overflown.
/ˈəʊvəfləʊ/, U.S. /ˈoʊvərˌfloʊ/ 1.
a. The action of flowing over or covering (land, etc.); the result of this; an inundation, a flood. Cf. overflow v. 1a.figurative in quot. 1589.Often difficult to distinguish from sense 3.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > flood or flooding > [noun]
streamc950
water floodOE
floodc1000
waterOE
diluvya1325
waterganga1325
flowinga1340
delugec1374
diluvec1386
Noah's floodc1390
overflowing1430
inundation1432
flowa1450
surrounding1449
over-drowninga1500
spate1513
float1523
drowning1539
ravine1545
alluvion1550
surundacion1552
watershot1567
overflow1589
ravage1611
inunding1628
surroundera1642
water breach1669
flooding1799
debacle1802
diluviation1816
deluging1824
superflux1830
whelm1842
come1862
floodage1862
sheet-flood1897
flash flooding1939
flash-flood1940
the world > matter > liquid > liquid flow > action or process of flowing > [noun] > over
overflow1859
1589 R. Greene Menaphon sig. G2v Ouerwhelmed with the ouerflowe of a second aduersitie.
1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus Geogr. Hist. Afr. viii. 299 The inundation or ouerflow of Nilus.
1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 130 Some, by overflowes and flouds, are growen to be that sea, which at this day they call Zuider-sea.
1759 W. Patterson & T. Hutchins Jrnl. 7 Oct. in H. Bouquet Papers (1941) 166 A Small Piece of Land bordering on the Creek 200 yards wide Subject to overflow.
1804 W. Clark Jrnl. 11 July in Jrnls. Lewis & Clark Exped. (1986) ii. 366 Found the bottom Subject for overflow.
1859 R. I. Murchison Siluria (new ed.) iii. 55 The relations are obscured by a profusion and overflow of igneous rocks.
1868 Harper's Mag. Dec. 23/1 The deserts lying between Colorado and the coast range are subject to shifting sands and overflows.
1939 E. D. Laborde tr. E. de Martonne Shorter Physical Geogr. (rev. ed.) ix. 135 A multitude of lateral arms and marshes receive the overflow of the floods.
b. spec. (chiefly Canadian). Water covering the frozen surface of a river, lake, etc., after having been forced through cracks in the ice by expansion; an occurrence of this.
ΚΠ
1896 J. McDougall Saddle, Sled & Snowshoe 45 All this time I was wading in the water and keeping the sled from upsetting; but when he continued his profanity I..just dumped him right out into the overflow.
1924 M. H. Mason Arctic Forests 268 Everyday they would run into ‘overflows’.
1993 Up Here (Yellowknife, N.W. Territories) Aug. 45/2 There's a suspicious amount of overflow, and it's impossible to tell if the cracks and breaks are wider and deeper than they appear.
2. A quantity (of liquid) that overflows. Chiefly in extended use: an excess, a superabundance; spec. the excess or surplus of things, people, etc., not able to be accommodated by an available space.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > liquid which has been emitted > overflow > [noun]
wellinga1425
overflow1589
restagnation1623
superflux1760
overflooding1881
outpour1897
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabitant > population > [noun] > excessive or surplus
overflow1589
surchargement1613
over-populousness1817
overpopulation1862
overspill1884
the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > excessive amount or degree > [noun] > excess, redundancy, or superfluity
un-i-fohOE
surfeita1393
superfluitya1398
over-micklea1400
overmucha1400
nimiety1542
superfluous1552
redundance1572
overflowing1574
overflush1581
overflow1589
overmeasure1591
redundancy1601
a too-much1604
pleonasm1616
overfloat1619
overmuchnessa1637
supernumerariness1652
plusa1721
supervacaneousness1730
supersaturate1860
too-muchness1875
the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > excessive amount or degree > [noun] > excess, redundancy, or superfluity > a surplus or excess
surplusc1374
overplusa1387
surplusagec1407
superplusage1436
superplusa1450
surcroitre1496
superfluous1552
excess1557
over-increase1579
over-sum1587
overflow1589
surcrease1600
surcroist1601
over-crease1625
exceeding1719
excedent1811
surcruec1825
overage1886
overspill1892
the world > space > place > presence > fact of taking up space > [noun] > fullness > crowdedness > excessive
overflow1589
overcrowdedness1902
1589 T. Nashe To Students in R. Greene Menaphon Epist. sig. ** The ingrafted ouerflow of some kilcow conceipt.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II v. iii. 62 Thy ouerflow of good, conuerts to bad. View more context for this quotation
a1639 J. Stoughton Learned Treat. (1640) i. 53 From the overflow of this place all parts of the kingdom are full of knowledge.
