overclose

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English[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English overclose, equivalent to over- +‎ close (adjective).

Adjective[edit]

overclose (comparative more overclose, superlative most overclose)

  1. In too great a proximity.
    • 2013, Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Grey Granite, →ISBN:
      She knew he was being only sensible, pity rather, and she said she was sorry, and they didn't stand overclose after that, the weight of the rain was seeping through the branches and now a great low gust of wind swept up the park, driving the soft ground spray in their faces.
  2. Having too great an emotional attachment.
    • 2012, Michael Jacobs, The Presenting Past:
      As the child grows older mother and child have to separate, a complex process in which both child and parent need to find the right balance between love and intimacy, without becoming overclose, sexual or incestuous.
  3. Lacking adequate ventilation; stuffy.
    • 1908, Charles Edward Green, D. Young, Encyclopædia of Agriculture:
      Cows are also more liable to congestion of the lungs and to tuberculosis than are other cattle. The former may be induced by being kept in overclose, hot, and badly ventilated houses, rendering them liable to chills when turned out; and there is no doubt tuberculosis is largely spread by the presence of infected animals in such houses.

Etymology 2[edit]

From Middle English overclosen, equivalent to over- +‎ close (verb).

Verb[edit]

overclose (third-person singular simple present overcloses, present participle overclosing, simple past and past participle overclosed)

  1. To close prematurely or excessively.
  2. (physics) To form a closed universe before it has attained its present age.