▪ I. ˈovercome, n. Sc.
Also 6– our-, ower-, 8– o'er-.
[over- 19, 20, 7, 5, 10 b.]
† 1. That which is left over; a surplus, excess. Obs.
| 15.. Aberdeen Reg. (Jam.), The ourcome of thre pesis of clayth. 1725 Ramsay Gentle Sheph. i. i, He that has just enough can soundly sleep; The o'ercome only fashes fowk to keep. 1881 Strathesk Blinkbonny (1891) 36 (E.D.D.) To share o' the o'ercome when a' thing was paid. |
2. A phrase that comes over and over again; the burden of song or discourse; a hackneyed phrase.
| ? a 1800 Jacobite Relics Ser. ii. (1821) 192 And aye the o'ercome o' his sang Was ‘Waes me for Prince Charlie!’ 1814 Saxon & Gael I. 109 The grace o' a grey bunnock is the baking o't. That was aye her o'ercome. 1893 Stevenson Catriona xvii. 190 ‘We'll ding the Campbells yet’, that was still his overcome. |
3. Something that overwhelms or prostrates a person; a sudden attack or shock.
| 1821 Galt Ann. Parish xviii. 174 Mrs. Balwhidder thought that I had met with an o'ercome, and was very uneasy. |
4. Outcome, issue.
| 1822 Galt Sir A. Wylie l, Heaven only knows what will be the o'ercome o' this visitation. |
5. A crossing, a voyage across.
| 1880 Jamieson, ‘We had a wild ourcome fae America.’ |
▪ II. overcome, v.
(əʊvəˈkʌm)
Forms: see over and come v.
[OE. ofercuman, f. ofer, over- + cuman, come: in MLG., MDu., Du. overkomen, OHG. ubarqueman, MHG. überkomen, Ger. überkommen, Da. overkomme, Sw. öfverkomma.]
† 1. trans. To come upon, get at, reach, overtake. Obs. (Only OE.) [over- 7.]
| c 725 Corpus Gloss. (O.E.T.) 1420 Obtinuit, ofercuom. a 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. iv. i. (1890) 252 Se Wiᵹheard & lytestne alle his ᵹeferan..þy ofercumendan woole fordilᵹade wæron & forðᵹeleorde. a 900 Judith 235 (Gr.) Nanne ne sparedon þæs herefolces..þe hie ofercuman mihton. c 1050 Cott. Cleopatra Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 459/8 Obtinuit, ofercom. |
2. a. trans. To overpower, prevail over, overwhelm, conquer, defeat, get the better of in any contest or struggle. Since 17th c. chiefly with non-material object. [over- 2, 21.]
| Beowulf (Z.) 1274 He þone feond ofer-cwom. c 893 K. ælfred Oros. ii. iv. §3 Þonne hie hwelc folc mid ᵹefeohte ofercumen hæfdon. c 1000 Sax. Leechd. III. 170 Ofercymeþ he ælle his feond. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 155 Mid þis wepne wes dauid iscrud þa he goliam þe fond ouer-com. c 1200 Ormin 6275 Forr þu mihht cwemenn swa þin Godd & oferr⁓cumenn deofell. a 1300 Cursor M. 16338 Wit na word ouercum him he mai. 1382 Wyclif John xvi. 33 Triste ȝe, I haue ouercome [1388 ouercomun] the world. 1456 Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 110 [To] ourcum malice with vertu of pacience. 1573 G. Harvey Letter-bk. (Camden) 3 Miht had alreddi overcumd riht. 1579 Lodge Repl. Gosson's Sch. Abuse (Hunt. Cl.) 12 Pindarus colledg is not fit for spoil of Alexander ouercome. c 1648–50 R. Brathwait Barnabees Jrnl. iv. xxvii, But their purpose I o'ercommed. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. Concl. 391 He..that is slain, is Overcome, but not Conquered. a 1703 Burkitt On N.T. Mark xiv. 72 His fears overcame his faith. 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 82 The quotient will be the resistance overcome at the circumference of the wheel. 1875 Manning Mission H. Ghost x. 268 Unless we have fortitude to overcome these temptations, they will overcome us. |
† b. To be victor in, gain, win (a battle). Obs.
| c 1205 Lay. 31684 And ȝif Oswy..þat feht maȝen ouer⁓cumen we him sculleð to luken. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 6 Tuenty grete batailes Ine ouerkam. 1574 Hellowes Gueuara's Fam. Ep. 1 On the day they had ouercome any battaile. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iii. iii. 73 [They] haue gotten & ouercome diuers battels. |
c. absol. or intr. To be victorious, gain the victory, conquer.
