overfondnessn.
/ˌəʊvəˈfɒn(d)nəs/, U.S. /ˌoʊvərˈfɑn(d)nəs/ Excessive fondness; too great an affection or liking. Frequently with for.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > love > tenderness > foolish affection, excessive love or fondness > [noun]
dotagea1450
doting1477
fondness1566
overfondness1656
weakness1712
engouement1847
1656 J. Harrington Common-wealth of Oceana xxv. 218 Whether through negligence. or..overfondnesse..innumerable children come to owe their utter Perdition to their own Parents.
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iv. x. 313 Out of an over fondness of that Darling Invention.
a1718 W. Penn Wks. (1726) I. 538 The Over-fondness some carry to their Opinion.
1742 Gentleman's Mag. Feb. 98/1 An Over-fondness for the Writers..who flourished in..the time of Leo the tenth.
1852 Harper's Mag. Mar. 480/2 An over-fondness for what are known as the learned and more especially the literary professions.
1876 L. Stephen Hist. Eng. Thought 18th Cent. II. 54 Overfondness for ourselves, like over-fondness for children may defeat its own object.
1953 Times 6 Jan. 7/4 Whitehall, which is so often reproached for over-fondness for regulations, has evolved no rules about the size of cavities in visiting cheeses.
1999 BBC Music Mag. Apr. 88/3 If Schiff has a fault, it's in his overfondness for staccato.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1656