1673 Indulgence not to be Refused 3 It is but a pleonasme or overflow of that great kindness.
1725 W. Broome in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey II. viii. Observ. 239 The expression may be ascribed to an overflow of gratitude.
1775 W. Hopkins Let. 14 Jan. in Lett. David Garrick (1963) III. 1361 We have had very good Houses... The Maid of the Oaks is Stronger than ever, there was a great overflow to it last Night.
1817 M. R. Mitford in A. G. L'Estrange Life M. R. Mitford (1870) II. i. 5 A prodigious overflow of stupid faces, royal and other.
1895 G. Meredith Amazing Marriage II. xxviii. 39 He purchased a shop in Piccadilly for the sale of fruit and flowers... He besought great ladies to let him have the overflow of their hot-houses.
1952 M. Laski Village iv. 81 I don't know that there's any harm in it..so long as they don't over-build... The overflow from London's got to go somewhere.
2003 Rocky Mountain News (Denver) (Nexis) 15 Feb. 5 e Water will run..out the bottom of pots with drain holes. Set these plants in a saucer to catch the overflow.
3. The flowing of a liquid or other substance over the brim or sides of a receptacle which is too full; an instance of this. Also figurative and in extended use.
ΚΠ
1598 F. Rous Thule ii. sig. O 2v O cease (quoth they) to make an ouerflow Ouer the bounds of our ny-drowned mindes.
1662 H. Hibbert Exercitationes Theologicæ 32 in Syntagma Theologicum An ebullition or a spring-tide-like overflow.
1870 Amer. Naturalist 4 156 These Siberian rivers, as all other streams which flow toward higher latitudes, [are] peculiarly liable to destructive overflows.
1897 A. E. Housman Let. 22 Sept. (1971) 44 I went..to Vesuvius... There had been an overflow about a month before I was there.
1920 Economist 10 Jan. The coming in of gold in pre-war times was the eventual result and termination of the process, like the overflow of a full cistern.
1990 Science 16 Mar. 1316/1 A lava shield has been built by successive overflows from an active pond that forms the present vent.
4.
a. More fully overflow pipe, overflow drain. An outlet, pipe, or drain for carrying off excess liquid.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > conveyor > [noun] > conduit, channel, or tube > pipe > to carry off excess liquid
drainpipe1793
draw-off1826
overflow1837
weeper1890
1837 Penny Cycl. IX. 27/1 Cold water will be admitted through the stop-cock and pipe N into the bottom of the cistern, and will displace the over-heated water by the overflow pipe M.
1857 Times 24 Nov. 7/6 Every one of the sewers should have storm overflows to go to the bottom of the river Thames.
1895 Daily News 17 Oct. 2/6 When the rainfall is more than ordinarily heavy, the storm overflows carry off the flow of water.
1968 B. Hines Kestrel for Knave 105 The level in the bowl rose and the displaced water escaped down the overflow.
1976 Times 26 Aug. 2/5 The ‘snooper’, who reported that her neighbour must be wasting water as it was coming out of the overflow pipe.
1990 Pract. Householder Apr. 49/2 Ceramic basins have built-in overflows—make sure the slots in the waste outlet line up with the overflow.
b. Geography. The place at which water overflows from a lake; (also) spec. a natural notch or channel formed at this point (cf. overflow channel n. at Compounds 2).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > landscape > low land > hollow or depression > [noun] > notch or channel
rut?1611
sluit1818
overflow channel1863
overflow1883
swilly1899
spillway1914
flute1935
1883 Science 7 Sept. 319/1 Lake Superior seems to have been held by an ice-barrier at a level of about 500 feet from its present height. The locality of its overflow was stated.
1902 Q. Jrnl. Geol. Soc. 58 481 Several parallel overflows may be developed out of the gutters which are trenched in the outer slope by water flowing off the ice itself.
1973 R. J. Price Glacial & Fluvioglacial Landforms v. 128 So long as evidence for the existence of the ice-dammed lakes does not simply consist of the meltwater channels themselves, the interpretation of such meltwater channels as overflows cannot be disputed.
5. Technical uses.
a. Prosody. = enjambment n.; a verse, couplet, or line displaying enjambement.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > versification > rhythm > [noun] > enjambement
enjambment1839
overflow1885
1885 E. Gosse From Shakespere to Pope 6 Mr. Austin Dobson has proposed to me the term overflow for these verses in which the sense is not concluded at the end of one line or of one couplet, but straggles on,..until it naturally closes;..equivalent to the vers enjambé of the French.
