overbreed en · VERB
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *úp Proto-Indo-European *-er Proto-Indo-European *upér Proto-Germanic *uber Old English ofer- Middle English over- English over- English breed English overbreed From over- + breed.
Meanings
-
To breed excessively.
At different times in different nations the needs and the duties differ widely. Professor Ross has shown that China has suffered immeasurably because of the reckless overbreeding of its people. France is now in hazard of her national existence because of exactly the opposite cause.
1917, Theodore Roosevelt, The Foes of Our Own Household, New York: George H. Doran Company, →OCLC, page 260:What happens if the dog is overbred?
2009 February 26, Cathal Kelly, “Obama picks running (and fetching) mate”, in Toronto Star:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| overbred | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| overbred | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| overbreeding | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| overbreeds | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic |