oversow

English

Etymology

From Old English ofersāwan, from ofer- + sāwan. Equivalent to over- +‎ sow.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌəʊvəˈsəʊ/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌoʊvɚˈsoʊ/
• Rhymes: -əʊ

Verb

oversow (third-person singular simple present oversows, present participle oversowing, simple past oversowed, past participle oversown or oversowed)

1. To sow (seed) where something has already been sown.

   Synonym: overseed

   • 1565, William Fulke, William Allen, chapter XIII, in Two Treatises Written against the Papistes‎^[1], page 409:

     The which contrary corrupt seede of false doctrine we right well know came of the sayd aduersary, because it was long after ouersowen […]

   • 1582, Douay-Rheims Bible, Matthew 13:25‎^[2]:

     But vvhen men vvere a ſleepe, his enemy came and ouerſovved cockle among the vvheate, and vvent his vvay.

   • 1996, C. P. Peacock, Improving Goat Production in the Tropics, →ISBN, page 115:

     […] it is possible to oversow the area with improved forages. […] Vigorous species must be used to oversow the area […]

2. To sow too much seed upon.

   Hypernym: overplant

References

• “oversow”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.