1885 E. Gosse From Shakespere to Pope 55 In thirty-two lines [of Waller's ‘To the King’] we find but one overflow.
1933 Eng. Stud. 15 37 Chambers marks with one and two asterisks a number of lines from The Tempest in which overflow seems respectively optional and necessary.
1959 PMLA 74 270/1 Free use of enjambment or overflow..adds to the impression of unevenness.
b. Telecommunications. A situation in which more calls are directed to a group of switches or lines than they are able to handle; a call so directed. Usually attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > [adjective] > more calls than can be handled
overflow1924
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telephony > [noun] > call or message > types of
personal call1843
local call1882
ringback1895
long distance1902
private call1907
trunk-call1910
toll call1912
callback1914
overflow1924
picture message1929
alarm call1966
text message1977
text1990
1924 J. G. Mitchell Mech. Man. Switching i. 27 When the traffic reaches a peak so high as to prevent the prompt dispatch of calls by the operators on duty, those lines which are not receiving service will display a continuous signal on the overflow section.
1934 G. S. Berkeley Traffic & Trunking Princ. Automatic Telephony vii. 147 One overflow meter is provided to record the number of overflows occurring on the two levels.
1974 R. N. Renton Internat. Telex Service x. 383/2 Tables of critical overflow are published.
2003 Call Center Mag. (Nexis) 1 Mar. 16 Most service bureaus handle overflow calls during peak call volume seasons.
c. Computing. The generation of a number having more digits than the capacity of the assigned location. Also: the excess digits or bits. Frequently attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > computing and information technology > [noun] > results of numerical operations
overflow1950
underflow1959
1950 Math. Tables & Other Aids Computation 4 106 In the case of the normal addition and subtraction commands, overflow is automatically detected.
1951 Proc. IRE 39 275/1 Overflow. (1) The condition which arises when the result of an arithmetic operation exceeds the capacity of the number representation in a digital computer. (2) The carry digit arising from this condition.
1965 K. P. Swallow & W. T. Price Elements Computer Programming xv. 287 Whenever an overflow bit is carried into the zone of the high-order digit during an add or subtract operation, this indicator is turned on.
1990 E. Horowitz & S. Sahni Fund. Data Structures in Pascal (ed. 3) ix. 496 An overflow is said to occur when a new identifier I is mapped or hashed by f into a full bucket.
Compounds
C1.
overflow basin n.
ΚΠ
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. II. 1584/2 Overflow-basin, one having a pipe to convey away excess of water and prevent it running over the brim.
1931 E. C. Semple Geogr. Mediterranean Region iii. xvi. 444 The floods..often washed away the soil into the overflow basin of Lake Nesonis.
1981 G. Hermansen Ostia iv. 147 (caption) Tavern fountain counter with overflow basin in front.
overflow condition n.
ΚΠ
1961 D. P. Rozenberg Investig. Algebraic Prop. Residue Number Syst. 50 Due to sign detection and overflow conditions it will be convenient to assume ml=2 for the remainder of this chapter.
1989 J. Gatenby GSCE Computer Stud. v. 88 When using a fixed number of bits, say eight, an overflow condition may occur when an internal carry is generated.
overflow-flood n.
ΚΠ
1898 Engin. Mag. 16 107/1 The shallow, widespread overflow-floods which occur in some parts of India can hardly be controlled at all.
overflow incontinence n.
ΚΠ
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VII. 15 If the distended bladder be left unrelieved, the sphincter yields, and the excess of urine comes away, forming the so-called ‘overflow incontinence’.
1999 K. J. S. Kolberg in T. L. Whitman et al. Life-span Perspectives Health & Illness i. ii. 42 Overflow incontinence occurs when an overfilled bladder reaches the maximum stretch and leaks by mechanical forces.
overflow sill n.
ΚΠ
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXXIII. 786/1 The overflow sill or weir should be a masonry structure of rounded vertical section raised a foot or more about the waste-water course.
1959 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 253 292 The water was supplied from a movable tank connected to the water supply and furnished with an overflow sill to keep the head constant.
overflow table n.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > table > [noun] > other tables
dormant tablec1405
set board1512
chair-table1558
oyster table1559
brushing-table1575
stand board1580
table-chair1671
reading table1749
worktable1762
centre table1775
pier table1778
loo-table1789
screen table1793
social table1793
octoped1822
claw-table1832
bench table1838
mould1842
end table1851
pedestal table1858
picnic table1866
examining table1877
silver table1897
changing table1917
rent table1919
capstan table1927
conference table1928
tricoteuse1960
Parsons1962
overflow table1973
butcher's block1976
1973 A. Behrend Samarai Affair i. 14 There was a smaller overflow table where the members of the Pilotage Committee..liked to congregate.
