Overlush

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Excessively lush or verdant, often to the point of appearing overgrown or too richly vegetated
2. Marked by an excessive amount of flourishing growth that seems overly dense
3. Characterized by vegetation that is too abundant or thick, appearing almost crowded in growth

Etymology: "Overlush" is a plain formation: the prefix "over-", meaning excessive or beyond the normal degree, attached to "lush". The adjective "lush" has its own history: it appears in English from the late Middle Ages, and was earlier used of a soft, tender, or juicy quality in plants, which is the sense that gave rise to its modern meaning of rich, dense growth. "Over-" is an old and productive English prefix, so "overlush" follows the same pattern as words like "overgrown" or "overripe," adding the sense of too much to a quality already present. Because the word is built transparently from two English parts, its meaning follows directly from them: vegetation that has grown past lushness into a crowded, dense tangle.