overall

Definition

All-encompassing, all around.

Etymology

From Middle English overall, overal, from Old English ofer eall, ofer ealle (“over all”), equivalent to over + all. Compare Saterland Frisian oural, uural (“everywhere”), West Frisian oeral (“everywhere”), Dutch overal (“everywhere”), German Low German overall, överall (“everywhere; all over”), German überall (“all over; everywhere”), Danish overalt (“everywhere”), Swedish överallt (“everywhere; overall”).

Example Sentences

• "We believe also that a controlled economy cannot be understood without some overall view of the controlling institutions: hence our short studies — shorter by far than the original drafts — of the central administration."