Overarching

How to spell overarching

11 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce overarching

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does overarching mean?

1. adjectiveEmbracing or dominating everything else; comprehensive and most important.
2. adjectiveForming a curve or arch over something below.

Overarching in a sentence

• The overarching aim of the policy is to reduce waiting times.

• The overarching branches formed a green tunnel along the lane.

• Every department contributes to one overarching strategy.

• They walked beneath the overarching stone gateway into the courtyard.

Where does overarching come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word is a compound of two very different ages of English. The first part, 'over', is thoroughly native: it descends from the Old English 'ofer', meaning 'above' or 'across', a word shared with the wider Germanic family. The second part traces to Latin 'arcus', which literally meant a 'bow' or 'curve', the same source that gives us 'arch', 'arc', and 'archer'; it reached English through Old French 'arche' in the medieval period. Joined together, 'overarching' first described something that physically forms an arch over a space, such as branches meeting above a path. From the 1800s the figurative sense took hold, picturing a single great arch that spans and contains everything beneath it, which is why we now speak of an overarching goal or theme. Remembering the literal arch curving above can help fix the single 'r' and the 'ch' spelling in the middle.

How the word is built

• over- (above, across)
• arch (curved span, from Latin arcus 'bow')
• -ing (adjective-forming suffix)