superimposableadj.
/ˌsuːp(ə)rᵻmˈpəʊzəbl/, /ˌsjuːp(ə)rᵻmˈpəʊzəbl/, U.S. /ˌsupərᵻmˈpoʊzəb(ə)l/ Capable of being superimposed; that may be superimposed (in various senses of the verb).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > high position > position upon > [adjective] > placed upon > capable of being
superimposable1875
1875 Nature 30 Dec. 178/1 We have two terms for the group; first, a zoological ‘Coracomorphæ’; and second, a morphological ‘Œgithognathæ’; and these two groups are almost superimposable.
1925 Rep. Proc. Imperial Bot. Conf. 1924 41 Repeated examination in the same and different years of families derived from the same matings or selfings..gave rise to curves so similar as to be in many cases superimposable.
1979 Dædalus Summer 90 They are both interchangeable and superimposable.
1995 D. M. P. Mingos Essent. Inorg. Chem. 1 (1997) 53 If the mirror images of a molecule are non-superimposable then they form optical isomers.
2010 M. Schushan & N. Ben-Tal in H. Rangwala & G. Karypis Protein Struct. Methods & Algorithms 386 The overall architecture of the model and its structure were not superimposable.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1875