overlay

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to kill by lying on

   The sow overlay their piglets.

2. 2
   verb

   To lay, spread, or apply (something) over or across (something else); to overspread.

   Near-synonyms: cover, superimpose, superpose

3. 3
   verb

   To overwhelm; to press excessively upon.

   when any country is overlaid by the multitude which live upon it

4. 4
   verb

   To lie over (someone, especially a child) in order to smother it; to suffocate.

   And this womans childe died in the night: because she ouerlaid it.

5. 5
   verb

   To bet too much money on.

   […] he has 'overlaid' his book, and has not succeeded in 'getting round' by bets against the other horses.

6. 6
   noun

   A decal attached to a computer keyboard to relabel the keys.

   The keyboard overlay can be a memory jogger and a great help with spelling. In this way the keyboard makes word processing more accessible to younger as well as special needs children.

7. 7
   noun

   A block of program code that is loaded over something previously loaded, so as to replace the functionality.

   This concept can be extended further by allowing a primary overlay to call a secondary overlay, and so on. However, we will limit ourselves here to the use of primary overlays. Before proceeding further, you need to understand the memory map of the computer, which is a diagram showing the use to which the memory of the computer is put.

8. 8
   noun

   A covering over something else.

   The first, on January 1, 1883, was attributed to the overlay becoming surcharged with water, due to insufficient drainage, and causing a slip.

Etymology

From Middle English overleyen, from Old English oferleċġan, from Proto-West Germanic *obarlaggjan, from Proto-Germanic *uberlagjaną, equivalent to over- + lay. Cognate with Saterland Frisian uurläze, úurlääse, Dutch overleggen, German Low German overleggen, överleggen, German überlegen, Swedish överlägga, Norwegian overlegge. Compare overlie.