super-, prefix
(ˈs(j)uːpə(r), -ər)
repr. L. super- = the adv. and prep. super above, on the top (of), beyond, besides, in addition, used in composition with the various meanings detailed below. (Cf. the related Skr. upari-, Gr. ὑπερ- hyper-, OE. ofer-, etc. over-.)
A certain number of important Latin compounds, chiefly verbs, belong to the classical period, but the great majority are of later date, and many are recorded first from Christian writers. As a living prefix in English, super- first appears about the middle of the 15th c.; it became frequent in Elizabethan times, and in the 17th c. it was very widely used. In more recent times it has been extensively introduced into the nomenclature of chemistry and other sciences as a correlative to sub-. In technical language it sometimes varies with supra- (of which the strict correlative is infra-), e.g. super-local and supra-local, superorbital and supra-orbital, superlapsarian and supralapsarian. It continues to be an important formative element in English, especially in senses of branches II and III.
The more important and permanent compounds are entered in this Dictionary as main words; the present article includes such compounds of a general character as have not a permanent status, and scientific terms of which the meaning may (for the most part) be gathered from the meaning of the prefix and that of the radical element.
A considerable number of Latin compounds were adopted in ‘learned’ form in OF., as superabonder, supereminent, supererogation, superflu, superintendance, superscription, superseder; a few of such compounds became permanently established, as superficie, superlatif, superstition, but the majority have been superseded by forms with the ‘popular’ representative of L. super-, viz. sur-; e.g. surabonder, suréminent, surérogation, surintendance; cf. the parallel forms superfin, surfin in mod.F.
Pronunciation. The general rule is that the first syllable of the prefix carries the secondary stress of the compound, e.g. ˌsuperˈadd, ˌsupereroˈgation, ˌsuperˈnumerary, ˌsuperˈphosphate, ˌsupersesquiˈalteral, ˌsupersubˈstantial. But this syllable carries the main stress where there is a contrast, implicit or explicit, with the radical element as a simple word or with some other compound of it, e.g. ˈsuperclass, ˈsuperflux, ˈsuperhive, ˈsuperman, ˈsuperˌnature, ˈsupersalt, ˈsuperˌsolid, ˈsuperˌstructure; the ˈsubordinate court and the ˈsuperordinate. In two words and their immediate derivatives (in which the etymological meaning has been obscured), the stress is on the second syllable of the prefix, viz. suˈperfluous, suˈperlative.
I. Over, above, at the top (of); on, upon.
1. Forming adjs. in which super- is in prepositional relation to the n. implied in the second element, as in late L. supercælestis that is super cælum above the heavens, supercelestial, superterrēnus that is super terram above the earth, superterrene, -terrestrial. a. Compounds of a general character (chiefly nonce-wds.) and miscellaneous scientific and technical terms.
ˌsuperˈaerial, situated above the air or atmosphere. superˈaqueous, situated above the surface of water. ˌsuperauˈricular, situated above the ears. ˌsupercreˈtaceous Geol., lying above the Cretaceous series (cf. supracretaceous). ˌsuperempyˈreal, above the empyrean or firmament. superˈglacial, situated or occurring upon the surface of ice, esp. of a glacier. superˈlabial, placed over or upon the lip. superˈlineal, -ˈlinear, written above the line. ˌsupermaˈrine, occurring or performed above or upon the surface of the sea. superˈplanetary, above the surface of a planet; in quot. as n. a superplanetary being. superˈspatial, above the limits of space. ˌsuperteˈlluric, ‘situated above the earth and its atmosphere’ (Century Dict. 1891).
| 1660 N. Ingelo Bentiv. & Ur. ii. (1682) 62 They confine him to the *super-aerial Regions. 1664 Power Exp. Philos. ii. 118 If there be a Superaerial region of æther. 1822 P. Beauchamp (Geo. Grote) Anal. Infl. Nat. Relig. (1875) 103 Incomprehensible phenomena are ascribed..to the incomprehensible person above. They call forth..the deepest horror..as being sudden eruptions of the super-aërial volcano. |
| 1886 R. Munro in Jrnl. Anthrop. Inst. May 459 A wooden gangway, probably submerged, stretched to the shore..there has been no evidence to show that the uprights supported a *superaqueous platform. |
| 1845 S. Judd Margaret ii. i. (1871) 168 Those *super-auricular capillary appendages, hardened with pomatum. |
| 1832 H. T. De la Beche Geol. Man. 181 *Supercretaceous Group. (Syn. Superior Order, Conyb.; Tertiary Rocks, Engl. Authors). Ibid. 186 The supercretaceous deposits of London and the Isle of Wight. |
| a 1711 Ken Hymnotheo Poet. Wks. 1721 III. 90 As *super-Empyreal Waves unsluc'd, With Ocean mix[t], the gen'ral Flood produc'd. |
| 1886 A. Winchell Walks Geol. Field 274 The summer sun gave origin to *superglacial streams. |
| 1888 Standard 13 Dec. 3 Deprived of their *superlabial ornaments. |
| 1877 Athenæum 1 Dec. 701/1 MSS. with the so-called Assyrian punctuation or *superlineal vowel points. |
| 1887 Ibid. 24 Sept. 401/3 Dr. Wickes..tries to prove that it is a misnomer to style the *superlinear punctuation Assyrian or Babylonian. |
| 1816–18 Tuckey's Narr. Exped. R. Zaire i. 29 Few of them [sc. the African Atlantic islands] seem to have had *super-marine eruptions. 1845 Thackeray Picture-Gossip ¶12 A stout gentleman..who..believed that he could walk upon the water, and set off in the presence of a great concourse of people upon his supermarine journey. |
| 1827 Coleridge in Blackw. Mag. (1882) Jan. 117 A bright fire is the apotheosis of coal; and Mary, as fire-maker, a maker of black angels, and other beatified *superplanetaries! |
| 1882–3 Schaff's Encycl. Relig. Knowl. II. 950 This *superspatial heaven, above the cloudy and the stellar heavens. |
b. Anat. and
Zool. = Situated above, or on the dorsal side of, the part or organ denoted by the second element, as in
mod.L.
