over-busyadj.
/ˌəʊvəˈbɪzi/, U.S. /ˌoʊvərˈbɪzi/ Excessively busy or occupied; interfering or obtrusively officious. Also (of a pattern, design, etc.): excessively elaborate or detailed.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > [adjective] > excessively
over-busya1425
over-busied1644
busy-busy1900
a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) 1095 (MED) I hald þat man noght witty Þat about þe world is over bysy.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 377 (MED) He mai avorthi forto lese ynouȝ and haue ynouȝ, rather than for to be ouer bisi and ouer thouȝtful forto kepe and saue al.
1593 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia i. 6 We are now come to pay the rent, for which we are so called vnto by ouer-busie Remembrance.
1617 J. Woodall Surgions Mate 71 I wish young Artists not to bee ouer-busie in..raising the fractured Cranium.
a1641 R. Montagu Acts & Monuments (1642) 264 She should doe well, not to be over-busie in matters that concerned her not.
1653 Duchess of Newcastle Poems & Fancies sig. A6v There may be Faults committed with being over-busie, as soon as for want of Diligence.
1770 J. Langhorne & W. Langhorne tr. Plutarch Lives (1879) II. 764/1 A troublesome and overbusy man.
1859 E. C. Gaskell Lett. (1966) 546 If Papa gets over~busy; & not talkable as to-day!
1869 Harper's Mag. Feb. 377/1 A good story is told..of the manner in which Hall once rebuked one of these overbusy interlopers.
1885 Harper's Mag. May 940/1 Aalborg is not an overbusy town.
1918 W. M. Kirkland Joys of being Woman viii. 77 What happiness to..go forth into the morning..to meet by the way our harried and over-busy acquaintance.
1983 E. R. Tufte Visual Display Quantitative Information I. v. 107 Conventional graphical paraphernalia routinely added to every display that passes by: over-busy grid lines and excess ticks.
1995 Q June 134/3 The music is an overbusy mix of melodic riffs.
Derivatives
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > [adverb] > excessively
overbusilyc1450
c1450 Jacob's Well (1900) 142 (MED) Þis wose of glotonye is v fote brede, þat is, ouyrtymely, outeragely, ouyrhastely, ouyrdeyntuously, & ouerbesyly.
1668 London Gaz. No. 281/4 The French..at Madagascar, having..overbusily engaged themselves.., in a war between the Neighbouring Princes.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
over-busyv.
/ˌəʊvəˈbɪzi/, U.S. /ˌoʊvərˈbɪzi/ Now rare.
transitive (reflexive or in passive). To busy (a person) too much; to engage or occupy too assiduously.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > occupy or engage (a person) [verb (transitive)] > too much
over-busy1586
1586 J. Ferne Blazon of Gentrie 142 Had not our Cuttor ouer~busied himself.
1686 Sir F. Fane Sacrifice v. i. 61 Are there such things as Gods? Or are they over-busy'd?
1760 A. Hill Snake in Grass 105 I will call up a spirit, in twelves, that is seldom Overbusied below-ground.
1863 A. D. T. Whitney Faith Gartney's Girlhood xxxvi. 330 The errand-boys in the shops were overbusied and uncertain.
1880 M. Arnold in T. H. Ward Eng. Poets I. Introd. p. xxiii He is often distracted from the enjoyment of the best, and with the less good he overbusies himself.
1997 Intelligencer Jrnl. (Lancaster, Pa.) (Nexis) 8 Dec. a11 The safer traditions of the season;..getting sentimental for Christmases past; becoming over-busied in much preparation.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.a1425v.1586