1991 G. W. Smith Computers & Human Lang. iv. 118 The link is simply an address in a predefined overflow table.
overflow work n.
ΚΠ
1939 H. G. Hodges City Managem. ii. 44 Care for the overflow work of the units, and arrange for temporary placements caused by illness and vacations.
1940 C. McCullers Heart is Lonely Hunter ii. xiv. 307 The jeweller who gave him overflow work to do at half price sent in a couple of clocks.
1991 Illinois Legal Times (Nexis) Sept. 10 This equipment is used to handle all overflow work so that deadlines are always met.
C2.
overflow area n. an area into which something overflows; (Computing) a part of a file or disk to which data is sent when it does not fit in the area to which it has been assigned.
ΚΠ
1953 E. Risch & C. L. Kieffer Quartermaster Corps ix. 346 The overflow area would always have some supplies in it while at the same time a certain amount of space would be vacant in other groups.
1961 Managem. Sci. 7 266 A new account falling alphabetically between two accounts already bearing consecutive numbers will be assigned a number in what will hereafter be termed an overflow area.
1992 D. E. Avison Information Syst. Devel. 153 Most systems look for the next available space when storing the data or the record is moved to an overflow area.
overflow bug n. U.S. a small beetle, Agonum maculicolle (family Carabidae), which occasionally appears in vast swarms in southern California.
ΚΠ
1882 Amer. Naturalist 16 681 In June and July, when hottest and dryest, the ‘overflow-bugs’ filled the air between sunset and dark.
1926 E. O. Essig Insects Western N. Amer. xxiii. 377 Other common names applied to it are overflow bug, tule bug, stink bug, and grease bug.
overflow channel n. a channel formed by or for the overflow of a fluid; (Geography) a natural notch or channel formed by water overflowing from a lake (cf. sense 4b).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > landscape > low land > hollow or depression > [noun] > notch or channel
rut?1611
sluit1818
overflow channel1863
overflow1883
swilly1899
spillway1914
flute1935
1863 Sci. Amer. 4 July 168/2 The overflow channels are seen at n.
1902 Q. Jrnl. Geol. Soc. 58 473 The criteria by which ancient extra-morainic lakes can be recognized are mainly four:—(1) beaches; (2) deltas; (3) floor-deposits; and (4) overflow-channels.
1996 Amer. Hist. Rev. 101 668 He and his men stocked and harvested fish by the tens of thousands and constructed sluice gates, overflow channels, and temporary storage tanks.
overflow meeting n. a meeting attended by those who cannot be accommodated at a main gathering.
ΚΠ
1876 W. H. Daniels D. L. Moody ii. ii. 249 During the week, extra and overflow meetings were conducted in a few of the Nonconformist chapels.
1923 Radio Times 28 Sept. 2/1 The voice of a public man has been..made to operate loud-speakers of overflow meetings.
2002 Deseret News (Salt Lake City) (Nexis) 6 Oct. a9 To accommodate the crowds, overflow meetings were held in the Assembly Hall.
overflow population n. a population or group of people which cannot be accommodated in a given area.
ΚΠ
1886 N. Amer. Rev. Jan. 66 America..is inviting the overflow populations of the world to take possession of her territory.
1952 M. Laski Village xiii. 184 The Walbridge Urban had put up the..houses just for some of their own overflow population.
1987 C. Higgitt tr. D. Carpanetto & G. Ricuperati Italy in Age of Reason i. i. 18 The town was freed from its old boundaries and the overflow population established itself in the suburbs.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
overflowv.
/ˌəʊvəˈfləʊ/, U.S. /ˌoʊvərˈfloʊ/ 1. † d. transitive. To overwhelm with alcohol, to intoxicate. Only in past participle. Obsolete.
a. transitive. Of water or other liquid: to spread over, to cover (land, etc.); to flood, inundate. Also of a person: to cause (land) to be flooded.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > flood or flooding > flood or overflow [verb (transitive)]
overruneOE
overflowOE
surround1444
overfleeta1460
infounder1505
overfloat1601
inund1628
deluge1649
inound1657
flood1663
to set on float1692
overflood?1784
inundate1791
float1794
freshet1865
the world > matter > liquid > condition of being or making wet > condition of being or making very wet > make very wet [verb (transitive)] > flood
overflowOE
flood1663
the world > matter > liquid > liquid flow > action or process of flowing > flow [verb (transitive)] > over
overflowOE
overwaltc1400
overwash?1440
overflood?1784
overspill1888
OE tr. Orosius Hist. (Tiber.) (1980) i. iii. 23 Seo ea ælce geare þæt land middeweard oferfleow mid fotes þicce flode.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 556 Ðo wex a flod ðis werlde wid-hin, And [o]uer-flowged [MS uer-flowged] men & deres-kin.
