superincumbent
Americanadjective
-
lying or resting on something else.
-
situated above; overhanging.
-
exerted from above, as pressure.
adjective
-
lying or being on top of something else
-
situated or suspended above; overhanging
Other Word Forms
- superincumbence noun
- superincumbency noun
- superincumbently adverb
Etymology
Origin of superincumbent
1655–65; < Latin superincumbent- (stem of superincumbēns ), present participle of superincumbere to lean over; see super-, incumbent
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Because they are obliged to grow under the whole superincumbent weight of society, he must not be severe if they attain but a partial growth.
From A New Atmosphere by Hamilton, Gail
The material of the bank being loosened by blasting and the cutting action of the water, crumbles into holes, and the superincumbent mass, often with large trees and stones, falls into the lower ground.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 2 "Gloss" to "Gordon, Charles George" by Various
As the meal progressed, the superincumbent earth weighed less heavily on their souls.
From Froth by Palacio Vald?s, Armando
The Ionic expresses increased lightness, by the interposition of its volute, as if the superincumbent weight had but gently pressed a soft solid into a scroll.
From Beauty Illustrated Chiefly by an Analysis and Classificatin of Beauty in Woman by Walker, Alexander
The prime feature in Cornish geology is the upheaval of the granite, distorting, folding back, and altering the superincumbent beds.
From Cornwall by Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
