overshorten

English

WOTD – 8 May 2010

Etymology

From over- +‎ shorten.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) enPR: ō'vər.shôrʹtən, IPA(key): /ˌəʊ.vəˈʃɔː.tən/
  • (US) enPR: ō'vər.shôrʹtən, IPA(key): /ˌoʊ.vɚˈʃɔɹ.tən/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Audio (General Australian):(file)

Verb

overshorten (third-person singular simple present overshortens, present participle overshortening, simple past and past participle overshortened)

  1. (transitive) To shorten too much; make excessively or inappropriately short.
    • 1936, Harold Vincent Marrot, editor, The Life and Letters of John Galsworthy[1], 2nd revised edition, Heinemann, page 696:
      This plant has only a certain capacity for daylight, and to overshorten the nights would injure it.

Translations