overtop

present singular third person overtops · participle present overtopping · participle past overtopped · past overtopped

1. transitiveTo be higher than; to rise over the top of.First known use 16th c.

   […] try to switch one off and current still leaks through, like water overtopping a levee.

   2009 February 20, Robert F. Service, “MATERIALS SCIENCE: Is Silicon's Reign Nearing Its End?”, in Science, volume 323, number 5917, →DOI, pages 1000–1002

   5 more examples

   From thence we came without the Eaſtern gate, (ſtanding on a low Banke, called the daughter of Syon, that over-toppeth the valley of Iehoſaphat,) unto an immoveable ſtone, upon the which they ſaid St. Stephen was ſtoned to death, the firſt Martyr of the Chriſtian faith; and the faithfull fore-runner of many noble followers.

   1640, William Lithgow, “The Sixt Part”, in The Totall Diſcourſe, Of the rare Adventures, and painefull Peregrinations of long nineteene yeares Travailes from Scotland, to the moſt famous Kingdomes in Europe, Aſia, and Affrica […], London: I. Okes, page 249

   Nor was he content with thus strongly garrisoning the fort, but he likewise added exceedingly to its strength by furnishing it with a formidable battery of quaker guns—rearing a stupendous flag-staff in the centre which overtopped the whole city—and moreover by building a great windmill on one of the bastions.

   1809, Diedrich Knickerbocker [pseudonym; Washington Irving], chapter III, in A History of New York, from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty. […], volume I, New York, N.Y.: Inskeep & Bradford, […], →OCLC, book IV, page 216

   Scatters the pearled dew from off the grass, In tremulous ecstasy to greet the sun, Who soon in gilded panoply will pass Forth from yon orange-curtained pavilion Hung in the burning east, see, the red rim O'ertops the expectant hills! it is the God! [...]

   a. 1881, Oscar Wilde, 'The Garden of Eros', in Poems

   There was a single birch tree that overtopped the other trees on the island, and was now picked out against the moon-drenched sky.

   1955, William Golding, The Inheritors, Faber and Faber, published 2005, page 79

   The U.S.A. has a mountain railway which overtops all in Switzerland for altitude, even the 11,333ft of the Jungfrau Railway.

   1963 July, “Beyond the Channel: Switzerland: U.S. buys Swiss rack equipment”, in Modern Railways, page 60

2. transitiveTo place too many toppings on.

   to overtop a pizza

1. CanadaUSnot comparableOver the top.First known use 18th c.

   Paul put the skull back in its proper place, put back the coffin lid, and kicked dirt and rocks overtop.

   2013, Philipp Meyer, The Son, Simon & Schuster, published 2014, page 154

plural overtops

1. businessA garment designed to be worn over the top portion of other clothes, such as an overshirt, vest, or overtunic.

   Brown soft kid belt (dressier day): for trousers (especially when you belt an overtop), skirts, dresses.

   1981, Frances Patiky Stein, Hot Tips: 1,000 Fashion & Beauty Tricks, New York, N.Y.: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, →ISBN, page 131

   5 more examples

   Featured is the big plaid, streaked with white in a softly gathered skirt & an overtop of velveteen with a dacron polytester^([sic]) oliver bow blouse in white.

   1964 August 27, The Upland News, seventieth year, number 24, Upland, Calif., page 3

   A very obvious point, but one easily overlooked, is that children from 0–5 grow all the time, so a garment often only fits perfectly for a short time. So if, for instance, a long sleeved dress worn during the summer is visualized as being worn under an overtop in winter, you will have to allow for 6 months’ growth.

   1969, Gillian Lockwood, Making Clothes for Young Children, London: Studio Vista; New York, N.Y.: Watson-Guptill Publications, →ISBN, pages 6–7

   And I bought that top in every colour they had, and if they’d had more I would have bought them too. I have, literally, lived in them all this summer and know that I will all next summer too. I may even wear the darker coloured ones in the winter with a turtle-neck sweater underneath. Janis and Ozzie are wearing them on p. 150. As you can see, you can either wear this as a dress or as an overtop.

   1985, Nancy Roberts, Breaking All the Rules, Harmondsworth: Viking, →ISBN, page 154

   The use of the second contrast yarn (which is thick and braid like) gives the appearance of a ribbon threaded through. Not only is this a satisfying pattern to work but the sweater can be worn for day or evening; with skirt or trousers: as a sweater or an overtop—a sufficiently versatile garment for anyone.

   1987, Pauline Turner, The WI Creative Guide to Crochet, London: Unwin Hyman, →ISBN, page 56

   Skirts can also be fitted with a hip yoke to replace darts or gores. This is effective styling for a skirt worn with an overtop.

   1989, Sharon Lee Tate, Inside Fashion Design, 3rd edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Row, →ISBN, page 371