Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

overjaw

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: over-jaw
IPA

20

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The upper jaw (superior maxillary).

Example Sentences

"And when they eat, they move the overjaw and nought the nether jaw, and they have no tongue."
"The King was now represented with a receding forehead, a lined and haggard face, a long nose, thick lips, slanting eyes, a hanging overjaw, and hollow cheeks."
"He drove her over the Hayward Fault, its boundaries jammed together like an overjaw clenched to an underjaw."

Etymology

From Middle English overjowe, over jawe, a partial calque of earlier Middle English over chavel (“upper jaw”), equivalent to over- + jaw.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Prefix: over-
Root: overjowe

Inflected Forms

overjaws (plural) over jaw (alternative)

Antonyms

lower jaw netherjaw underjaw

Questions

What does overjaw mean?: The upper jaw (superior maxillary).
Where does overjaw come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce overjaw

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “overjaw”.
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