overswarmv.
/ˌəʊvəˈswɔːm/, U.S. /ˌoʊvərˈswɔrm/ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Hymenoptera > [verb (reflexive)] > swarm to excess (of bees)
overswarm1587
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > gather together [verb (intransitive)] > specifically of people or animals > in large numbers > to excess
overswarm1587
overcrowd1889
1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay Trewnesse Christian Relig. viii. 120 As folke ouerswarmed in a place.
1609 C. Butler Feminine Monarchie iv. sig. E3v Those stockes..haue overswarmed themselues, partly because they haue hony enough.
1679 M. Rusden Further Discov. Bees 25 That is the cause that Bees so often overswarm themselves.
2.
a. intransitive. Of a place: to be crowded with a great swarm or a profusion of something. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > presence > fact of taking up space > take up space [verb (intransitive)] > be or become full > be or become crowded
stick close1489
throng1563
overswarm1626
people1659
1626 ‘Orpheus Iunior’ Golden Fleece i. 3 In such abundance doth my natiue Countrie..ouerswarme with people.
1879 A. T. de Vere Legends Saxon Saint iii. 45 Every roof o'er-swarmed with anthem-echoing throngs.
b. transitive. To swarm over or across; to cover (a place) with a swarm or profusion of something. Also (occasionally) intransitive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > cover [verb (transitive)] > with a multitude
overswarm1632
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement over, across, through, or past > [verb (transitive)] > across > with a swarm
overswarm1632
the world > space > place > presence > fact of taking up space > take up (space or a place) [verb (transitive)] > completely > as a crowd
swarm1555
throng1604
crowd1645
overswarm1851
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > cover [verb (intransitive)] > cover a thing by passing over it
whelmc1440
overswarm1875
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement over, across, through, or past > [verb (intransitive)] > across > with a swarm
overswarm1875
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. x. 443 These Flockes of Studientes..ouer-swarme the whole land with rogueries, robberies, and begging.
1637 W. Lisle tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Foure Bks. 31 Then blest he man, and all, and said againe, Go breede, And ouerswarme the world with fast-encreasing seede.
a1700 G. Lauder Souldiers Wishe (1853) 6 All Europe with his Troupes is overswarm'd. And Rhine againe made drunk with Germane blood.
1709 D. Manley Secret Mem. 105 This silent Resentment, from the real Worthy..gives the greater liberty to the Poetaster to pester the Town, and over-swarm it with their Bumbast.
1770 J. Armstrong Art of Preserving Health i, in Misc. I. 7 The putrid steams that overswarm the sky.
1851 H. Melville Moby-Dick xiv. 70 Let the English overswarm all India.
1875 R. Browning Aristophanes' Apol. 3 When wave broke and overswarmed and, sucked To bounds back, multitudinously ceased.
1887 A. T. de Vere Legends & Rec. Church & Empire 249 Your foes of old beyond Danubing..o'erswarmed your bounds.
a1973 E. J. Blake Starlight in Syria in Up & Down (1989) 18 Bees That overswarm a clover field in June.
3. transitive. To swarm in large numbers so as to consume (a food source) completely. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > presence > fact of taking up space > take up (space or a place) [verb (transitive)] > completely > as a crowd > beyond or in excess of
overswarm1897
1897 M. Kingsley Trav. W. Afr. 678 If you destroy the things that prey on them, they are liable to overswarm the food-producing power of their locality.
Derivatives
overˈswarming n. now rare
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > [noun] > with a multitude
overswarming1598
1598 R. Grenewey tr. Tacitus Annales i. Proeme 1 Vntill they were by the ouerswarming of flatterers vtterly discouraged.
1850 T. B. Miner Amer. Bee Keeper's Man. 309 It often happens that the apiarian finds it necessary to unite two of his stocks... The cause that leads to such a necessity, is frequently from overswarming, or sending out more colonies than can be safely spared.
1894 Edinb. Rev. Oct. 400 The successive over~swarming of Bulgarians, Magyars, Seljukian Turks.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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