overlie
/ˌoʊvɚˈlaɪ/ verb
Forms overlies overlying overlay overlain
- verb To lie over or upon “The new sediment layers overlie the older rock formations.”
- verb (transitive) To suffocate by lying upon
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English overlien, overliggen, equivalent to over- + lie (“to be reclined”). Compare West Frisian oerlizze, German überliegen, Danish overligge, Swedish överligga, Norwegian overligge.
Webster’s 1913
- verb To lie over or upon; specifically, to suffocate by lying upon; as, to overlie an infant. Quain.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “overlie”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details