?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 23 (MED) Þe ryuer..Nilus..ouerflowez all þe land.
c1450 ( Nightingale (Calig.) 212 in O. Glauning Minor Poems J. Lydgate (1900) 9 (MED) In tyme of Noe..the world was ouerflow for synne.
1477 J. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 605 The causey..is so over-flowyn that ther is no man that may an-ethe passe it.
c1585 in R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. (1886) II. 411 Trinitie Colledge greene..is in the winter time overflowne with water.
1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus Geogr. Hist. Afr. vii. 290 At the inundation of Niger all the fields of this region are ouerflowed.
1673 J. Ray Observ. Journey Low-countries 385 Ravenna..lies indeed very low, yet I believe nowadays is never overflown.
1725 D. Defoe Tour Great Brit. II. 469 They had such a terrible Land Flood, which flow'd 8 Foot higher than usual so that it not only overflowed the said Green..but destroy'd a fine new Wharf and Landing-Place for Goods.
1736 Compl. Family-piece iii. 456 Over-flow Meadows, and drain your Corn Fields by cutting Water Furrows.
1886 H. Caine Son of Hagar ii. xv The river had overflowed the meadows.
1920 Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 47 537 The water, by which the ground is overflowed at high tide, is prevented from draining away rapidly by a slightly higher ridge of ground.
1967 Appraisal Terminol. & Handbk. (Amer. Inst. Real Estate Appraisers) (ed. 5) 84 Flowage easement, the perpetual right, power, privilege and easement to overflow, flood, and submerge the lands affected.
b. transitive. figurative and in extended use. To pass or spread over so as to pervade, fill, overwhelm, etc. Also: to cause to become filled, overwhelmed, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > spreading or diffusion > [verb (transitive)] > spread over or through (something)
overgangOE
overflowOE
spread?c1335
overspreada1400
overflood1882
OE Homily (Hatton 114) (Dict. Old Eng. transcript) Eal þæt he þrowode forþon ðe he geseah þæt eal þyssere worulde lif wæs mid synnum oferflowen for þære oferhyde Euan and Adames.
1533 T. More Apologye 266 The fayth of Cryste shall never be overflowen with heresyes.
?1609 G. Chapman tr. Homer Twelue Bks. Iliads v. 86 With which, his spirit flew; And darkenes ouer-flewe his eies.
1656 A. Cowley Davideis i. 11 in Poems A place o'reflown with hallowed Light.
1668 P. M. Myst. & Miracles Love v. 66 in W. Charleton Ephesian & Cimmerian Matrons What kind of Magique is that, by which the blood is made to overflow the cheeks with crimson waves, at the presence of a dear friend?
1712 A. Pope Messiah in Spectator No. 351 One Tyde of Glory, one unclouded Blaze, O'erflow thy Courts.
1751 G. Lavington Enthusiasm Methodists & Papists: Pt. III 324 I was overflowed with Joy.
1830 Ld. Tennyson Madeline iii The flush of anger'd shame O'erflows thy calmer glances.
1899 R. Kipling Stalky & Co. 171 So they overflowed his house, smoked his cigars, and drank his health.
1925 J. Masefield Trial of Jesus 4 Man, you have followed wisdom all your days, The beauty of God has overflown your heart.
1954 M. Stewart Madam, will you Talk? ii. 23 The square is surrounded with cafés, which overflow the narrow pavements with a froth of gay little tables and wicker chairs.
1977 P. Kavanagh By Night Unstarred iv. 40 He overflowed the shoemaker with enthusiastic greetings and the shoemaker responded with equally dishonest effusions.
c. transitive. Of tears, etc.: to flow over or across (the face). Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > liquid flow > action or process of flowing > flow [verb (transitive)] > about or over surface of
berunOE
overflowc1175
course1838
c1175 ( Homily (Bodl. 343) in S. Irvine Old Eng. Homilies (1993) 199 Heoræ ansyne bið þær mid teares oferfleowen.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 10660 Myche watur he weppit of his wale ene, Ouer-flowet his face, fell on his brest.
1727 W. Somervile Occas. Poems 279 Surpriz'd, and speechless, both embrace, And mingling Tears o'erflow each Face.
1786 S. Henley tr. W. Beckford Arabian Tale 123 When he sang the loves of Megnoun and Leilah..tears insensibly overflowed the cheeks of his auditors.
