overstand

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English overstonden, from Old English oferstandan (“to stand over”), equivalent to over- +‎ stand. Cognate with Dutch overstaan (“to stand over”), German überstehen (“to stand through, survive”).

Verb

overstand (third-person singular simple present overstands, present participle overstanding, simple past and past participle overstood)

1. (rare) To stand or insist too much or too long; overstay.
   • 1688, Bunyan, The Water of Life:

     But they that overstand the day of grace, shall not obtain to cool their tongues so much of this water as will hang on the tip of one's finger.

2. (transitive) To stand too strictly on the demands or conditions of.
3. (yachting, boat racing): To sail to the mark at a wider angle than is the normal upwind angle, to go beyond the layline
4. (forestry, of a coppice): To be neglected and left uncut for too long.
   • 2001, Ben Law, The Woodland Way: a permaculture approach to sustainable woodland management, Hyden House, →ISBN:

     When a coppice woodland is no longer cut on its regular rotation the rods from the stool continue to grow and the coppice becomes known as overstood. Sadly, in many parts of the country this is the commonest form of coppice you are likely to see.

Noun

overstand (plural overstands)

1. (lutherie) The measurement between the top plate and the fingerboard where the neck meets the body of the instrument.

Etymology 2

Blend of over +‎ understand, coined in Rastafarianism before 1965.

Verb

overstand (third-person singular simple present overstands, present participle overstanding, simple past and past participle overstood)

1. (Rastafarianism, US black subculture): To have complete or intuitive comprehension of; to understand fully.

   Synonyms: get, grok

   • 1965, Orlando Patterson, The children of Sisyphus: A novel, page 192:

     "But, Sister, it look like you neither overstand or understand"

   • 2016, Khaled Mohamed Khaled, The Keys:

     "I need you to overstand this the way I overstand this. Notice how I didn't say understand, because I need you to more than understand—I need you to overstand."

Anagrams

• standover

Dutch

Etymology

over + stand

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: over‧stand

Noun

overstand m (plural overstanden, diminutive overstandje n)

1. an amount which is outstanding, a remaining debt