overstretchingn.
/ˌəʊvəˈstrɛtʃɪŋ/, U.S. /ˌoʊvərˈstrɛtʃɪŋ/ The action of stretching (something) excessively; an instance of this.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > expansion or enlargement > [noun] > distension > stretching > excessively
overstretching1589
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > misuse > [noun] > misapplication > stretching beyond proper limits
straining1528
overstretching1589
overstretch1749
1589 R. Greene Menaphon 9 He sooner killeth himselfe with the ouer-stretching of his windlesse bodie, than he wil cease from his intended enterprise.
1656 R. Sanderson 20 Serm. 14 The preheminence of a good name thus farr just, beware you make not unjust by over-stretching.
1676 R. Wiseman Severall Chirurg. Treat. i. xxi. 111 The Tumour was..gangrened by reason of the overstretching of the Skin.
1749 J. Cleland Mem. Woman of Pleasure I. 74 There was a great diversity of sizes in those parts, owing to nature, child-bearing, frequent over-stretching with unmerciful machines.
1846 Amer. Whig Rev. Aug. 166 If he has rushed into the contrary extreme..it has been an error produced by the overstretching of a noble principle.
1858 W. Taylor Calif. Life Illustr. 133 Such was the constant overstretching of mind and muscle, that a great many persons became deranged.
1912 H. James in Q. Rev. July Nothing could..be more interesting..than the impunity, on our poet's part, of most of these overstretchings of proportion, these violations of the immediate appearance.
1998 Muscle News No. 33. 33/4 Any minor overstretching can be the cause of Capsulitis.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1589