1807 Death of Adam i. vii. 15 My hair stood on end—a cold sweat overflowed my face.
1843 H. W. Herbert Marmaduke Wyvil xvi. 79 The cold water..had completely overflowed his face and temples.
1892 R. L. Stevenson & L. Osbourne Wrecker xix. 307 More than once, during the interview which followed, tears suddenly and silently overflowed his cheeks.
1997 Associated Press Worldstream (Nexis) 3 Dec. Gwanda Chakuamba..said he learned of Banda's death ‘with tears overflowing my cheeks’.
ΚΠ
1607 T. Middleton Phoenix sig. H3v I was ouer-flowen when I spoke it, I could nere ha saide it else.
1641 R. Carpenter Experience, Hist., & Divinitie i. vii. 21 A cloud settles in his [sc. the drunkard's] eyes; and the whole body being overflowne, they seeme to float in the floud.
1822 W. Scott Fortunes of Nigel II. xii. 299 Duke Hildebrod..seemed an absolute sandbed, capable of absorbing any given quantity of liquid, without being either vivified or overflowed.
2.
a. intransitive. Of water or other liquid: to flow over the brim or sides of a receptacle, etc., when it is full; (of a river, etc.) to flow over the banks, to flood; to spill over. Also used of a collection of solid objects considered as a fluid mass. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > liquid which has been emitted > overflow > [verb (intransitive)]
overflowOE
flow1495
redound1543
the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > abundance > abound [verb (intransitive)] > flow or fall abundantly
overflowOE
rainc1175
streama1250
overfleeta1325
fleetc1374
gush?a1400
pour1538
troll1576
to rain in1596
the world > space > place > presence > fact of taking up space > take up space [verb (intransitive)] > be or become full > to overflowing > to flow over the sides
overflowOE
to run overa1500
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > flood or flooding > flood or overflow [verb (intransitive)]
overfleeta1325
to-waltc1400
overflowa1425
surround1572
diluviate1599
debord1632
restagnate1653
exundate1721
slop1899
OE Ælfric Lives of Saints (Julius) (1900) II. 288 Þa wæs se ele wexende ofer ealne þone weg, swa þæt he oferfleow, and þeah ful to hire com.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Luke vi. 38 A good mesure, and wel fillid, and shakun to gidere, and ouerflowynge [L. supereffluentem].
a1425 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 1900) (1879) VII. 505 This ȝere twey dayes tofore Octobre the see overflowide [v.r. overvlowede] and passide the clyves.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. xciiij This tyme at Rome the Ryuer of Tiber ouerflowed exceadingly.
a1682 Sir T. Browne Certain Misc. Tracts (1683) i. 56 Not when the River had overflown.
1723 J. Henley et al. tr. Pliny Epist. vi. 227 A flow of Water..so imperceptibly manag'd, that it fills it [sc. a basin], and never overflows.
1858 D. Lardner Hand-bk. Nat. Philos.: Hydrostatics, Pneumatics, & Heat (new ed.) 47 At the top..there is a small reservoir to receive the mercury, which overflows by expansion.
a1864 J. Clare Poems (1935) 264 The old wood heaves a massy wave Like rivers overflowing.
1929 H. A. A. Nicholls & J. H. Holland Text-bk. Trop. Agric. (ed. 2) i. x. 79 After the second trench is full, the water in it overflows and runs down to the third trench.
1988 Toronto Star (Nexis) 9 Jan. k25 The garbage had overflowed onto the floor.
b. intransitive. In extended use (esp. of an emotion, quality, etc.): to exceed limits; to superabound; to become excessive or inordinate.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > outdoing or surpassing > outdo or surpass [verb (intransitive)] > go beyond bounds
overflowOE
overpassa1500
overreacha1568
to leap bounds1597
overruna1600
deborda1653
excur1656
slop1859
to hit the high spots1891
OE West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) vi. 38 Syllað & eow byþ geseald god gemet & full, geheapod & oferflowende hig syllaþ on eowerne bearm.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 10721 Tiss meocnesse iss oferr mett. Swa þatt itt oferrfloweþþ.
a1547 Earl of Surrey tr. Virgil Fourth Bk. Aeneas (1554) iv. sig. Diiv Loue ryse and rage agayne, And ouerflowes wyth swelling stormes of wrath.
1628 tr. P. Matthieu Powerfull Favorite 146 Hee would not correct the luxury, nor the dissolutenesse which were ouerflowne, by reason of the dis~esteeming of the Sumptuary Lawes.
1728 J. Thomson Spring 29 No sooner grows The soft Infusion prevalent, and wide, Than all alive at once their Joy o'erflows In Music unconfin'd.
