overling

English

Etymology

From over + -ling on analogy with underling, or as a revived or dialectal term from Middle English overling (a superior), equivalent to over + -ling.

Noun

overling (plural overlings)

  1. (rare) A superior.
    • 1917, Rudyard Kipling, Mesopotamia (poem)
      But the idle-minded overlings who quibbled while they died, [...]
    • 1973, Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow
      Reflex laughs from the underlings present, though only grim smiles from the overlings.
  2. (Britain dialectal) A ruler; master.

Antonyms

References

  • Oxford English Dictionary

Anagrams

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