different between supersede vs overwrite

English

Alternative forms

• supercede, superseed (common misspellings)

Etymology

From Middle French superseder (“postpone, defer”), from Latin supersed?re, from super (“over”) + sed?re (“to sit”). The meaning “to replace” is from 1642, probably by association with unrelated precede – note that c instead of s (from c?dere (“to yield”), not sed?re (“to sit”)). As a result, supercede is a common misspelling – see therein for further discussion. Doublet of surcease.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?su?p??si?d/
• (Canada, General American) IPA^(key): /?sup??sid/
• Rhymes: -i?d

Verb

supersede (third-person singular simple present supersedes, present participle superseding, simple past and past participle superseded)

1. (transitive) To take the place of.

   Those older products have been superseded by our new range.

2. (transitive) To displace in favour of itself.

   Modern US culture has superseded the native forms.

Usage notes

Supersede is the only English word ending in -sede. Similar words include three ending in -ceed and several ending in -cede. Supercede is therefore a common misspelling of this word.

Synonyms

• (take the place of): replace, supplant, usurp

Related terms

Translations

Noun

supersede (plural supersedes)

1. (Internet) An updated newsgroup post that supersedes an earlier version.

   Rogue cancels and supersedes are being issued on a large scale against posters.

References

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /su?per.se.de?/, [s???p?rs??d?e?]
• (Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /su?per.se.de/, [su?p?rs?d??]

Verb

supersed?

1. second-person singular present active imperative of supersede?

English

Etymology

From over- +? write.

Pronunciation

Verb

overwrite (third-person singular simple present overwrites, present participle overwriting, simple past overwrote, past participle overwritten)

1. (transitive, computing) To destroy (older data) by recording new data over it.

   I accidentally saved my unwanted changes and overwrote the version of the document I wanted to keep.

2. (transitive) To cover in writing; to write over the top of.
3. (transitive, intransitive) To write too much.
   • 2013, Richard Rudin, Trevor Ibbotson, Introduction to Journalism

     Many trainees consider that by increasing the length of the piece they will construct a good feature. This is often not the case and overwriting can lead to vague and muddled features that confuse the reader and ultimately lose their interest.

4. (transitive, intransitive) To write in an unnecessarily complicated or florid way; to produce purple prose.
   • 1954, Edwin H. Ford, Edwin Emery, Highlights in the History of the American Press: A Book of Readings, U of Minnesota Press ?ISBN, page 367

     The Times of course has to pay the price of encyclopaedism by being often dreadfully overwritten, with long paragraphs connected by motley conjunctions.

   • 1986, David Novarr, The Lines of Life: Theories of Biography, 1880-1970, Purdue University Press ?ISBN, page 162

     He overwrites constantly, but his detailed and understated one-paragraph description of Monroe's apartment in New York (pp. 216-18) injects high voltage into the de casibus tradition.

   • 1989, Michael O'Neill, The human mind's imaginings: conflict and achievement in Shelley's poetry, Oxford University Press, USA

     That said, the passage just looked at anticipates rather than participates in greatness. It is too adjectival, a stylistic flaw which suggests an insistence more apparent in the ensuing lines (182-91), where one is torn between thinking that Shelley is overwriting and that he is staying close to a feverish intensity.

Translations

Noun

overwrite (plural overwrites)

1. (computing) The operation of destroying older data by recording new data over it.