1835 W. Wordsworth Poet. Wks. (1895) 503/2 The harp..rings To his grave touch..While thoughts press on, and feelings overflow.
1915 W. S. Maugham Of Human Bondage cxx. 637 Things that she felt though was unconscious of,..the healthy instincts of the natural woman, a tenderness that overflowed [etc.].
2001 Time Mag. (Nexis) 12 Mar. 6 In the countryside, love overflows for Museveni, the guerrilla leader.
c. intransitive. To fill a space to capacity and spread beyond its limits. Also: to use or occupy additional space.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > move [verb (intransitive)] > change place or position > due to lack of room
overflow1846
1846 C. Dickens Pictures from Italy x The besieging crowd had filled it [sc. the Sistine Chapel] to the door, and overflowed into the adjoining hall.
1858 N. Hawthorne Jrnl. 4 June in French & Ital. Notebks. (1980) v. 283 When I like, I can overflow into the summer-house, or an arbour.
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VI. 46 The painful commotion may extend or overflow to higher or lower centres.
1935 N. Mitchison We have been Warned iv. 463 The hostess..said: ‘We've overflowed into Moira's flat.’
1960 C. Day Lewis Buried Day i. 18 He..was..inclined to separate himself from the horde of relations, his own and my mother's, which littered Dublin and overflowed into England.
3.
a. intransitive. Of a receptacle, etc.: to be so full (esp. of liquid) that the contents spill over the brim. Also in figurative context.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > liquid which has been emitted > overflow > [verb (intransitive)] > of a vessel
overfloweOE
runc1225
overruna1450
to run over1530
shed1601
overbrim1607
to set over1608
to well over1843
the world > space > place > presence > fact of taking up space > take up space [verb (intransitive)] > be or become full > to overflowing
overfloweOE
to run over1530
swim1548
burst1563
to set over1608
swellc1616
to brim over1858
the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > excessive amount or degree > be excessive [verb (intransitive)] > superabound > overflow
overfloweOE
overruna1450
to flow above the banks1495
to flow over1526
superabound1582
overswell1597
to flow past shore?1615
restagnate1653
to well over1843
to brim over1858
eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) lxiii. 459 Ðylæs hira mon ma geote on ðæt undiope mod ðonne hit behabban mæge, ðæt hit ðonne oferflowe.
a1500 (?a1425) tr. Secreta Secret. (Lamb.) 73 Þe wyndes blowyn, þe snow resoluys, waters rynnen among hilles, wellys ouerfluen.
1594 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus iii. i. 220 When heauen doth weepe, doth not the earth oreflow? View more context for this quotation
1606 T. Heywood 2nd Pt. If you know not Me sig. F Come let our full crown'd cups o'reflow with wine.
1712 A. Pope Rape of Locke ii, in Misc. Poems 372 Sudden, with starting Tears each Eye o'erflows.
1846 J. K. Paulding Old Continental I. vi. 93 The last drop causes the cup to overflow.
1884 B. Bosanquet et al. tr. H. Lotze Metaphysic 324 Like the last drop which makes a cup overflow.
1976 J. van de Wetering Corpse on Dike ii. 16 The ashtray filled with stubs, ash, crumpled empty cigarette packs. The ashtray had overflowed.
1987 H. Norman Northern Lights (1989) iv. 99 The kettle steamed and overflowed.
b. intransitive. In extended use: to be very full, to superabound, esp. with an emotion, quality, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > excessive amount or degree > be excessive [verb (intransitive)] > superabound
suraboundc1400
overabound?a1425
superabounda1425
overbounda1500
overflowa1522
redound1612
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1960) xiii. viii. 32 The landwart hynys than..For the soft sesson ourflowis full of ioy.
1588 in J. D. Marwick Extracts Rec. Burgh Edinb. (1882) IV. 523 The transe of Bellis wynd heid overflowis with filth.
?a1610 A. Montgomerie Poems (1887) 193 The feildis ouerflouis With gouans that grouis.
a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) ii. iv. 46 To make the comming houre oreflow with ioy. View more context for this quotation
a1701 H. Maundrell Let. in Journey to Jerusalem (1703) sig. b3v We are apt to overflow in speaking of it.
1734 M. Barber Poems 6 In vain, alas! my Heart o'erflows With useless Tenderness.
1780 T. Pasley Private Sea Jrnls. (1931) 64 Passed the Night, my heart overflowing with gratitude and thanks to him whose mercies are over all his works.
1828 N. Hawthorne Fanshawe 49 He seemed to overflow with conceptions, inimitably ludicrous.
1871 B. Taylor tr. J. W. von Goethe Faust I. xxv. 262 The square below And the streets overflow.
1911 G. B. Shaw Getting Married in Doctor's Dilemma 291 All libertines..are invariably people overflowing with domestic sentimentality and professions of respect for the conventions they violate in secret.
