oversit

English

Etymology

From Middle English oversitten (“to gain possession of”), from Old English ofersittan (“to occupy, possess; forbear”), from Proto-Germanic *uber (“over”) + *sitjaną (“to sit”), corresponding to over- +‎ sit.

Verb

oversit (third-person singular simple present oversits, present participle oversitting, simple past and past participle oversat)

1. to preside over, govern, rule; to control
2. to conquer, gain control or owndom of
   • 1903, Robert Smith Surtees, Handley Cross^[1]:

     Let me, however, entreat of you, above all things, to remember my ball, and do not let them oversit the thing so as not to get to it.

3. to grasp, comprehend; to understand
   • 2008, Joseph Hennaleigh, The Spirit of Morph Code^[2], ISBN 9780533156771:

     To Oversit Is to Understand

4. (archaic) to neglect, omit; to desist, refrain from, forbear
   • 1881, Thomas Edward Bridgett, History of the Holy Eucharist in Great Britain^[3]:

     And he greatly reproaches those who ' forget or oversit the time of housel,' […]

5. (archaic) to overstay, outstay, overlinger
6. (slang) to be misunderstood; to misread, misunderstand

   Nobody understands me, they all oversit me.

Noun

oversit (plural oversits)

1. governance, authority, possession, control
   • 1873, Adalbert Müller, Venice: her art-treasures and historical associations^[4]:

     Repeatedly ornamented and enriched in succeeding centuries, the church of St. Mark's was at first only the courtchapel of the Doge, who exercised an extensive patronage oversit, […]

   • 1926, Edward Montagu Montagu, Report on the manuscripts of the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry^[5]:

     Feveryere, who had the oversit of all the work.

Anagrams

• Treviso, treviso