overprint

noun

1. The addition of new text on a previously printed stamp, usually to add a surcharge or change the face value.
2. The set of petrological, structural, and/or mineralogical characteristics superimposed onto rock by the action of geological processes over deep time, by analogy with the original sense of the word.

   “Although we do not exclude that some of the observed Moodies laminae were originally microbial mats, the mineral assemblage of the studied anastomosing and wavy laminae (i.e., mainly sericite associated with Ti oxide and rare carbonaceous material) shows a substantial metamorphic overprint, implying that similar laminae cannot be unambiguously associated with the concept of a flourishing Paleoarchean microbial life at 3.22 Ga.”

   “This is the first report from the Alps of eclogite-facies rocks of supposed Alpine age showing a granulite-facies metamorphic overprint, which is, in contrast, well documented in the Variscan belt.”

   “The metasomatic overprint is represented mainly by enrichments in Na, K, Ba, Ti and LREE and the original source of this fluid remains unknown.”

verb

1. To print over what has already been printed.

   “This is the way overprinting works on the ZX Spectrum: two papers or two inks give a paper, one of each gives an ink. This has the interesting property that if you overprint with the same thing twice you get back what you started off with.”

2. (transitive)To add an overprint to (a stamp).
3. (transitive)To print too many copies of.

   “The unpopular comic book was overprinted, leaving many retailers with dozens of unsaleable copies.”

4. To overlap different colours to avoid gaps.
5. To superimpose a new set of petrological, structural, and/or mineralogical characteristics onto rock by the action of geological processes over deep time, by analogy with the original sense of the word.

   “Furthermore, these rocks are overprinted by seafloor weathering, which provides a challenge to reconstructing serpentinization processes.”

   “Dominantly dextral shearing in the Chester zone occurred during post-Acadian plate adjustments around ca. 380 Ma (Ghanem et al. 2016), coeval with initial activity along the Norumbega fault system to the southeast and the shear fabrics overprint rocks on both upper and lower plates of the original thrust.”

   “Although deformation overprints volcanic construction, several structural patterns are considered to be inherited from the pre-existing volcanic architecture.”