preoccupied, ppl. a.
(priːˈɒkjʊpaɪd)
[f. preoccupy v. + -ed1.]
Occupied previously. a. Absorbed in thought, abstracted. b. Zool. and Bot. Of a name: already occupied or used for something else.
| 1842 Rep. Brit. Assoc. Adv. Sci. 113 The genus of birds, Plectorhynchus, being preoccupied in Ichthyology, is changed to Plectorhamphus. 1849 C. Brontë Shirley viii, The pre-occupied, serious face. 1891 T. Hardy Tess xviii, Something nebulous, preoccupied, vague, in his bearing and regard, marked him as one who probably had no very definite aim or concern about his material future. 1898 [see bentonite]. 1903 Westm. Gaz. 12 Feb. 1/3 In the further corner..a preoccupied-looking band is exploiting the musical comedies. 1913 [see baluchitherium]. 1967 J. R. & P. H. Napier Handbk. Living Primates iii. 377 The subgeneric name Lyonogale is substituted for the preoccupied Tana Lyon. |
Hence preˈoccupiedly adv., in a preoccupied manner; with preoccupation of thought.
| 1884 J. Hawthorne Pearl-shell Necklace xi, ‘Ay, surely..’, said Poyntz, puffing his pipe preoccupiedly. |