superincumbent

[soo-per-in-kuhm-buhnt]

adjective

1. lying or resting on something else.

2. situated above; overhanging.

3. exerted from above, as pressure.

superincumbent

/ ˌsuːpərɪnˈkʌmbənt /

adjective

1. lying or being on top of something else

2. situated or suspended above; overhanging

Other Word Forms

• superincumbently adverb
• superincumbence noun
• superincumbency noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of superincumbent¹

1655–65; < Latin superincumbent- (stem of superincumbēns ), present participle of superincumbere to lean over; super-, incumbent

Example Sentences

The internal pilasters, which form an architrave for the northern window, spring from grotesque heads, elaborately carved, and which appear as if pressed down by the superincumbent weight.

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A considerable growth of trees had sprung from the soil collected above them, the roots of some having penetrated completely through the superincumbent shells to the earth beneath.

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The whole city is built on piles, which sometimes sink into the mud, causing the superincumbent structures to incline forward like the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

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Elsewhere he accounts for the diminished pressure on the top of a mountain by the diminished weight of the superincumbent column of air.

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As the meal progressed, the superincumbent earth weighed less heavily on their souls.

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Related Words

• brutal 
• burdensome 
• cruel 
• depressing 
• dictatorial 
• harsh 
• heavy-handed 
• inhuman 
• onerous 
• overbearing 
• tyrannical 
• unjust