1935 J. Steinbeck Tortilla Flat xiii. 233 The back porch overflowed with vegetables.
1994 Sun (Baltimore) 20 Mar. e5/1 Newspapers overflow with advertisements for new shops, products and services.
4.
a. transitive. Of water or other liquid: to flow over (the brim or sides of a receptacle, etc.); (of a river) to flow over (the banks). Also figurative and in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > liquid which has been emitted > overflow > [verb (transitive)]
overruneOE
overflow1548
overswell1597
the world > matter > liquid > liquid which has been emitted > overflow > [verb (transitive)] > over the brim, side, or edge
overflow1548
overbrim1818
overwell1864
overlip1872
overdrip1897
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement over, across, through, or past > [verb (transitive)] > move beyond > spill over the edge of
overflow1548
overswell1597
overbrim1818
overspill1855
overwell1864
overlip1872
overdrip1897
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VII f. xxxvi Thinking that the vessel of oyle..would overflowe the brymmes.
1593 W. Shakespeare Venus & Adonis sig. Bij Raine..Perforce will force it [sc. a river] ouerflow the banke. View more context for this quotation
1625 N. Carpenter Geogr. Delineated ii. ix. 160 Some riuers ouerflow their bankes at some certaine times.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 61 The Dregs that overflow the Brims. View more context for this quotation
1709 Tatler No. 43. ⁋12 The Loire having overflowed its Banks, hath laid the Country under Water for 300 Miles together.
1740 S. Richardson Pamela II. 78 My poor grateful Heart was like a too full River, which overflows its Banks.
1789 M. Wollstonecraft Wrongs of Woman I. ii. 26 Enthusiasm turned adrift, like some rich stream overflowing its banks, rushes forward with destructive velocity.
1849 J. Forbes Physician's Holiday (1850) viii. 75 The waters..overflowed their banks during the snow-melting season.
1890 Forum (N.Y.) 8 vi. 700 The fiery lava of passion overflowing the appointed bounds.
1916 G. B. Shaw Androcles & Lion p. cviii The transformation of many modern States, notably..the tight little Island of Britain, into empires which overflow the frontiers of all the Churches.
1977 C. McCullough Thorn Birds (1978) iv. xii. 312 Every day for hours the rain roared..filling the wide, deep Dungloe River but not overflowing it.
b. transitive. To cause to overflow; to fill (a receptacle) so full that the contents spill over. Also figurative and in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > liquid which has been emitted > overflow > [verb (transitive)] > cause to overflow
overflow1650
restagnate1650
the world > space > place > presence > fact of taking up space > take up (space or a place) [verb (transitive)] > fill > to overflowing
pilea1450
crown1595
swell1602
sphere1608
overflow1650
full (also to fill) to overflowing1797
1650 Bp. J. Taylor Rule of Holy Living (1989) iii. §6 112 Sure that some excellent fortune would relieve..thee so as to overflow all thy hopes.
1868 F. Williams Lives Eng. Card. I. 137 This outrage overflowed the cup of bitterness that had been presented to the Pope.
1894 R. Bridges Shorter Poems 42 Again shall pleasure overflow Thy cup with sweetness.
1906 Daily Chron. 31 Aug. 6/4 This smell and smoke arose because silly workmen would overflow their machinery with oil, and they are the people who ought to pay the penalty.
1934 B. Lehmann Rumour of Heaven i. ii. 18 The gutters, like streams in spate, overflowed the water-butt and made a miniature lake beside the back door.
1989 T. C. Boyle If River was Whiskey 58 Where the tap overflowed the sink and water plunged to the floor with a pertinacity that was like a redemption.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > liquid which has been emitted > overflow > [verb (transitive)] > with
runOE
overflowa1616
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming out > letting or sending out > let or send out [verb (transitive)] > emit > copiously > in or as in a stream > by overflowing
overflowa1616
a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) ii. ii. 147 Such Broomes [1602 Brookes] are welcome to mee, that ore'flowes such liquor. View more context for this quotation
1616 B. Jonson Every Man in his Humor (rev. ed.) iii. i, in Wks. I. 31 I..take pen, and paper presently, and ouerflow you halfe a score, or a dozen of sonnets, at a sitting.
Derivatives
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > liquid which has been emitted > overflow > [adjective] > able to be overflowed
overflowable1684
1684 T. Smith in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 14 565 The land..of Ægypt, lying very low, and easily overflowable.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1589v.eOE