Overcatch

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To catch or capture more of something than is needed, or to take in more than was intended
2. Describing the act of gathering or seizing an excessive amount of something beyond what was planned
3. Catching too much, so that more is taken in or held than the situation required or allowed

Etymology: "Overcatch" is about as transparent as English compounds get: the prefix "over-" (meaning "too much" or "beyond the proper amount") attached to "catch." Taken together, it means to catch more than is needed or wanted, and the word is built directly from two English parts without any borrowing from another language. Its meaning follows the sense of "over-" that appears in words like "overeat" and "overthink," where the action goes past what is appropriate. The word is a verb, and its history is simply the history of the two pieces it is made from. "Catch" comes from Old North French "cachier," a form of Latin "captiare," and "over-" is an Old English prefix that has long been productive in English word formation. Because "overcatch" is an ordinary combination of these two elements, it is more a product of the productive English habit of forming compounds than a word with a story of its own.