Definitions
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Athwart; across; crosswise; from side to side.
- Exceedingly; excessively.
- Across; from side to side of.
- On the other side of.
- Over against; opposite.
- Opposite; situated on the opposite side.
- Contrary; cross; perverse; contradictory.
- n. An adverse or thwarting circumstance.
- n. Contradiction; quarreling; wrangling.
- To cross; pass or lie across.
- To thwart; oppose; hinder.
Wiktionary
- prep. archaic From one side to the other of; across.
- n. obsolete That which is overthwart; an adverse circumstance; opposition.
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Having a transverse position; placed or situated across; hence, opposite.
- adj. Crossing in kind or disposition; perverse; adverse; opposing.
- adv. Across; crosswise; transversely.
- prep. Across; from alde to side of.
- n. obsolete That which is overthwart; an adverse circumstance; opposition.
- v. obsolete To cross; to oppose.
Etymologies
- From over- + thwart. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“When Sir Gawaine and Ettard awoke of their sleep, and found the naked sword overthwart their throats, then she knew well it was Sir”
“When Sir Gawaine and Ettard awoke of their sleep, and found the naked sword overthwart their throats, then she knew well it was Sir Pelleas 'sword.”
“Also in that contree, and in othere also, men fynden longe apples to selle, in hire cesoun: and men clepen hem apples of paradys; and thei ben righte swete and of gode savour. 74 And thoghe zee kutte hem in never so many gobettes or parties, overthwart or end longes, evermore zee schulle fynden in the myddes the figure of the Holy Cros of oure”
“Aftre passe men overthwart a gret ryvere, that men clepen Dalay: and that is the grettest ryvere of fressche water, that is in the world.”
“Moyses, with the children of Israel, overthwart the see, alle drye, whan Pharao the Kyng of Egypt chaced hem.”
“And zee schulle undirstonde, that the cros of oure Lord was eyght cubytes long, and the overthwart piece was of lengthe thre cubytes and an half.”
“And the overhwart pece was of palme: for in the Olde Testament, it was ordyned, that whan on overcomen, he scholde be crowned with palme: and for thei trowed, that thei hadden the victorye of Crist Jesus, therfore made thei the overthwart pece of palme. 13 And the table of the tytle, thei maden of olyve; for olyve betokenethe pes.”
“And though ye cut them in never so many gobbets or parts, overthwart or endlong, evermore ye shall find in the midst the figure of the Holy Cross of our Lord”
“For that piece that went upright from the earth to the head was of cypress; and the piece that went overthwart, to the which his hands were nailed, was of palm; and the stock, that stood within the earth, in the which was made the mortise, was of cedar; and the table above his head, that was a foot and an half long, on the which the title was written in”
“And he hath a crest of feathers upon his head more great than the peacock hath; and is neck his yellow after colour of an oriel that is a stone well shining, and his beak is coloured blue as ind; and his wings be of purple colour, and his tail is barred overthwart with green and yellow and red.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘overthwart’.
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It's Over: A Beginning
Terms that start with the string over-, beginning with overanxious.
Your entries are welcome.
overanxious, overachiever, oversimplified, overdone, overaccentuate, overact, overadjustment, overage, overaggressive, overalert, overalls, overambitious and 138 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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Old-timey Function Words
Function Word
Herein we place all the therebys, amongsts and withals.hereby, thereby, whereby, herein, therein, wherein, forthwith, therewith, withal, amongst, moreover, heretofore and 21 more...
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Rabelation
Words and phrases from Urquhart and Motteaux's matchless translation of Rabelais' "Gargantua and Pantagruel" (available here).
Make bold with suggestions down in the comment box.bum-gut, torchecul, septembral juice, turdy, linkie pinkie, neat's tongues, variorum, fanfreluches, well-mouthed wench, the close buttock..., rataconniculation, beeves and 300 more...
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Adjectival Arcana
A roster of adjectives that infrequently surface in typical conversation and writing. Many are dredged from scientific or other technical jargon or sieved from examples of disused archaic forms.
unitegmic, acaulescent, reticuloendothelial, ingressive, uniate, acanthopterygian, ossific, epiphysial, perivisceral, acœlomatous, cestoid, acælomate and 7756 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for overthwart.

bilby "But Sir Launcelot rode overthwart and endlong in a wild forest, and held no path but as wild adventure led him."
- Thomas Malory, 'The Holy Grail'. Sep 8, 2009