supergenuālis that is
super genu above or upon the knee, applied to the knee-pan. (
Cf. supra-.)
ˌsuperaˈcromial,
ˌsuperambuˈlacral,
supercaˈllosal (the corpus callosum),
superˈcentral (the central sulcus of the brain),
ˌsuperethˈmoidal,
superˈglottal,
ˌsuperlaˈryngeal,
superˈmarginal,
superˈmedial,
superˈorbital (also as
n.),
superˈsphenoid,
superspheˈnoidal,
ˌsupersquaˈmosal (a bone of the skull in ichthyosaurs).
| 1839–47 Todd's Cycl. Anat. III. 572/1 Superficial nerves... The supra-clavicular and *super-acromial. |
| 1877 Huxley Anat. Inv. Anim. ix. 563 Each of these ossicles [in the Ophiuridea]..is surrounded by four plates; one median and antambulacral.., two lateral..and one median and *super⁓ambulacral. |
| 1903 Amer. Anthropologist Oct.–Dec. 623 The *supercallosal fissure [in the brain of J. W. Powell] is separated into two pieces. |
| Ibid., The *supercentral is of the usual zygal shape, freely continuous cephalad with the superfrontal. |
| 1870 Rolleston Anim. Life 25 *Superethmoidal and interorbital vacuities. |
| 1877 Sweet Phonetics 10 A vowel..voice (voiced breath) modified by some definite configuration of the *super-glottal passages, but without audible friction. |
| 1910 Mod. Lang. Rev. V. 91 A glide with no definite *superlaryngeal articulation. |
| 1852 Dana Crust. i. 544 [The hairs] become *super-marginal. |
| 1846 Worcester, *Supermedial, being above the middle. De la Beche. |
| 1849 Noad Electricity (ed. 3) 238 The *super-orbital nerve was laid bare in the forehead, as it issues through the supraciliary foramen in the eyebrow. 1854 Owen in Orr's Circ. Sci., Org. Nat. I. 212 Both the lacrymal and superorbital bones answer to a series of bones found commonly in fishes, and called ‘suborbitals’ and ‘superorbitals’. 1884 Coues N. Amer. Birds 178 The nasal gland, sometimes called the superorbital gland, from its position in many birds. |
| 1901 Dorland Med. Dict., *Supersphenoid, above the sphenoid bone. |
| 1891 Century Dict., *Supersphenoidal. |
| 1866 Owen Anat. Vert. I. 158 The two supplemental bones of the skull [in the Ichthyopterygia]..are the postorbital and *super⁓squamosal. |
c. Bot. in same sense as b (varying with
supra-), as
superˈaxillary (
mod.L.
superaxillāris),
ˌsuperfoliˈaceous; also in terms relating to the geographical distribution of plants, as
ˌsuperaˈgrarian,
superˈarctic (see
quots.).
| 1900 B. D. Jackson Gloss. Bot. Terms, *Superagrarian..applied to a zone which includes the region of vegetation in Great Britain above the limits of cultivation. |
| 1852 Henfrey Veget. Eur. iv. 163 The *Super-arctic [zone], bounded below by the limit of the heather (Calluna vulgaris) at an elevation of about 3000 feet. |
| 1802 R. Hall Elem. Bot. 183 *Superaxillary Flowers. |
| 1900 B. D. Jackson Gloss. Bot. Terms, *Superfoliaceous = suprafoliaceous. |
d. Forming
ns. denoting something placed over or upon that which is denoted by the radical element, as in eccl. L.
superaltāre superaltar,
superfrontāle superfrontal,
superhumerāle superhumeral,
superpelliceum surplice.
2. With
advb. force,
= Above, over, on,
occas. from above (in material or non-material sense), prefixed to verbs,
pples.,
adjs., and nouns of action or state, as in L.
superappārēre to appear above,
supercrescĕre to grow over,
superædificāre to build upon,
superfluĕre to overflow (see
superfluous),
super(im)pendens overhanging,
superincurvātus bent over,
superinduĕre (see
indue),
super(in)undāre to overflow,
supermeāre to flow over,
superscrībĕre to write above,
superscriptio (see
superscribe, -scription),
superstruĕre to erect above (see
superstruct, -structure),
supervestīre to clothe upon.
