Overdispensed

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Supplied or distributed in excessive amounts, such as medication given out beyond what is necessary or safe
2. Handed out more than was appropriate or required, especially when drugs or rations are issued in too great a quantity
3. Gave out or released an excessive quantity of something beyond what was advisable, prescribed or needed

Etymology: The base verb "dispense" comes from Latin "dispensare," meaning to weigh out or distribute, from "dispendere," which combined "dis-" (apart) with "pendere" (to weigh). Weighing out goods or payments was the original idea, and the same Latin root gives English "spend" through "expendere," so "dispense" and "spend" are distant relatives. Over- is an English prefix meaning "too much" or "excessively," added to the verb to form "overdispense," and the form here is its past tense or past participle, the same pattern as "overpaid" or "overspent." The "-ed" ending simply marks the past action.

Synonyms: overprescribe, oversupply

Antonyms: underdispense