overwork
Appearance
English
[edit]Etymology 1
[edit]From Middle English overwerken, possibly from Old English oferwyrċan (“to overwork, overlay”), equivalent to over- + work. Cognate with Dutch overwerken (“to overwork”).
Pronunciation
[edit]- (UK) enPR: ō'və-wûkʹ, IPA(key): /ˌəʊvəˈwɜːk/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
- (US) enPR: ō'vər-wûrkʹ, IPA(key): /ˌoʊvɚˈwɝk/
- Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)k
Verb
[edit]overwork (third-person singular simple present overworks, present participle overworking, simple past and past participle overworked or (archaic) overwrought)
- (transitive) To make (someone or something) work too hard.
- to overwork a horse
- 1945 November snd December, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 329:
- For some years locomotives and coaches have been overworked and undermaintained to a degree without precedent in British railway history, and the leeway in maintenance now to be made up is very great.
- (intransitive) To work too hard.
- (transitive) To fill too full of work; to crowd with labour.
- 1874, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Aigalades:
- My days with toil are overwrought.
- (transitive) To decorate all over.
Translations
[edit]to work too hard
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Etymology 2
[edit]From Middle English overwerc, from Old English oferweorc, oferġeweorc (“an overwork, superstructure, tomb”), equivalent to over- + work.
Pronunciation
[edit]- (UK) enPR: ōʹvə-wûk', IPA(key): /ˈəʊvəˌwɜːk/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
- (US) enPR: ōʹvər-wûrk', IPA(key): /ˈoʊvɚˌwɝk/
Noun
[edit]overwork (uncountable)
- A superstructure.
- Excessive work.
- 1878, Phosphorus in functional disorders of the nervous system, induced by overwork and other influences incidental to modern life:
- Various disordered conditions consequent upon overwork, which are characteristic of modern civilisation.
- 1946 July and August, K. Westcott Jones, “Isle of Wight Central Railway—2”, in Railway Magazine, page 244:
- […] it had obtained from its constituents rather antiquated and inefficient equipment, which scarcely stood up to overwork; […] .
- 1996, Wilkie Au, Urgings of the Heart: A Spirituality of Integration:
- When it comes to overwork, denial looms large.
- 2003, Ernie J Zelinski, Joy of Not Working: A Book for the Retired, Unemployed, and Overworked:
- The Japanese term for sudden death from overwork.
Translations
[edit]excessive work
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See also
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- “overwork”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “overwork”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
Anagrams
[edit]Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old English
- English terms prefixed with over-
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/ɜː(ɹ)k
- Rhymes:English/ɜː(ɹ)k/3 syllables
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- English intransitive verbs
- English terms inherited from Old English
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English ergative verbs
- English heteronyms