Overcollect

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To gather or accumulate an excessive amount of something beyond what is necessary or wanted
2. To take in or amass a quantity that surpasses the intended or proper amount
3. To obtain or acquire more items or resources than required or beneficial

Etymology: "Overcollect" is a plain compound: the prefix "over-", meaning too much or beyond a proper measure, joined to "collect," which comes from the Latin "colligere," meaning to gather together. Put together, the verb describes gathering more than is needed or wanted, so the meaning follows directly from its two parts with no shift along the way. The "collect" half carries the older history. Latin "colligere" combined "com-," meaning together, with "legere," to gather or choose, and English took the verb through Old French "collecter." The prefix "over-" is native English, traceable to Old English, and has been used freely to form verbs like "overeat" and "overpay" that describe excess. "Overcollect" follows that pattern, adding "over-" to a verb that already means to gather.

Synonyms: overgather, hoard, amass, accumulate

Antonyms: undercollect, scatter, distribute