übereinanderliegendes

Übereinanderliegendes is a German noun (das Übereinanderliegende) or attributive form used to designate an element that lies on top of another in a vertical arrangement. It is a compound formed from übereinander (“one on top of another”) and liegend(es) (from liegen), with nominalization providing a neutral term for the upper layer or overlay in technical contexts.

In usage, übereinanderliegendes appears mainly in fachsprachlicher contexts such as geology, architecture, material science and biology, where it denotes the layer or component that is positioned above another. The term can also function attributively as übereinanderliegendes Material, referring to material placed over another layer. Grammatically, it behaves as a neuter noun: das Übereinanderliegende (nominative), des Übereinanderliegenden (genitive), dem Übereinanderliegenden (dative), das Übereinanderliegende (accusative).

Relation and variants: The concept is closely related to overlying or overlay terms. A common contrast is Unterliegendes, referring to the underlying layer. Related concepts include Überlagerung (overlay or superposition) and Überdeckung (covering). In practice, übereinanderliegendes emphasizes the position of being directly above another element, rather than merely adjacent.

See also: Überlagerung, Überdeckung, Unterliegendes, Unterlage.