(
a) Forming intransitive
vbs. and other parts of speech of cognate meaning;
e.g. † supermeate vb.;
supergravitating,
super-impending,
super-inflected,
super-lying,
super-situated,
super-standing pples. and
ppl. adjs.;
superambient,
super-ponderant adjs.;
superflation,
super-gravitation,
super-(in)undation,
† super-meation ns. superˈcrescent a., growing over or on the top of something; so
superˈcrescence, a parasitic growth.
superˈsaliency, the leaping of the male for the act of copulation; so
superˈsalient a.| 1693 J. Beaumont Burnet's Th. Earth ii. 106 By what agitation..of the *superambient Air can Waters be driven..for 450 Miles ascent? c 1900 Buck's Handbk. Med. Sci. III. 265 (Cent. Dict. Suppl.) Damp soil serves to keep the super⁓ambient atmosphere damp. |
| 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. ii. vi. 98 Like other *supercrescenses, and such as living upon the stock of others, are termed Parasiticall plants. |
| 1638 A. Read Chirurg. ix. 66 The *supercrescent flesh doth require a stronger cathereticall medicament. 1746 Phil. Trans. XLIV. 223 The concreted Salts..found..candying the supercrescent Furze. |
| 1690 C. Nesse Hist. & Myst. O. & N. Test. I. 21 God gave this spirit..by way of infusion, *superflation or breathing upon. |
| 1664 Power Exp. Philos. ii. 112 According to the weight of the *Supergravitating Water. |
| Ibid. 108 The *Supergravitation of the high parts of the water upon the lower. |
| a 1711 Ken Edmund Poet. Wks. 1721 II. 83 As Divers at the Bottom of the Deep Feel not the vast *superimpending Heap. 1804 Mitford Inquiry 86 Pillars..connected by the even pavement on which they stand, and by the superimpending intablature. 1885 R. L. & F. Stevenson Dynamiter 158 The day sparingly filtered through the depth of super-impending wood. |
| 1578 Banister Hist. Man i. 10 These two processes meting after a *super⁓inflected maner, are..knit together by an oblique Suture. |
| 1633 T. Adams Exp. 2 Peter iii. 6. 1208 Hee recovered the earth from the *superinundation of waters. |
| 1866 Lawrence tr. Cotta's Rocks Classified (1878) 378 What thickness of *superlying strata should be assumed as sufficient. |
| 1656 Blount Glossogr., *Supermeate.., to go or slip over, to run, or flow over. |
| 1658 Phillips, *Supermeation, a flowing or passing over. |
| 1664 Power Exp. Philos. ii. 105 The top of the Mountain..being so much nearer the top of the Atmosphære, a lesser weight of *Superponderant Ayr makes a lesser quantity of Quicksilver arise in the Tube. |
| 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. iii. i. 107 Their [sc. elephants'] coition is made by *supersaliency like that of horses. 1903 Eng. Dial. Dict., Rig v.1, to perform the act of supersaliency only, to back. |
| 1836 Smart Pron. Dict., *Supersalient. |
| 1597 A. M. tr. Guillemeau's Fr. Chirurg. 13 b/2 To bringe the *supersituated places together. |
| 1859 C. Forster Monum. Assyria, etc. 87 The *super-standing word. |
| 1769 E. Bancroft Guiana 12 Those *superundations..are the source of this redundant fertility. |
(
b) Forming transitive
vbs. and related words of cognate meaning:
† superˈact v., to actuate or impel from above.
superaˈffusion: see
quot. ˈsupercise v. [after
circumcise]: see
quot. ˌsupercolumniˈation, the erection of one order of columns upon another.
† superˈdevil v., to set the Devil over.
† superˈedificate pa. pple., built or founded
upon something.
† ˌsuperedifiˈcation, building upon something;
concr. a superstructure.
† superˈedify v., to build upon a foundation; to erect as a superstructure (also
absol.).
ˌsuperexˈchange Physics [
ad. F.
superéchange (H. A. Kramers 1940, in
Magnétisme (Centre
Nat. de la Recherche
Sci. de France) III. 49)], an exchange force that acts between the electrons of two cations through those of an intervening anion, as in some antiferromagnetic materials.
superˈfix v., to fix upon something else.
† superˈgurgitate v., to cause to overflow.
ˌsuperinˈdue v., to put on as a garment,
esp. over another.
ˌsuperinˈscribe v., (
a) to inscribe on the top or at the head, (
b) to inscribe over another inscription.
ˌsuperinˈvest v., to clothe as with an outer garment.
super-ˈJesuited ppl. a., ruled over by Jesuits.
superproˈnation = supination.
superˈsatanize v., to set Satan over.
