overkeptadj.
/əʊvəˈkɛpt/, U.S. /ˌoʊvərˈkɛpt/ Now rare.
Kept for too long.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > qualities of food > [adjective] > stale, decaying, or infested
oldeOE
fustya1492
stale1530
overkept1837
overhung1895
skippery1899
off1913
1837 J. G. Lockhart Mem. Life Scott xli An over-kept haunch of venison.
1874 Galaxy Dec. 728/1 At noon he breakfasts, or dines, as you choose to call the meal, and not upon cold cutlets and overkept fish.
1986 H. Bloom Walker Percy 74 Where history preempts individual living space by the sheer redundancy of its overkept accumulations, science usurps it by its attractive methods of acquisition.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2004; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.1837