a very small matter in comparison, ouer it will doe at some other times.
1644 J. Milton Areopagitica 20 What advantage is it to be a man over it is to be a boy at school?

Compounds

With the and noun, forming attributive adjectives.
over-the-head adj.
ΚΠ
1978 Shakespeare Q. 29 254/2 As strenuously athletic a set-to as has perhaps ever been seen: complete with karate chops, knees to the mid-section and full, over-the-head throws.
1986 B. R. David Mark Twain & his Illustrators I. v. 239 With buttons extending only about one-third of the way from neck to waist, so that access would have to be by an over-the-head maneuver.
over-the-horizon adj.
ΚΠ
1957 Sci. Monthly July (front matter) (advt.) He and his associates..drew up requirements for the first over-the-horizon UHF transmission system.
2001 N.Y. Times 17 May a12/6 The Chinese do not have an over-the-horizon target system that is capable of hitting U.S. forces.
over-the-shoulder adj.
ΚΠ
1929 Times 21 Jan. 5/1 W. Roberts..was poorly supported and forced to hazard an over-the-shoulder pass at a venture.
1977 Club Tennis Mar. 16/1 (advt.) Take my over-the-shoulder shots, for instance.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2004; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

> see also

also refers to : over-prefix
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n.1eOEn.31591adj.n.2eOEv.OEadv.int.eOEprep.conj.eOE
see also
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