† superˈvested pa. pple., covered
with a garment; also
transf. Also
occas. in formations on a
n., as
† superbody v., to fit a ‘body’ upon.
| 1655 Pierce God's Decrees §45. 57 That they might not be betray'd into a yawning reliance upon their being *superacted to the working out of their salvation, he bids them work it out with fear and trembling. |
| 1658 Phillips, *Superaffusion,..a shedding upon, a pouring on the top. |
| 1552 in J. C. Jeaffreson Middx. County Rec. (1886) I. 8 A woman's kertyll of Russell worsted *superbodied with damaske. |
| 1784 Characters in Ann. Reg. 5/1 The men are all circumcised, or rather *supercised; as the operation consists in cutting off only a small piece of the foreskin, at the upper part. |
| 1838 Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. I. 94/1 The writer objects—and so do we—to *super-columniation. |
| 1604 N. D. 3rd Pt. Three Conv. Eng. 279 They were indeuilled, *superdeuilled, and thorowdeuilled. |
| 1508 Fisher 7 Penit. Ps. cii. Wks. (1876) 180 We may be *superedyfycate vpon cryst. |
| 1610 Donne Pseudo-martyr Pref. B 2, If we distinguish not between Articles of faith and iurisdiction, but account all those *super-edifications and furnitures, and ornaments..to be equally the Foundation it selfe, there can bee no Church. 1624 F. White Repl. Fisher 48 In euery building orderly framed, the foundation hath precedence, then followeth superedification, and lastly consummation. 1638 E. Reynolds Peace Ch. 41 To this Foundation..must be joyned a progresse in the Superstruction,..and in this superedification it will be needfull to observe these two things. |
| 1558 Abst. Protocols Town Clerks of Glasgow (1896) II. 58 Cuthtbert can nocht haif closure at the sowtht ende of his waist..without he haif tollerance of the said Johne to *superedifie upone his gavile. 1582 N. T. (Rhem.) 1 Pet. ii. 5 Vnto whom approching, a liuing stone,..be ye also your selues super⁓edified as it were liuing stones. 1640 Bp. Hall Chr. Moder. (Ward) 29/2 We must distinguish between truths necessary, and truths additional or accessory,..truths fundamental, and truths superedified. 1654 H. L'Estrange Chas. I (1655) 124 So vigorous a construction of a little City, not super-edefied upon an old bottom, but upstart and new-emergent from the ground. |
| 1950 Physical Rev. LXXIX. 354/1 This indicates that the *superexchange directly through the O--ion may be more powerful than that between locations making angles of 90° with the O--ions. 1967 J. S. Kouvel in J. H. Westbrook Intermetallic Compounds xxvii. 529/2 A remarkable feature of these superexchange interactions in ionic materials is that they almost always give rise to an antiparallel rather than parallel (i.e., ferromagnetic) alignment of moments. 1980 A. S. Chakravarty Introd. Magnetic Properties Matter xiv. 458 The superexchange mechanism..becomes the dominant factor if the separations between the magnetic ions are too large for the direct exchange mechanism to be operative. |
| 1774 N. Collier in ‘Joel Collier’ (J. L. Bicknell) Mus. Trav. App. 9 It was an angel, and not a fiend, which Mr. Wagner had *superfixed to that excellent piece of machinery. |
| 1653 Urquhart Rabelais ii. vi. 32 Mammona doth not *supergurgitate any thing in my loculs. |
| 1678 Cudworth Intell. Syst. i. v. 818 The Scripture oracles affirm that the earthly house of this Schenos shall be corrupted or dissolved, but the Schenos it self *superindue or put on a house not made with hands [2 Cor. v. 2]. 1858 Sears Athan. iv. 27 We shall have our lost bodies again, to be superindued upon these attenuated ones. |
| 1820 T. L. Peacock Misc. Wks. 1875 III. 328 Nine books..*superinscribed with their [sc. the Muses'] nine names. 1886 Daily Tel. 23 Feb. (Cassell) It was put into an envelope addressed to M. Floquet, President of the Chamber, and superinscribed in another envelope to the Secretary-General of the Parliament. |
| 1624 Donne Devot. (ed. 2) 340 They who haue made iust use of their former daies, be *superinuested with glory. 1922 19th Cent. Oct. 594 Even sordidness itself has put off all its vileness, and is seen superinvested in beauty. |
| a 1628 F. Grevil Sidney (1652) 111 Only to keep those humble religious souls free from oppression, in that *super-Jesuited soveraignty. |
| 1907 Practitioner Apr. 486 The arms are fixed in a position of rigid extension, and frequently *superpronation, so that the palms looked outward. |
| 1857 Truths Cath. Relig. (ed. 4) 178 [Luther's] assertion is ‘that Zuinglius, and all who adhere to his doctrine, are insatanized, *supersatanized and persatanized.’ |
| 1657 W. Rand tr. Gassendi's Life Peiresc ii. 49 Stones that abide long in the bladder, are *supervested with divers crusts. 1697 J. Sergeant Solid Philos. 285 Supervested with an Artificial Dress, thrown over them by our Reflexion. |
b. with intransitive verbs and their derivatives:
= above (in
fig. sense); in a higher condition, relation, etc.; in nonce-words, as
ˌsuper-eˈxist vb.,
super-eˈxistent adj.,
super-ˈsistent adj. (after
subsistent),
super-subˈsisting ppl. adj.| 1844 Emerson Ess., Poet (1851) 177 The sea, the mountain ridge, Niagara, and every flower-bed, preexist, or *super⁓exist, in pre-cantations. |
| 1856 R. A. Vaughan Mystics (1860) I. 94 All that exists he regards as a symbolical manifestation of the *super-existent. |
| a 1834 Coleridge Lit. Rem. (1839) IV. 161 The spirit of man, the spirit subsistent, is deeper than both..the body..[and] the soul; and the Spirit descendent and *supersistent is higher than both. |
| 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage i. i. 2 Names, in regard both of author & obiect diuine; sometimes..in the concrete; sometimes in the abstract; the first signifying his perfect subsistence; the other his *supersubsisting perfection. |
3. Prefixed to descriptive
ns. with
adj. force
= Placed or situated above, over, or upon something; forming the upper part of (that which is denoted by the second element); higher, upper: as in L.
superædificium a superstructure,
superficies surface, etc.;
med.L.
supervestīmentum upper garment;
e.g. super-cloth,
super-crust,
super-ether,
super-passage,
super-soil,
super-stage,
super-tower.
