Overemphases

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act of placing excessive stress on certain words or ideas in communication
2. Instances where one highlights aspects more than necessary in speech or writing
3. The tendency to exaggerate the importance of concepts or details to ensure they are noticed

Etymology: "Overemphases" is simply the plural of "overemphasis," a noun formed in English by attaching the prefix "over-" to "emphasis." The prefix traces back through Middle English "over-" to Old English "ofer-," a word meaning "above" or "beyond," which in turn descends from ancient roots meaning "up" and "over" that also gave Germanic languages their word for the notion of going past a limit. "Emphasis" arrived in English from Greek, where "emphasis" meant something like "indication" or "a showing forth," built from a verb meaning to make clear or show in. The English sense of stressing a point developed later, so the combined "overemphasis" is a straightforward English coinage: too much stress laid on something, and its plural names each separate instance of doing so.