overthwart

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overthwart

/əʊvəˈθwɔːt/ UK

Where it comes from

From Middle English overthwart, overthwert, overtwert, overquert, overwhart, equivalent to over- + thwart. Compare Dutch overdwaars (“across”), Danish overtvært (“across”).

preposition

UK, archaic, dialectal From one side to the other of. […] entrance, and access on all sides, by the felling of huge Trees overthwart one another, was quite barr’d up;
Similar: across, athwart

adverb more overthwart · most overthwart

archaic From side to side. For when a Gyant’s slain in fight, And mow’d orethwart, or cleft downright, It is a heavy case, no doubt, A man should have his Brains beat out, Because he’s tall, and has large Bones;
Similar: across, athwart

adjective more overthwart · most overthwart

obsolete Having a transverse position; placed or situated across; hence, opposite. By and by after his iumping vppon them, the Saxons for that Garianonum, or Yarmoth that had giuen vp the ghoſt, in thoſe ſlymie plaſhie fieldes of Gorlſtone trowled vp a ſecond Yarmouth, abutting on the Weſt ſide of the ſhore of this great Yarmouth, that is, but feeling the ayre to be vnholſome and
obsolete Crossing in kind or disposition. So prowde of hart, So overthwart, So out of frame, So voyde of shame, […]
Similar: adverse, opposing, perverse

noun overthwarts

obsolete That which is overthwart; an adverse circumstance; opposition. A hart wel stayd, in ouerthwartes depe, Hopeth amendes: in swete, doth feare the sowre.

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MLA

"overthwart." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/overthwart. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

overthwart. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/overthwart

Chicago

"overthwart." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/overthwart.

BibTeX

@misc{overthwart_2026,
  title = {overthwart},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/overthwart},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}