overcloth

English

Etymology

From over- +‎ cloth.

Noun

overcloth (countable and uncountable, plural overcloths)

1. Any of various overgarments that consist primarily of a large cloth worn over the clothes.
   • 1862, The African Repository and Colonial Journal - Volume 38, page 121:

     His features, with the large overcloth or gown thrown over his shoulders, gave him rather the appearance of an Arab Fellatah Sheik, than that of a Grebo chief.

   • 1883, “Chapter III.—Population”, in Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency, volumes XV.—part I: “Kánara", Bombay: Government Central Press, “Musalmáns”, page 403:

     Indoors the Naváiyat women wear the robe like other Musalmán women and a bodice with short sleeves and a back. Out of doors they use wooden shoes like those worn by Hindu sanyásis or ascetics, and a checked overcloth which covers their head and the whole body like a veil and cloak. […] Neither Dáldi, Kákar, Sidi, nor Mápilla women wear the overcloth when they go out-of-doors.

   • 1919, Robert Simpson, The Bite of Benin: "where Many Go in But Few Come Out", page 243:

     "Why you wear your cloth—so?" he asked in a low monotone, fixing her with a look that permitted no prevarication and indicating her unusual method of fastening her overcloth over her shoulders instead of under the arms.

   • 1974, The Occasional Papers of the Rhodes-Livingstone Museum, page 200:

     A further essential part of the costume is a long cloth known as the mulembo, which is wrapped around the waist as an overcloth.

   • 2002, Kathryn S. March, “III. Nhanu: Parsing a Life, Naming What Matters”, in “If Each Comes Halfway”: Meeting Tamang Women in Nepal, Cornell University Press, →ISBN, page 121:

     the lambu: With three twenty-five-paisa coins you could even buy enough—you could go and get twenty-two skeins and then go ahead and weave the long white overclothes for a man. You could get enough to weave even a ten-hand-long men’s overcloth. I know; it used to be that way in my own lifetime. / nhanu: You used to be able to get twelve skeins of silk thread for one half-rupee coin. Other kinds—you could get a skein for only an anna. At that price, I wove at least two women’s long, plaid overcloths—maybe more.

   • 2005, Pamela Chatterjee, Listen to the Mountains: A Himalayan Journal, page 96:

     Panuli Devi stands out as the mother of the bride in her bright green sari and an orange overcloth with red polka dots, fringed with gold tassels, worn only at family weddings and ceremonies.

   • 2005, M. T. Abraham, “Chapter V. Whereabouts of the Eastern Big City (from the present India) and of the Eastern Subcontinent as a guide-line”, in Global Constitution—World under One Rule, part one: “View of the Global Kingdom”, Mittal Publications, →ISBN, page 147:

     Then around 4000 militants in four coloured overclothes, as 1000 in red overcloth, 1000 in black overcloth, 1000 in white overcloth and the last 1000 in dappled overcloth, give guard of honour to the King at the premises of the Eastern Palace with the songs of 400 well-trained musicians with all organs and instruments.

2. A tablecloth that is laid on top of another tablecloth, usually allowing some of the lower tablecloth to show.
   • 1996, Peter Dias, “5. Restaurant Equipment”, in The Steward, Orient Longman, →ISBN, “2. Selection of Restaurant Equipment”, “4. Linen”, pages 79–80:

     Undercloth or table cloth Most restaurants now use a base cloth which covers the table. This is overlayed by a smaller table cloth called ‘overcloth’, ‘slip cloth’, or ‘napperons’. The overcloth is laid diagonally over the undercloth, and they are usually of contrasting colours. / […] / Using an undercloth has the following advantages. / 1. The steward is required to change only the overcloth after a guest or a group of guests leaves. Since the overcloth is small, the cost of laundering is reduced. / 2. Changing a soiled overcloth when the guest is seated is easier than changing a single table cloth without exposing the table surface to the guest.

   • 2003, The House Book, page 878:

     A shallow fitted overcloth can be made to go over an ordinary tablecloth.

   • 2015, Evalyn Walsh McLean, Boyden Sparkes, Father Struck It Rich:

     Pale gold sateen with an overcloth of yellow lace was what I ordered for two of my three long dinner tables; each of them was seventy-five feet long.

3. A decorative cloth placed over the saddlecloth and below the saddle.
   • 1869, Sir Richard Francis Burton, Explorations of the Highlands of the Brazil, page 436:

     The overcloths of the saddles were loose, and the stirrups just admitting the toe tips, rendered mounting anything but a pleasure.

   • 1875, Alvan S. Southworth, Four Thousand Miles of African Travel, page 110:

     Each of the four dromedaries was caparisoned with the military saddle furnished from the citadel at Cairo and the usual red and white fringed overcloths.

   • 2013, David Karunanithy, The Macedonian War Machine, 359–281 BC, page iii:

     It can be described as a square overcloth on top of a larger undercloth showing a rear dagged pattern.

4. A cloth that is placed as a protective layer on top of something.
   • 1913, Philippine Craftsman - Volume 2, Issue 6, page 373:

     A damp cloth should be carefully spread over the lace and pressed with a hot iron until dry. A little sugar added to the water in which the overcloth is dampened will stiffen the lace.

   • 2013, Hugh Lamb ·, Tales from a Gas-Lit Graveyard:

     I next went upstairs to the bedrooms, up a thickly-carpeted staircase, with the white linen overcloth still upon it.

   • 2017, Sara Lewis Holmes, The Wolf Hour:

     Slowly, she reached for the rough linen overcloth. Maybe the contents would tell her more about the basket's owner.

5. The top of a double layer of canvas coverings that cover the presses used in mining.
   • 1931, The Transactions of the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, page 229:

     The presses are dressed with double canvas and, when cleaning-up, the overcloths, after the precipitate has been removed, are soaked in weak hydrochloric acid to loosen the traces of precipitate still adhering in the interstices of the cloth, and are then scrubbed.

   • 1931, Institution of Mining and Metallurgy (Great Britain), Bulletin - Issues 316-327, page 2:

     New canvas is used first as undercloths, and these as required are made to replace discarded overcloths.

6. A decorative cloth placed on top of something to give it a more refined appearance.
   • 1906, Francis Elrington Ball, A History of the County Dublin, page 62:

     The faithful then seldom forgot in their wills the churches with which they had any connection , and in 1475 Joan Drywer, of Crumlin, bequeathed twelve pence to "the works of the church of Aderrig” and an overcloth for the altar.

   • 2006, Martin M. Pegler, Visual Merchandising and Display, page 173:

     A 2-yard square of fabric, cut in a circle, will make a colorful overcloth to drop, for a color accent over a neutral cloth.

   • 2006, Onboard Hospitality - Issues 20-29, page 62:

     My grey tray had a white overcloth, and real cutlery – what a delight – was rolled in the white linen napkin, held in a silver paper band.

   • 2010, Fabio Sani, Self Continuity: Individual and Collective Perspectives:

     On these accounts, “hybridization” is said to work to preserve identity by imagining that new ways of being simply “overcloth” or otherwise supplement some fixed core of sameness that remains fundamentally unaffected by such additions.

   • 2018, Tracy Borman, The King's Witch:

     Frances carefully placed the satin gloves that she had been refolding back into the coffer and covered them with the embroidered linen overcloth.

Coordinate terms

• undercloth

Related terms

• overclothes