ˈsuper-hive, a removable upper compartment of a bee-hive.
† ˈsuperinˌvestiture, an outer garment.
ˈsuper-ˌmonial,
super-ˌmullion, a mullion in the tracery of the upper part of a window; hence
super-mullioned a., furnished or constructed with super-mullions.
† ˈsuper-plant, a plant growing upon another plant; a parasite or epiphyte.
ˈsuperˌvestment,
-ˌvesture, an outer garment.
† ˈsuper-ˌwriting, writing on the top of other writing.
| 1630 W. Scot Apol. Narr. (1846) 29 A dead corps..having his *supercloth upon him. 1902 A. Lang Hist. Scot. II. x. 255 The Bishop of Dunkeld..had allowed a corpse with a super⁓cloth over it to be carried into a church ‘in popish manner’. |
| 1880 Dana Man. Geol. (ed. 3) 147 The series of rocks..that makes up the earth's *supercrust—the only part..which is within the range of direct investigation. |
| 1670 Golt Divine Hist. Genesis World 483 The true System of the World,..that is, the *Superæther, and utmost Circumference therof; and within that Concave Sphere, the æther, [etc.]. |
| 1855 Poultry Chron. II. 514 The cap or *super-hive may be removed once or twice during the summer, with from 20 to 40 lbs. of honey. |
| 1756 Horne Disc. xvii. (1793) II. 142 ‘Clothed upon’, with a *superinvestiture of the house from heaven, namely, the divine light [2 Cor. v. 2, 4]. |
| 1846 F. A. Paley Man. Gothic Archit. 184 The smaller tracery-bars, or *super-monials, divide the tracery into compartments. |
| 1847 R. & J. A. Brandon Anal. Goth. Archit. (1849) I. 25 The upper part of the tracery is divided by *super-mullions and transoms. 1912 F. Bond Cathedrals 337 The supermullion is just beginning to find its way into the tracery (1349–1362). |
| 1838 Penny Cycl. XI. 325/1 We might employ the epithet *super-mullioned, as indicating that the upper divisions of the windows have mullions rising from the arches of the lower ones. 1890 Archaeol. Jrnl. XLVII. 92 With plain fenestrations of five-foiled openings supermullioned. |
| 1893 H. M. Wilson Irrigation Engineering xii. (1909) 285 Where the canal is at a lower level than the drainage channel, a *super⁓passage is employed to carry the latter over the canal. |
| 1626 Bacon Sylva §556 We finde no *Super-Plant, that is a Formed Plant, but Misseltoe. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. ii. vi. 98 An arboreous excrescence, or rather superplant. 1814 Time's Telescope (1822) 333 An unhealthy tree is never without these imperfect superplants [sc. mosses]. |
| 1864 R. A. Arnold Hist. Cotton Famine 433 As the seams of coal are gotten, and the props are removed..the *supersoil falls in. 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educ. I. 170/2 There are two kinds of soil, the super and the sub. The former term is confined to the layer next the surface. |
| 1906 Athenæum 10 Mar. 304/2 A *super-stage can be attached for examining transparent objects. 1884 Contemp. Rev. July 104 Placing an octagonal *super-tower, or ‘lantern’, on a square sub-tower. |
| 1868 Marriott Vest. Chr. Introd. iii. p. xxi, The *super-vestment [of heathen priests]..was either bordered (prætexta) with rich ornament, or wholly made of purple, [or] of scarlet. |
| Ibid. ii. p. viii, The *supervesture..the prevailing form of which was that of a large blanket,..admitted..of the greatest variety in arrangement. |
| 1654 Whitlock Zootomia 258 To bring Rasae Tabulae, clean Tables to every Author, is the advice of no small Philosopher. *Super-writing (being scribling) maketh neither the old, nor the new legible. |
b. Anat. (
a) Designating the upper of two parts or members; superior:
e.g. supermaxilla the upper maxilla or jaw (Dorland),
superpetrosal. (
b) Designating a part overlapping another, or formed by such overlapping:
e.g. superfissure,
supergyre,
supersulcus (Dorland).
| 1889 Buck's Handbk. Med. Sci. VIII. 160/1 *Superfissures and subfissures. These terms are employed herein to designate the fissures which result from the formation of *supergyres and subgyres... The line of overlapping of a supergyre is a superfissure... A subfissure is one which is concealed by a supergyre. |
| Ibid. 242/1 The *superpetrosal sinus starts from the cavernous. |
c. Anat. Forming
adjs. (with
super- in
adj. relation to the
n. or
subst. phr. implied in the second element:
cf. 1 b): (
a) derivatives from
ns. in b, as
supermaxillary (
= pertaining to the upper jaw); (
b)
= situated in, or forming, the upper part of,
e.g. superalbal,
super-cerebellar,
super-cerebral,
super-dural (see
quots.).
