overcoding

noun2

1. •
   The use of established codes to take on new meanings, often thereby obscuring distinctions.

   • The reason lies in the peculiar efficacy of the state in utilizing overcoding and rendering its principles and categories society-wide. — 1994
2. •
   An instance of overcoding.

   • Representation is established through successive overcodings, and the meaning of a phenomenon is given by the dominant overcoding, through a process of one code (or signifier) replacing another. — 1996