| a 1325 Prose Psalter l[i]. 5 Þa-tou be made ryȝt-ful in þy wordes, and þatou ouercum whan þou art iuged. 1382 Wyclif Rev. iii. 21, I shal ȝiue to him that shal ouercome, for to sitte with me in my troone, as and I ouercam, and sat with my fadir in his troone. 1489 Caxton Faytes of A. iii. iii. 171 They of the chyrche ought not to reuenge hem but ought to ouercome by suffraunce. 1561 J. Daus tr. Bullinger on Apoc. (1573) 74 A Lion of the tribe of Iuda hath ouer⁓commed. 1652 F. Osborne Plea Free State comp. w. Monarchy 4 Making that arbitrary and at the will of the Vanquished, which is imposed without exception, on all that Overcame. 1842 Tennyson Godiva 10 But she Did more, and underwent, and overcame. |
d. Phr. we shall overcome, used as a slogan by minority groups, with allusion to the text of a Negro Gospel song.
| [1901 C. A. Tindley in Miles & Clifton New Songs of Gospel No. 27 (title) I'll overcome some day.] 1948 People's Songs Sept. 8 We will overcome, We will overcome, We will overcome some day. Oh Down in my heart, I do believe, We'll overcome some day. 1961 Jet 14 Dec. 53 That the Freedom Riders left their imprint on the prison was evident from the songs and slogans they scribbled on the walls. A favorite was the crusaders' theme We Shall Overcome. 1963 N.Y. Times 23 July 21/1 The theme song of the integration movement, ‘We Shall Overcome’, has had its own history of integration, passing from Negro singers to white and back again to Negro. 1968 ‘Ebon’ Revolution 15 ‘We shall overcome’ And black Truth bombs Explode In the back, Alleys, Of Newark's Asshole. 1973 Black World Sept. 8/1 The Christian strains of ‘We shall Overcome’ gave way to the more Garrisonian ‘We Shall be heard!’ as the Sixties progressed. |
3. a. Of some physical or mental force or influence: To overpower, overwhelm; to exhaust, render helpless; to affect or influence excessively with emotion. Chiefly in pass.; const. with, rarely by. In pa. pple. sometimes (euphemistically) = overcome by liquor, intoxicated. [over- 2, 21.]
| c 1050 Cott. Cleopatra Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 374/1 Consternati, ofercymene. Ibid. 458/24 Obstipuit, forhtode, ofercymen wæs. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 6290 He ne dorste ys feblesse telle Edmond, vor fere Laste, ȝyf he vnderȝete, þat he were so ouercome, Þat he nolde fine ar he adde is lif him binome. c 1386 Chaucer Miller's Prol. 27 Thou art a fool, thy wit is ouercome. c 1430 Life St. Kath. (1884) 33 A merueylous lyght wherof þe holy virgyn was nyȝe ouer⁓come wyth wonder and merueylynge. c 1450 Mirour Saluacioun 2897 She was so feynt and ouercomen for sorowe. 1530 Palsgr. 648/1 I ranne so faste that I was almoste overcome with ronnyng. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. i. 23 And now exceeding griefe him overcame. 1658 A. Fox Wurtz' Surg. ii. i. 48 A strong Medicine is to powerfull for a weak body, and overcomes his nature. 1756 W. Toldervy Hist. 2 Orphans IV. 30 In a very short time this female was (what good women term) overcome. 1844 Dickens Mart. Chuz. xxx, The architect was too much overcome to speak. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iv. 500 One of the proscribed Covenanters, overcome by sickness, had found shelter in the house of a respectable widow. 1882 H. De Windt Equator 116 ‘Schnapps’..had..been too much for them, and ere dinner was over they were all—to use a mild expression—overcome. |
† b. To obtain or have sway over (the mind or conduct); to dominate, possess. Obs. rare.
| 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xiii. 11 How þis coueitise ouercome clerkes and prestes. 1568 Grafton Chron. I. 61 He was so overcome with wrath and cruelnesse, that commonly he was the death of any that angred him. 1607 Shakes. Cor. iv. vi. 31 A worthy Officer i' th' Warre, but Insolent, O'recome with Pride. |
† c. fig. (with a thing also as obj.). To be too much for; to exhaust or surpass the capacity of; to overload, overflow. Obs.
| 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. ii. 748 Till..A Crop so plenteous, as the Land to load, O'ercome the crowded Barns. 1708 J. Philips Cyder i. 34 Th' unfallow'd Glebe Yearly o'ercomes the Granaries with Store Of Golden Wheat. |
4. To ‘get over’; to surmount (a difficulty or obstacle); to recover from (a blow, disaster, etc.). [over- 5.]
| c 1205 Lay. 1934 Þa hæfde þa Troinisce men Ouer-comen [c 1275 ouercome] heora teonen Þa weoren heo bliðe. 1648 Hamilton Papers (Camden) 244, I found that all the considerable difficultie I wold meet with wold be in point of the Divine worship, and I was threatned to purpos that that was not to be overcome. 1725 De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 255 The more difficult..it was..the more it would please me to attempt and overcome it. 1846 Greener Sc. Gunnery 261 We have studied long and hard to overcome those objections. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. x. 66 Enormous difficulties may be overcome when they are attacked in earnest. 1884 D. Grant Lays North 22 (E.D.D.), I do believe 'twis full a raith Ere we owercam' the blow. |
5. To go beyond, exceed, surpass, excel, outstrip (in quality, measure, etc.). arch. [over- 13.]
| c 1220 Bestiary 749 Ut of his ðrote cumeð a smel..ðat ouer⁓cumeð haliweie wið swetnesse. 1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 583 But oure kinde konninge ȝou ouur-comeþ nouþe In alle dedus þat ȝe don. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 149 His body overcome ȝe heiȝt of þe wal. c 1610 Women Saints 197 To goe forward and to ouercome precedent vertuous actions with better. 1643 J. Burroughes Exp. Hosea ii. (1652) 176 The idols they had..did even overcome the Egyptian idols in number. 1859 Tennyson Elaine 448 But there is many a youth Now crescent, who will come to all I am And overcome it. |
† 6. To get over, get through or to the end of; to master, accomplish. Obs. [over- 17.]
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 116 Nu beoð, Crist haue þonc, þe two dolen ouercumen. Go we nu, mid Godes helpe, up oðe þridde. Ibid. 198 Þeo þet nimeð more an hond þen heo mei ouer⁓cumen. 1573 Tusser Husb. li. (1878) 118 If meadow be forward, be mowing of some; but mowe as the makers may well ouercome. 1598 W. Phillips Linschoten in Arb. Garner III. 434 With great misery and labour, they ouer⁓came their voyage. 1652 D. Osborne Lett. to Sir W. Temple (1888) 32, I am extremely glad..to find that you have overcome your long journey. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 538 Thus, under heavy Arms, the Youth of Rome Their long laborious Marches overcome. |
7. To come or pass over, traverse (a road, space, etc.). Now rare. [over- 10.]
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 1633 Longe weie he siðen ouer-cam. c 1540 tr. Pol. Verg. Eng. Hist. I. (Camden No. 36) 42 After thei hadd overcomme the Alpes. 1697 Dryden Virg. Past. ix. 82 Already we have half our way o'ercome. 1835 A. B. Longstreet Georgia Scenes 7, I had over⁓come about half the space which separated it from me. 1875 W. Morris tr. Virgil's Aeneids xii. 907 And e'en the hero-gathered stone..O'ercame not all the space betwixt. |
8. a. To come or spread over; to overrun; to cover. Now rare. [over- 9.]
| c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 1942 Vp to his brest was come The coold of deeth that hadde hym ouercome. c 1475 Lament Mary Magd. 129 With blood ouercome were bothe his iyen. 1588 Shakes. Tit. A. ii. iii. 95 The Trees..Ore⁓come with Mosse, and balefull Misselto. 1607 Norden Surv. Dial. v. 240, I haue a peece of land, ouercome with a kind of weed that is full of prickles. 1855 Browning Grammarian's Funeral 18 All the peaks soar, but one the rest excels; Clouds overcome it. |
† b. To come over suddenly, take by surprise. Obs.
| 1605 Shakes. Macb. iii. iv. 111 Can such things be, And ouercome vs like a Summers Clowd, Without our speciall wonder? |
† 9. intr. To come about (in the course of time); to happen, befall; to supervene. Obs. [? over- 14.]
| c 1374 Chaucer Troylus iv. 1041 (1069) Thinges alle and some That whylom ben byfalle and ouer-come. 1382 Wyclif Prov. xxvii. 1 Vnknowende what the dai to ouercome [Vulg. superventura] bringe forth. |
10. intr. To ‘come to’, ‘come round’, recover from a swoon. Now dial. [? over- 17.]
| 1375 Barbour Bruce xviii. 134 Schir philip of his desynaiss Ourcome, and persauit he wass Tane. c 1430 Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 8399 A swoun she fel as she stoode;..Clarionas at last ouercam And of hir ring grete hede she nam. ? a 1550 Freiris of Berwik 575 in Dunbar's Poems 304 Fra the wind wes blawin twyiss in his face, Than he ourcome within a lytill space. 1714 Thomson Cloud of Witnesses (1871) 420 (E.D.D.), I fell into a sound; and when overcame again, they were standing about, looking on me. 1768 Ross Helenore 20 When she o'ercame, the tear fell in her eye. |
Hence overˈcome († overcomen, overcomed) ppl. a., conquered, vanquished: also used absol.
| 1470–85 Malory Arthur ix. xi, An ouercomen knyghte I yelde me vnto you. 1530 Palsgr. 320/1 Overcome, espris..mat. 1549 Cheke Hurt Sedit. (1641) 63 The overcommed cannot fly, the overcommer cannot spoile. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. i. xxi. 26 b, Two great figures of the ouercome. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 49 The poor over-comed beast, with shame retireth from the herd. |