Überlappende

Überlappende is an attributive form of the German adjective überlappend, meaning overlapping. It is used to describe elements that occupy common space in geography or time, or that share characteristics. The related noun form is Überlappung, and the corresponding verb is überlappen.

Origin and usage: The term is formed from the prefix über- (over) combined with lappen, and is used in technical, scientific, and everyday language. In German, adjectives before nouns take endings according to case, gender, and number, so examples include die überlappenden Bereiche, ein überlappender Bereich, or ein überlappendes Gebiet.

Examples: überlappende Bereiche (overlapping areas); überlappende Zeitfenster (overlapping time windows); eine überlappende Region (an overlapping region).

In related terminology, see Überlappung (the noun overlap), überlappen (to overlap), Überschneidung (intersection/overlap), and Schnittmenge (set intersection). These terms are often used in discussions of geometry, scheduling, data analysis, linguistics, and other disciplines where shared space or time is relevant. The usage is typically neutral and descriptive, avoiding value judgments about the significance of the overlap.