superimposev.
/ˌsuːp(ə)rᵻmˈpəʊz/, /ˌsjuːp(ə)rᵻmˈpəʊz/, U.S. /ˌsup(ə)rᵻmˈpoʊz/ 1.
a. transitive. Usually with on, over, upon. To impose, place, or lay (something, now esp. an image) on, over, or on top of something else, typically so that both are still evident.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > tax > taxation > levy (a tax) [verb (transitive)] > tax (a person or thing) > additionally
superimpose1611
surtax1906
the world > space > relative position > high position > position upon > be upon (something) [verb (transitive)] > place (a thing) upon
onlayOE
overlayOE
to put ona1382
overcast?a1400
dight1572
superimpose1712
superposit1742
superpose1798
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Superimposer. To superimpose, surcharge;..to lay new impositions on things alreadie taxed.
1712 tr. J. Ozanam Elements of Euclid i. 22 in Cursus Mathematicus I. To superimpose the lesser Line on the greater.
1823 H. J. Brooke Familiar Introd. Crystallogr. 291 The first plate of molecules which is superimposed on the primary plane.
1854 J. Hogg Microscope ii. ii. 106 Producing a mixture of all the colours by superimposing three films, one on the other.
1892 Photogr. Ann. II. 211 One thickness of ruby paper with one thickness of orange paper superimposed.
1922 Times 6 Mar. 23/1 The ensign is a..red flag with a red star..bordered with white, superimposed on a blue anchor in the centre.
1996 F. Popcorn & L. Marigold Clicking ii. 267 A black-and-white photo of two little girls superimposed over a four-color picture of two grown women.
2002 S. Brett Torso in Town (2003) xi. 89 They had panelled over the old brick walls and wooden beams, and superimposed on to this a structure of false beams.
b. transitive. In passive with on, upon. Geology. Of a stratum, formation, or feature: to be deposited or formed directly on top of another. Cf. superimposed adj. 1b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > formation of features > sedimentation > [verb (transitive)] > stratify
stratify1794
superimpose1794
1794 R. Kirwan Elements Mineral. (ed. 2) I. 362 These sandstones have been found crystallized in rhomboidal tables superimposed one upon the other.
1802 J. Playfair Illustr. Huttonian Theory 88 The schistus was not super-imposed on the granite, after the formation of this last.
1863 C. Lyell Geol. Evid. Antiq. Man iii. 43 Four buried forests superimposed one upon the other.
1906 Science 10 Aug. 164/2 These whitish streaks are superimposed upon, and therefore later than, many of the craters and markings over which they spread.
1940 Geogr. Rev. 30 634 Usually a stream and its valley decrease in size from mouth to source, except where superimposed on resistant strata.
2005 M. Seppälä Physical Geogr. Fennoscandia (2008) iii. 52/2 In areas below the highest marine limit clay was superimposed on the eskers during the time it was submerged.
2. transitive. figurative. To cause (something) to follow after and coexist with something else. Usually with on (also upon).
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > simultaneity or contemporaneousness > be simultaneous with [verb (transitive)] > make simultaneous or contemporary
contemporize1646
superimpose1796
synchronize1806
1796 E. Darwin Zoonomia II. 321 That superior faculty [of man]..which has..superimposed the works of art on the situations of nature.
1837 W. Crawford & W. Russell 7 Apr. in Extracts from Second Rep. Inspectors of Prisons (Great Brit. Home Office) 5 Here are many punishments, superimposed upon that to which the prisoner was originally sentenced.
1879 J. Earle Philol. Eng. Tongue (ed. 3) vii. 317 This diminutival form -et, -ette, was in old French often superimposed upon the effete diminutival -el.
1889 Spectator 28 Sept. 395/2 Superimposed on them are the Spaniards, and next to these the Italian, Swedish, English, and German settlers.
1941 A. C. Bouquet Compar. Relig. ix. 168 Religion..is much more than a belief or theory superimposed upon a neutral system of social life.
2002 I. G. Strachan Paradise & Plantation v. 220 A surface adoption of European culture superimposed on a stronger, foundational African life view.
3. transitive. To place in a superior rank or position; to impose (an authority) on or over someone or something.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > office > appointment to office > appoint a person to an office [verb (transitive)] > appoint over another
setc1000
preposea1492
superimpose1844
1844 Brit. & Foreign Rev. 16 9 Some..principle..which superimposes a higher authority and puts a limit to the freedom of speculation.
1902 W. L. Mathieson Polit. & Relig. Scotl. II. xviii. 193 Their object had been to superimpose on the Presbyterian organisation certain officials.
1966 J. M. Gutman Colonial Venture 192 Superimposing a governor appointed by a Catholic..caused the colony to rise up in arms.
2004 R. Gibson Best of Enemies (ed. 2) i. 4 In his view, the Normans superimposed on England a French dynasty, French nobility,..and a French-speaking ruling, writing and trading class.
4. intransitive. Of figures, shapes, graphs, etc.: to be, or be capable of being, brought into coincidence; to occupy the same positions in relation to their contexts.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > high position > position upon > be upon something [verb (intransitive)] > be superimposed
superimpose1881
1881 Eng. Mech. 18 Nov. 263/2 The advantage is that the slides always come so that they superimpose properly.
1911 A. B. Reeve Poisoned Pen viii. 234 Even if they [sc. suspect signatures] are tracings they are remarkably fine work. It certainly is a fact, however, that they superimpose.
1953 Jrnl. Criminal Law, Criminol. & Police Sci. 44 388 We usually notice a very slight slipping of the original with regard to its carbon copy, which causes the two documents to superimpose perfectly only in the adjacent regions.
1975 Nature 10 Jan. 127/1 The sheets could then superimpose, forming the observed structures.
2001 F. A. Morrison Understanding Rheol. vi. 188 Shifting the data vertically until the zero-shear values line up, and..shifting horizontally on the shear-rate axis until the curves superimpose.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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