superb, a.
(s(j)uːˈpɜːb)
[ad. L. superbus proud, superior, distinguished, magnificent. Cf. F. superbe, It. superbo.]
1. Of buildings, monuments, and the like: Of noble and magnificent proportions or aspect.
| 1549 Compl. Scot. iii. 25 The kyng anchises lamentit the distructione of the superb troy. 1683 Brit. Spec. 111 Their humble Cottages he changed into fair Houses and stately Palaces, superb Porticoes, and sumptuous Baths. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 23 May 1645, Behind the quire is the superb chapell of Ferdinand I. 1756–7 tr. Keysler's Trav. (1760) II. 398 This superb obelisk was, by order of Sixtus V{ddd}removed. 1821 Scott Kenilw. xxxviii, In this mood, the vindictive and ambitious Earl entered the superb precincts of the Pleasance. 1868 Freeman Norm. Conq. II. x. 508 The church itself..gradually gave way to the superb structure with which we are all familiar. |
2. Grandly and sumptuously equipped, arrayed, or decorated.
| a 1700 Evelyn Diary 22 Oct. 1658, Saw the superb funerall of the Protector. 1717 Prior Alma i. 382 Thus, if You Dine with my Lord May'r,..painted Flags, superb and neat, Proclaim You welcome to the Treat. 1763 Churchill Ghost iv. 639 A superb and feather'd hearse, Bescutcheon'd and betagg'd with Verse. 1795 Gentl. Mag. July 607/1 A superb watch, set with brilliants. 1814 Scott Wav. xvi, He fired his piece accordingly, but missed the superb monarch of the feathered tribes. 1894 P. Pinkerton Adriatica, On Asolan Hills, I survey The procession superb of the clouds. |
b. in specific appellations of many gorgeously coloured birds, plants, etc.; see quots.
superb bird of paradise, Lophorhina (Paradisea) superba, a species of which the male is violet-black with green iridescence, having a gorget of metallic green feathers, and an erectile hood or mantle of velvet-black plumes on the shoulders; superb lily, a plant of the genus Gloriosa (Methonica), esp. G. superba; superb warbler, the blue wren of Australia, Malurus cyaneus. (See Shaw's Zool. for many other names of birds.)
| 1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. (1788) App., Superb Lily, Gloriosa. 1783 Latham Gen. Synopsis Birds II. ii. 709 Superb Pheasant, Phasianus superbus. 1796 Nemnich Polygl.-Lex., Superb warbler, Motacilla cyanea. 1802 Shaw Gen. Zool. III. ii. 433 Superb Snake. Coluber Elegantissimus..appears to be a beautiful species, measuring about two feet in length. 1809 Ibid. VII. ii. 494 Superb Paradise-bird. Paradisea Superba... This species is about the size of a Thrush, and is a bird of great singularity of plumage. 1847 L. Leichhardt Overland Exped. iii. 80 We also observed the superb warbler, Malurus cyaneus of Sydney. 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXV. 795/1 The death adder, the brown, the black, the superb, and the tiger snakes [of Australia]. |
3. Of conditions, language, thought, etc.: Grand, stately, majestic.
| 1784 Cowper Tiroc. 751 Or is thine house, though less superb thy rank, If not a scene of pleasure, a mere blank. 1825 J. Neal Bro. Jonathan I. 90 The superb language of Job. a 1834 Coleridge Notes & Lect. Shaks. (1875) 220 The lines, as epic narrative, are superb. 1851 Ruskin Stones Ven. I. vii. §17 A superb breadth of proportion. |
4. Expressing emphatic approval: Very fine; splendid; magnificent.
| a 1729 Congreve An Impossible Thing 190 Not all the Wiles that Hell could hatch Could conquer that Superb Mustach. 1753 Mrs. Delany Let. to Mrs. Dewes 3 Dec., It is one of the finest things I ever read in my life; was ever a superb family better described! 1827 Disraeli Viv. Grey v. ix, The dinner was sumptuous, the wines superb. 1872 Jenkinson Engl. Lake Distr. (1879) 181 During the descent there are superb views of a portion of the higher reach of Ullswater. 1908 [Miss Fowler] Betw. Trent & Ancholme 160 One of the most superb singers of our century. |
† 5. Proud, haughty. Obs.
| 1654 tr. Scudery's Curia Pol. 166 If they be too superb and haughty their pride is to be punished with severity. a 1697 Aubrey Lives, W. Oughtred (1898) II. 111 Before he dyed he burned a world of papers, and sayd that the world was not worthy of them; he was so superb. |