| 1853 R. Dunn in Jrnl. Ethnol. Soc. (1856) IV. 35 The..*super-maxillary bones. |
| 1889 Buck's Handbk. Med. Sci. VIII. 237/1 *Superdurals. These appear in part as direct continuations of the preceding [sc. medidural], and then are double. |
| Ibid. 237/2 Veins of the Pia and Brain Substance... The *supercerebrals, passing to the longitudinal sinus... The supercerebral veins return the blood from the convexity as far as the Sylvian fissure, and from the median surface of the hemispheres as far as the *supercallosal fissure. |
| Ibid. 238/1 The *supercerebellar vein..empties into the main vein near its termination, or even directly into the sinus tentorialis. |
| Ibid. 239/2 The *superalbals..are commonly two small trunks that appear at the outer border of the cœle, opposite the body of the caudate. 1901 Dorland Med. Dict., Superalbal,..situated in the upper part of the white substance of the brain, as superalbal veins. |
| Ibid., *Superaural, located in the upper part of the dura mater. |
II. Above (in various figurative senses); higher in rank, quality, amount, or degree.
4. a. Prefixed to adjectives:
= Above or beyond, more or higher than, above the range, scope, capacity, etc. of (what is denoted or expressed by the radical part), after eccl. L.
superessentiālis superessential,
supersubstantīvus supermaterial;
e.g. ˌsuperanˈgelic,
† -ical (
= more than angelic, beyond that of an angel),
super-earthly,
† super-elementary (see
elementary 2),
super-intellectual,
super-legal,
super-moral,
super-muscan [L.
musca fly],
super-regal,
super-secular,
super-sensational,
super-worldly,
adjs.;
ˌsuperadiaˈbatic a. Meteorol., being or involving a lapse rate greater than that of dry air when it rises and expands adiabatically (
viz. approximately one degree centigrade per 100 metres), or a temperature gradient in any other fluid greater than that of an adiabatic expansion of the fluid during upward motion;
superˈluminal a. [L.
lūmen,
lūmin- light], having or being a speed greater than that of light;
superˈnational a. = supranational a.; hence
superˈnationalist a.;
super-ˈreal a. = surreal a.; also as
quasi-n.;
super-reaˈlistic a. = surrealist, surrealistic
adjs.| 1925 Nature 28 Feb. 301/2 The frequent *superadiabatic lapse-rates which occur in the bottom layer of the atmosphere. 1975 Ibid. 30 Oct. 748/1 Within the continental tectosphere..the thermal gradients are superadiabatic, and the dominant mechanism of heat transport is conduction, not advection. 1978 Ibid. 26 Oct. 726/2 The theory of corona formation [on the sun] is not well developed, and the computation of acoustic fluxes is critically dependent on the theory of superadiabatic convection. |
| 1804 Doddridge's Wks. V. 166 note, Whether a *super⁓angelic spirit is capable of being ‘reduced to the condition of an infant’. 1864 Pusey Lect. Daniel viii. 470 The super⁓angelic glory of the Messiah. |
| 1674 Brevint Saul at Endor 271 Thus this *Superangelical Doctor in the year 1226 ended his daies. 1690 Baxter Kingd. Christ ii. (1691) 25 So that Christ hath three Natures. 1. Divine. 2. Superangelical Created. 3. Humane. |
| 1843 Zoologist I. 36 The lion and the eagle are not invested with the..*super-animal bravery and magnanimity with which the older naturalists..loved to clothe them. |
| 1588 J. Harvey Disc. Probl. 92 Anie such Superplatonicall Intelligence, or *Superaristotelicall intendiment. |
| 1613 Jackson Creed i. xiv. §4. 70 It was.. rather *superartificiall, than naturall and artificiall. |
| 1901 Edin. Rev. July 60 Tolstoy pleaded that all great teachers commend the impossible, the *super-attainable ideal. |
| 1864 E. Sargent Peculiar III. 181 Instances in which dogs would seem to have been the mere instruments of a superhuman and *supercanine sagacity. |
| a 1661 Fuller Worthies, Glouc. (1662) i. 360 Some pressed *super-Canonical Ceremonies. |
| 1627 Donne Serm. Lady Danvers 61 By which, that particular Church must bee *Super-Catholike and Super-vniuersall, aboue all the Churches in the world. |
| 1677 Gale Crt. Gentiles II. iv. 302 The..notion of God..as superessential Essence, superdivine Divinitie, *supercausal cause. |
| 1880 Le Conte Sight 154 We find something superphysical and *superchemical. |
| 1793 Martyn Lang. Bot., Supra-decompositum folium, a *Super-decompound leaf..when a petiole divided several times connects many leaflets; each part forming a decompound leaf. 1802 R. Hall Elem. Bot. 183 Super-decompound..more than doubly compound. |
| 1890 J. Martineau Seat Author. Relig. ii. ii. 214 Demons..driven off only by Messiah with his *superdemonic power. |
| a 1631 Donne Serm. Hosea ii. 19 (1634) 3 A strange and *super⁓devilish invention. 1782 J. Brown View Nat. & Rev. Relig. v. v. (1796) 421 Can a man..believe that the new nature formed by..the Spirit of Christ..is so very superdevilish? |
