overgrowth en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
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 growth English overgrowth From over- + growth.
Meanings
- (countable, uncountable) A usually abundant, luxuriant growth over or on something else.
-
(countable, uncountable) A usually abundant, luxuriant growth over or on something else. ▸ A tangle of growth occurring at the top of trees involving vines and branches, common in jungles.
In desolate places where dank moisture breeds / The pipy Hemlock to strange overgrowth
1818, John Keats, “Book I”, in Endymion: A Poetic Romance, London: […] T[homas] Miller, […] for Taylor and Hessey, […], →OCLC, page 14, line 241:
- (countable, uncountable) An excessive growth or increase in numbers, as in a population of weeds or microbes.
- (countable, uncountable) Excessive size; usually caused by over-production of growth hormone from the pituitary gland.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| overgrowths | Number=Plur | lexicographic |