overslaugh
US/ˈəʊ.vəɹˌslɔː/
overslaugh noun: a barrier in a river.
Noun
overslaugh (plural overslaughs)
- A barrier in a river.
- Let him look at the plan of 1832, to which the act of 1834 refers, and upon which it is founded, and he will find that it contains detailed estimates of the expense of clearing out not only the overslaugh, but also the obstructions between Albany and Troy.1836, Register of Debates in Congress
- The opening in dike No. 1 at the overslaugh was completed with the exception of deepening the cut, which could only be done at midsummer.1840, “Hudson River Improvement”, in PUBLIC DOCUMENTS, page 184
- The permission to skip a duty; an exemption from an active duty.
- When an officer is on duty he receives an "overslaugh" for all other duties that come to his turn, provided that they are not additional duties that he may be called on to perform .1892, Sisson Cooper Pratt, Guide to promotion, page 71
- When an officer's tour for more than one duty comes round on the same date, he is to be detailed for that duty only which has the precedence in the classification in para. 2, Sec. 8, H.M. Reg.; and he is to receive an overslaugh for any other duty, the date being filled in for the duty performed...1875, J. Jerome, The Office Duties of an Adjutant, page 71
Verb
overslaugh (third-person singular simple present overslaughs, present participle overslaughing, simple past and past participle overslaughed)
- To hinder or stop, as by an overslaugh or impediment.
- to overslaugh a bill in a legislative body
- to overslaugh a military officer (= to hinder his promotion or employment)
Forms of overslaugh
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | overslaughs |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | overslaughs |
| present participle | overslaughing |
| past participle | overslaughed |
| past | overslaughed |
Origin of overslaugh
From Dutch overslag, from Dutch overslaan.
Questions about overslaugh
- What does overslaugh mean?
- Overslaugh means a barrier in a river.
- What part of speech is overslaugh?
- Overslaugh can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce overslaugh?
- Overslaugh is pronounced /ˈəʊ.vəɹˌslɔː/ (US).
- What is the plural of overslaugh?
- The plural of overslaugh is overslaughs.
Words near overslaugh in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: overslaugh (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “overslaugh.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/overslaugh. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.