overbear
English
Etymology
From Middle English overberen; equivalent to over- + bear.
Pronunciation
- Lua error in Module:parameters at line 333: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "UK" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. IPA(key): /əʊvəˈbɛː/
Verb
overbear (third-person singular simple present overbears, present participle overbearing, simple past overbore, past participle overborne)
- (obsolete, transitive) To carry over. [10th-14th c.]
- (transitive) To push through by physical weight or strength; to overwhelm, overcome. [from 16th c.]
- c. 1390, Geoffrey Chaucer, ‘The Wife of Bath's Tale’, The Canterbury Tales, Penguin Classics, p. 287:
- I attacked first and they were overborne, / Glad to apologize and even suing / Pardon for what they'd never thought of doing.
- c. 1390, Geoffrey Chaucer, ‘The Wife of Bath's Tale’, The Canterbury Tales, Penguin Classics, p. 287:
- (transitive) To prevail over; to dominate, overpower; to oppress. [from 16th c.]
- 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, V.11:
- It often fals, in course of common life, / That right long time is overborne of wrong […].
- 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, V.11:
- (intransitive) To produce an overabundance of fruit. [from 18th c.]
Derived terms
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms prefixed with over-
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English transitive verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- English irregular verbs