| 1610 Donne Pseudo-martyr 185 Whether they will pleade Diuine Law, that is, places of Scripture, or Sub diuine Law, which is interpretation of Fathers, or *super diuine law, which is Decretal of Popes. 1677 [see supercausal above]. 1876 L. Stephen Eng. Th. 18th C. I. v. §19. 299 Necessity..belongs to the super-divine sphere—if the phrase may be used. |
| 1872 W. R. Greg Enigmas of Life vi. 238 Capable of being moved to exert their *super-earthly powers for the benefit of those who..trust them. |
| 1607 T. Walkington Optic Glass 4 Those..who..præfer..the regard of the body before the welfare of the *Super-elementary soule. |
| a 1744 Bolingbroke Auth. Matters Relig. vi. Wks. 1754 IV. 292 Moral theology..contains a *super-ethical doctrine, as some grave divines have ridiculously called it. 1913 Contemp. Rev. Oct. 496 The prelude of the superethical Gospel of Humanity. |
| 1871 Meredith H. Richmond II. 112 She would require *superfeminine power of decision. |
| a 1834 Coleridge Lit. Rem. (1839) IV. 433 The reason is *super-finite. |
| 1887 F. R. Stockton Borrowed Month, etc. 200 One act..of what might be termed *super-friendly kindness. |
| 1831 Carlyle Sart. Res. ii. ii, Swallows..with animated..chirpings, and activity almost *super-hirundine. |
| 1870 Lowell Among my Bks. Ser. i. 199 Such propriety of costume..as shall satisfy the *superhistoric sense, to which..the higher drama appeals. |
| 1880 N. Smyth Old Faiths in New Light v. (1882) 175 The creative Spirit that was in Christ is the *super⁓historical and divine principle of Christianity. |
| 1660 N. Ingelo Bentiv. & Ur. i. (1682) 90 Which he commanded them to behold with the Eye of *Superintellectual Faith. 1794 T. Taylor Pausanias' Descr. Greece III. 356 The gods..are superintellectual natures. 1840 Gladstone Ch. Princ. 76 That primary super-intellectual work. |
| 1920 H. G. Wells Outl. Hist. 478/2 He was a real monarch, *super-legal. |
| 1841 Newman Tracts for Times No. 90 §8. 61 The doctrine..of a real *super⁓local presence in the Holy Sacrament. |
| 1891 T. K. Cheyne Origin & Relig. Contents Ps. Introd. p. xxix, The imaginative Biblical symbols of *superlogical phenomena. |
| 1959 K. R. Popper Logic Sci. Discovery ix. 236 Saying that they are ‘spread with *super-luminal velocity’ is about as helpful as saying that twice two turns with super-luminal velocity into four. 1975 Physics Bull. Jan 13/1 The prospect of discovering super⁓luminal particles is so appealing that the search is started afresh whenever there is an improvement or extension of experimental technique. 1980 Superluminal [see subluminal adj. s.v. sub- 14 a]. |
| 1867 Duke of Argyll Reign of Law i. 22 To believe in the existence of miracles, we must..believe.. in the *Supermaterial. |
| 1588 J. Harvey Disc. Probl. 51 Altogether supernaturall, *super⁓mathematicall, and true myracles. |
| 1657 J. Goodwin Triers Tried 25 So should the grandure of their authority..have been somewhat more competent..and not so hyper-arch⁓episcopall, so *super-metropolitan. |
| 1922 W. R. Inge Outspoken Ess. II. 131 It would be too absurd to suppose that our own State is the only specimen of these superhuman and *supermoral individualities. 1960 K. Amis New Maps of Hell (1961) iii. 84 Religious or quasi-religious feelings..attach themselves to the super-intelligent or super-moral alien power. |
| a 1902 S. Butler Way of All Flesh (1903) lxxx. 370, I..saw a fly alight on..hot coffee on which the milk had formed a thin skin... I noted with what..almost *supermuscan effort he..made for the edge of the cup. 1929 S. Leslie Anglo-Catholic xv. 208 The Bees which buzzed..throughout the Papal City, resembling super⁓muscan flies perched on the walls. |
| 1898 F. W. Maitland Roman Canon Law in Church of England i. 8 The cosmopolitan, the ‘extra-national’, or ‘*super-national’ tone of the work of these two English canonists. 1928 G. B. Shaw Intelligent Woman's Guide Socialism lxxxiii. 450 Substitute supernational morality, law, and action, for the present international anarchism. 1977 Irish Democrat Mar. 3/1 The process of merging the national Governments of western Europe into one supernational administration. |
| 1979 Dædalus Winter 190 Andreas Papandreou and his Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) have been able to capitalize on a *supernationalist stand. |
| 1676 Doctrine of Devils 31 Such as are parallel..and *Super-paramount to it. |
| 1810 Bentham Packing (1821) 255 Parliamentary and *super-parliamentary lawyer-craft. |
| 1588 *Superplatonical [see superaristotelical above]. |
| 1659 Baxter Key Cath. xxxiii. 207 Our new *superprelatical Brethren that degrade others that want their Ordination. |
| 1885 A. Stewart 'Twixt Ben Nevis & Glencoe i. 7 This extraordinary and really *super⁓quadrupedal nous and intelligence. |
