Overelects

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Chooses a candidate by a majority that is larger than usual or necessary
2. Selects someone through a voting process with a significantly high surplus of votes
3. Picks an individual for a position by winning considerably more votes than required

Etymology: "Overelects" is the third-person singular of "overelect," a verb formed by attaching the prefix "over-" to "elect." "Elect" comes from the Latin "electus," the past participle of "eligere," meaning "to pick out or choose," built from "ex-" (out) and "legere" (to gather or select), and it reached English in the late 1300s. The prefix "over-" is an ordinary Old English element meaning "above, excessively, or too much," so "overelect" literally means to choose excessively. In practice the verb is rare and mostly appears in political writing, where it describes a candidate winning by a margin far larger than expected or needed. The formation is transparent, and it follows the same pattern as "overrate" or "overpay," which is why it can be understood at first sight even though it is seldom found in dictionaries.