Overissues

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. The act of issuing more of something, especially concerning shares or currency, than is necessary or allowed
2. Instances where additional allocations are made beyond the established limits, creating potential economic imbalances
3. Situations arising from the distribution of excess quantities that may lead to dilution of value or resources

Etymology: "Overissues" is simply the third-person singular present form of "overissue," a verb meaning to issue something in excessive quantity, so the story belongs to the verb. The base word is built from "over-," a prefix meaning "excessively" or "too much," attached to "issue," which comes from Old French "issue" (going out, outlet), ultimately from Latin "exire," to go out. Its literal sense of "a going out" or "a flowing out" gave rise to the later senses of offspring, publication, and something put into circulation. The "over-" prefix works the same way across many English verbs, such as "overpay" or "overcook," so the formation is transparent once the two parts are known. In this case, "overissue" describes the act of putting out too much of something, most often banknotes or securities, which is why the verb is most common in financial and monetary writing.

Synonyms: overpublishes, overproduces, oversupplies, excessively issues, overreleases

Antonyms: underissues, underpublishes, underproduces, withholds, restricts