Chip's One-Point Lesson: "Overrun" or "Overshoot"

According to Western media reports, the train that crashed on the Fukuchiyama Line on April 25, 2005, overshot the stop position by 40 meters at Itami Station. Japanese media reports used the term 行き過ぎた or オーバーラン.

Western media used the terms overran or overshot, both of which are just fine. However, I would probably tend to use the term overshoot instead of overrun.

The American Heritageﾂｮ Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, defines overshoot as to shoot or pass over or beyond. It also defines the word as flying beyond or past a certain point; to overrun. In fact, they give an example as such: The plane overshot the runway.

If we look up the word , however, we get slightly different usages. Some definitions given are
1. to defeat,
2. to overflow,
3. to overproduce something, and finally
4. to overshoot.

For ease of understanding and clarity, I would have chosen overshoot instead of overrun. What about you?

Beginner Student Section (A big "Thanks" to A.I. for her help here!)

JR福知山線脱線事故のニュースで、｢オーバーラン｣という言葉が使われているのを頻繁に耳にしました。英語にも｢オーバーラン｣という単語がありますが、実は、結構意味が広いのです。例えば、｢過剰生産｣｢溢れる｣なども含まれます。ですから、｢手前の駅で行き過ぎて戻ったために遅れが出て｣と言う場合の｢行き過ぎた｣という意味を表すには、overrunよりもovershootの方が適切です。Overshootには｢行き過ぎた｣という意味しかありませんので、より明確な表現となります。

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