soverchio

See also: soverchiò

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /soˈvɛr.kjo/
• Rhymes: -ɛrkjo
• Hyphenation: so‧vèr‧chio

Etymology 1

From Vulgar Latin *superculum. Compare Sicilian superchiu.

Alternative forms

• soperchio, superchio (obsolete)

Adjective

soverchio (feminine soverchia, masculine plural soverchi, feminine plural soverchie) (literary)

1. excessive, overwhelming, over-

   Synonyms: eccessivo, esagerato

   • 1336–1374, Francesco Petrarca, “LXXIII — Poi che per mio destino”, in Il Canzoniere, lines 4–8; republished as Daniele Ponchiroli, editor, Turin: publ. Giulio Einaudi, 1964:

     Amor ch’ a ciò m’invoglia,
     Sia la mia scorta e ’nsegnimi ’l cammino,
     E col desio le mie rime contempre;
     Ma non in guisa che lo cor si stempre
     Di soverchia dolcezza […]

     May Love, who creates my longing, be my guide, and show me the road, and let my verse match my desire: but not so that the heart may be out of tune through overwhelming sweetness

2. superfluous

   Synonym: superfluo

Derived terms

• soverchiamente
• soverchiare

Related terms

• sopra
• soverchiatore
• soverchieria

Noun

soverchio m (uncountable) (literary)

1. excess

   Synonym: eccesso

   • mid 1300s–mid 1310s, Dante Alighieri, “Canto XXV”, in Inferno [Hell]‎^[1], lines 127–129; republished as Giorgio Petrocchi, editor, La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata [The Commedia according to the ancient vulgate]‎^[2], 2^nd revised edition, Florence: publ. Le Lettere, 1994:

     ciò che non corse in dietro e si ritenne
     di quel soverchio, fé naso a la faccia
     e le labbra ingrossò quanto convenne.

     What did not backward run and was retained of that excess made to the face a nose, and the lips thickened far as was befitting.

2. abuse, oppression

   Synonyms: sopraffazione, soverchieria

Adverb

soverchio

1. (literary) too, too much, excessively

   Synonyms: eccessivamente, (literary) soverchiamente, troppo

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

soverchio

1. first-person singular present indicative of soverchiare

Further reading

• soverchio in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana