overling

O1V4E1R1L1I1N1G2

noun

A superior.

Opposite
underling
OriginMiddle English overling →
Scrabble 12
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounoverling (plural overlings)

plural overlings

  1. rareA superior.

    But the idle-minded overlings who quibbled while they died, …

    1917, Rudyard Kipling, Mesopotamia (poem)
    1 more example

    Reflex laughs from the underlings present, though only grim smiles from the overlings.

    1973, Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow
  2. UKdialectalA ruler; master.

Synonyms & antonyms

Opposite
underling
Also see
nabobrulersuperior

Origin

  1. Middle Englishoverling“a superior”
  2. Englishoverling

From over + -ling on analogy with underling, or as a revived or dialectal term from Middle English overling (“a superior”). By surface analysis, over + -ling.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

loveringgloverin
Cite this entry
APA

overling. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overling

MLA

“overling.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overling. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “overling,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/overling.

Source: overling on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.