overspeedn.
/ˌəʊvəˈspiːd/, U.S. /ˌoʊvərˈspid/ Excessive speed; esp. the operation of an engine, vehicle, etc., at a speed higher than is safe or appropriate; an instance of this.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > [noun] > operation at excessive speed
overspeed1826
overspeeding1950
1826 S. W. Singer Dramatic Wks. Shakspeare I. 15 Trashes are clogs strapped round the neck of a dog to prevent his overspeed.
1858 M. Arnold Merope in Poems (1885) II. 55 O that my over-speed and bursting grief Had on the journey choked my labouring breath!
1914 H. Pender Amer. Handbk. Electr. Engineers 1315 Over-Speeds.—All types of rotating machines shall be so constructed that they will safely withstand an over-speed of 25 per cent.
1950 Sun (Baltimore) 12 Apr. 32/1 The plane, flying at a speed of 135 miles per hour, developed ‘a structural failure due to overspeed’.
1969 Power Syst. Protection (Electr. Council) II. ix. 250 The governing system which requires an actual overspeed to produce a response and take corrective action.
1991 Mod. Railways Apr. 206/1 ATP would certainly prevent overspeed, but not the uncertainties of running at less than line speed if memory of route knowledge was less than precise.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
overspeedv.
/ˌəʊvəˈspiːd/, U.S. /ˌoʊvərˈspid/ 1. intransitive. To travel too quickly, esp. to travel faster than permitted by law or by another authority. Also transitive: to cause (a vehicle) to travel more quickly than is safe. Now chiefly in African and South Asian use.In quot. 1691: to progress too quickly to a given state.
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1691 J. Evelyn Kalendarium Hortense (ed. 8) 97 Caully-flowers over-speeding to pome and head..should be quite erradicated [sic].
1921 Times 19 Feb. 6 It is the abnormal stress, caused by excessive shock when a lorry is over-speeded on a pot-holed road that is answerable for the subsequent strain or distortion in various members of the machinery.
1930 F. D. Jones Ingenious Mechanisms I. vii. 224 A record can be obtained of the number of times an engineer has over-speeded his train.
1994 Vancouver Sun (Nexis) 27 Aug. c12 They concluded that he overspeeded during the landing and caused the accident.
2002 Africa News (Nexis) 22 Mar. I allowed him to drive me because he did not even like the smell of beer and each time he oversped I cautioned him.
2. transitive. Chiefly Mechanics. To operate (an engine or other machine) at a speed higher than is safe for its gearing or other components. Also intransitive.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > render mechanical [verb (intransitive)] > of machine: operate > at excessive or uncontrolled speed
race1856
overspeed1927
1927 Times 5 Apr. p. xxiv/6 In no circumstances should a new engine be overspeeded, and it is important to remember that this is a matter of piston speed rather than of car speed.
1949 A. C. Walshaw Heat Engines (ed. 3) xvii. 369 The device should be periodically tested by overspeeding the engine say once a month.
1972 Lebende Sprachen 17 134/2 A turbine undergoing tests at Calder Hall ‘B’ atomic power-station in Cumberland overspeeded last night and exploded.
1974 Country Life 21 Mar. 654/3 The mill oversped, the stones overheated, and the mill caught fire.
2000 B. Gamble Black Sheep One v. 80 In addition to failing him for spirals, Lieutenant Thweatt remarked that Boyington constantly oversped the engine and flew too fast.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1826v.1691