überzieht

Überzieht is the present tense form of the German verb überziehen and appears in several related but distinct senses. In financial language, überziehen means to overdraft an account: Er überzieht sein Konto means he is overdrawing his account. The simple past is überzog, and the perfect form is hat überzogen. The related noun is die Überziehung, used for the overdraft itself (often in phrases like Kontoüberziehung oder Kartenüberziehung).

In the sense of putting something over or covering, überziehen is a separable-prefix verb. In present tense, the prefix typically detaches in main clauses, yielding constructions like Er zieht sich den Mantel über (he puts his coat on over himself). The corresponding past and perfect forms are formed with the prefix as part of the participle: Er hat sich den Mantel übergezogen. The passive and other tenses can express the coating action as well (Der Mantel wurde übergezogen; Die Teile wurden mit Gold überzogen).

The verb also exists in the sense of coating a surface with a material, such as metals or ceramics: Die Teile werden mit Gold überzogen. This sense is usually realized in passive constructions or with an object and a coating material introduced by mit.

Etymology: überziehen derives from über- (over, across) plus ziehen (to pull, draw), with different nuances depending on context. The prefix über- conveys crossing, excess, or coverage, which accounts for the main senses of the word.

See also: Überziehung (overdraft), Kontoüberziehung, Kartenüberziehung, coat-over constructions.