Overbalance

Overbalance

Verb / Noun · /ˌəʊ.vəˈbæl.əns/

Definition

(Verb) to lose one's balance and fall or tip over; to cause something to lose balance and topple; to outweigh or exceed — to tip the balance beyond equilibrium. (Noun) a condition in which something exceeds its counterbalancing weight or force; excess beyond equilibrium.

Origin

From over- (beyond, exceeding) + balance (from Old French balance, from Medieval Latin bilanx, having two scale-pans: bi, two + lanx, scale pan). Overbalance therefore meaning to exceed the balance — to tip beyond the equilibrium point. The verb appearing from the seventeenth century in both the literal physical sense (to topple) and the figurative sense (to outweigh, to exceed in importance or force). The noun being used in accounting, physics, and general discussion of forces that exceed their counterpart.