overling en · NOUN
Etymology
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.
Meanings
-
(rare) A superior.
But the idle-minded overlings who quibbled while they died, …
1917, Rudyard Kipling, Mesopotamia (poem)Reflex laughs from the underlings present, though only grim smiles from the overlings.
1973, Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow:
- (UK, dialectal) A ruler; master.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| overlings | Number=Plur | lexicographic |