Overcooling

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. Chilling something more than is needed or intended, bringing its temperature lower than the target level
2. Reducing the temperature of a substance or object past the point required for a given purpose
3. Cooling excessively so that a material, liquid or body becomes colder than was planned or desired

Etymology: "Overcooling" is a plain formation: the prefix "over-", meaning excessively or beyond the proper amount, attached to "cooling," the present participle and gerund of "cool." The prefix descends from Old English "ofer," which carries the sense of "above" or "beyond" and traces back through Proto-Germanic to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "over" or "beyond." English has used "over-" as a productive prefix for centuries, letting speakers stack it onto nearly any verb to mean "too much" of an action. Because "cool" itself is an ordinary verb and "over-" is a freely attached prefix, the word needed no special coinage. Its meaning follows directly from its parts: cooling too far, or cooling beyond what is needed or desired. The word is most often used in technical contexts, such as describing a process, machine, or material that has been reduced in temperature past its intended point.

Antonyms: overheating