overworld

English

Etymology

From over- +‎ world. Compare underworld.

Noun

overworld (plural overworlds)

1. The celestial world.
   • 1951, Naomi Replansky, “The Sightseers” in Ring Song (published 1952):

     This is a steaming underworld:
     Where are the writhings? Where the cries?
     We came down from our overworld
     To see them writhe, to hear their cries.

2. The community of law-abiding citizens.

   Antonym: underworld

3. (video games)
   1. An overarching map or region connecting various disparate towns, dungeons, or stages, usually represented on it by icons.
   2. The portion of a game that is set above ground, as opposed to underground caves etc.

      Antonym: underworld

      • 2017, Alyssa Aska, Introduction to the Study of Video Game Music, page 88:

        The overworld theme for the original Super Mario Bros. remains one of the most recognizable video game tunes to date.

   3. (roleplaying games) The entirety of the world where the player can walk around, as opposed to separate game sections for battles, puzzles, etc.

Derived terms

• overworld map

See also

• hub world
• wilderness

References

• OED 2nd edition 1989

Anagrams

• word-lover