1. endless, unlimited
[adjective]
[oe-ver-loos]
An “oever” is a ‘shore’ (sea, lakes) or ‘bank’ (river, lake, canal). I guess that without ‘oevers’ a river can potentially grow wider with ‘no end’ (in the Netherlands) hence the negative connotation of the word “oeverloos” in the meaning of ‘endless, unlimited’.
Examples:
– “Ik ben jouw oeverloze gezever zat!” – “Gezever, gezever, wie gebruikt dat woord nou? Zeg toch gewoon ‘gezeur’!” – “Hah! Dit is precies wat ik bedoel, hou op met je gezeur ok, nou goed??”
(“I’m fed up with your endless drivel!” – “Drivel, drivel, who ever uses that word? Why don’t you just say ‘whining’!” – “Hah! This is exactly what I mean, stop (with your) whining ok, happy now??”)
– “Hoe was de vergadering?” – “Wel ok, maar Frank was er en dan weet je dat er binnen de kortste keren oeverloze discussies ontstaan!”
(“How was the meeting?” – “It was alright, but Frank was there and then you know that you will have endless discussions in no time.” Lit. “endless discussions will start.”)
Expressions:
– “Een gebed zonder eind”: a never ending story. Lit. “prayer without ending”.
Related words:
– Oever: shore, bank [noun] [de oever, de oevers].
– Eindeloos: endless [adjective].
Example:
– “De mogelijkheden zijn eindeloos!”
(“The possibilities are endless!”)
– Rivier: river [noun] [de rivier, de rivieren].
– Overstromen: to overflow, to run over [verb] [stroomde over, overgestroomd].
– Uiterwaard: (river) foreland, holm, washland [noun] [de uiterwaard, de uiterwaarden].
2. shoreless
[adjective]
[oe-ver-loos]
‘Shoreless’ is the literal meaning of ‘oeverloos’.
Examples:
– “Als gevolg van stadsuitbreiding zijn er huizen gebouwd op de oevers van de rivier. Daarmee is de rivier in feite oeverloos geworden.”
(“As a consequence of city expansion houses have been built on the river’s banks. Because of that, the river has now effectively become shore/bankless.”)
– “Je kunt niet wandelen langs die rivier want die is oeverloos, dus ik raad je aan een andere route uit te stippelen.”
(“You can’t walk along that river as it is shoreless, so I advise you to map out a different route.”)