| 1935 S. Beckett Echo's Bones, The sphincter..Potwalloping now through the promenaders This trusty all-steel this *super⁓real Bound for home like a good boy. 1942 Horizon July 41 The best Winchester pictures..possess the quality of super-real mystery. 1952 R. Campbell Lorca iv. 63 There are also curious nonsensical excursions into the super-real. |
| 1926 A. Huxley Essays New & Old 185 The adventures of Felix the Cat are *super-realistic in the highest degree. 1955 S. Spender Making of Poem vi. 103 The golden Romanticism has..claims to set up a super⁓realistic reality. |
| 1723 Waterland 2nd Vind. Christ's Div. xvi. Wks. 1823 III. 348 You may consider him as King, and so you may present him with regal worship; or as King of kings, and then it will be *super⁓regal. |
| 1867 O. Shipley Priestly Absolution 25 Under the elder Dispensation, the Prophet stood in an almost *super⁓sacerdotal position. |
| 1881 Romanes in Nature 5 May 2/1 It matters not to science what views her individual cultivators may hold on *super-scientific questions. |
| a 1656 Bp. Hall Rem. Wks. (1660) 302 Let us celebrate this feast,..not in a worldly but *supersecular manner. |
| 1888 *Supersensational [see non-spatial s.v. non- 3]. 1943 H. Read Educ. through Art ii. 28 As for the mental activity called intuition, by which we do not mean any super-sensational faculty of the mind, but the apprehension of abstract quantities and relations..it is the basis of a fourth type of art. |
| 1686 Spec. B. Virginis 21 Her sacred body is endowed with a *super⁓seraphical activity, whereby she can render her self present..to all her votaries. |
| 1847 Emerson Poems, Merlin Wks. (Bohn) I. 466 Sparks of the *supersolar blaze. |
| a 1704 T. Brown Lett. fr. Dead i. (1707) 163 Since he was got clear of his *Super-Tartarian Concern. |
| 1627 *Superuniversal [see supercatholic above]. |
| 1890 Academy 12 July 28/2, I heard it asserted..that a sense..of remote natural aspects..was impossible; but..such an abnormally acute *super⁓visual perception is by no means impossible. |
| 1789 T. Taylor Proclus II. 385 Every god is super-essential, *supervital, and super-intellectual. |
| 1785 A. Seward Lett. (1811) I. 86 Freedoms, not much calculated to the meridian of *super⁓worldly refinement. 1874 Dykes Relat. Kingd. to World 7 The effort..to attain..super-worldly purity. |
(
b) In corresponding
advs., as
superˈadequately,
super-artificially,
super-cathedrically,
super-diabolically,
super-luminally.
| 1830 Fraser's Mag. II. 422 The manufacturers affirm that agriculture..is *superadequately, and therefore unfairly protected. |
| 1588 J. Harvey Disc. Probl. 35 Either supernaturally inspired, or *superartificially instructed. |
| 1869 E. W. Benson in A. C. Benson Life (1899) I. vii. 262 Lincoln Cathedral (with its long ridge *super-cathedrically long..) is most grandest. |
| 1782 J. Brown View Nat. & Rev. Relig. v. ii. (1796) 350 So *superdiabolically wicked, as to sin because experienced grace doth abound. |
| 1979 Nature 18 Jan. 182/1 (heading) *Superluminally expanding radio sources and the radio-quiet QSOs. |
(
c) In related
ns., as
supernationalism,
super-nationalist,
super-nationality;
super-ˈrealism = surrealism;
super-ˈrealist = surrealist n.;
super-reˈality = surreality.
| 1917 G. B. Shaw Platform & Pulpit (1962) 106 *Super⁓nationalism will be limited by general psychological homogeneity. 1980 Encounter May 94/1 It thus seems natural to expect an author such as Fleming..to endow his heroes with patriotism and his villains with a super-nationalism of the nastier kind. |
| 1941 L. B. Namier in Time & Tide 5 July 558/1 The outlook and ideas of the modern *super⁓nationalists..are very largely of German origin. |
| 1916 E. Holmes Nemesis of Docility i. 16 The nations cling tenaciously to their respective nationalities, as against the *supernationality of Germany. |
| 1933 Bull. Mus. Mod. Art Oct. 2/1 *Superrealism is the most conspicuous movement. 1952 R. Campbell Lorca iv. 65 The dream region of ‘super-realism’. |
| 1931 ‘Wyndham Lewis’ Diabolical Principle 64 The cultural message of Transition is still further defined by the incorporation of the dreamaesthetic of the *Super-realists into a body already reeking with ‘romance’—indeed putrid with the excessive decomposition of that condition. Ibid. 65 The infantile is the link between the Super-realists and Miss Stein, as it is between Miss Stein and Miss Loos. |
| 1934 H. Read in Cinema Q. III. i. 17 Some painters call it a *super-reality (surréalité). 1935 D. Gascoyne Short Survey Surrealism v. 109 The more recent ideas of surrealism, which conceive super-reality as existing in the material world, objectively, as well as subjectively in the automatic thought of the unconscious. 1945 H. Read Coat of Many Colours xxxix. 198, I believe that in general the plastic arts will tend towards rationality and the poetic arts towards superreality. |
b. Prefixed to
ns., forming
adjs. in the same sense as above:
e.g. supergraduate,
super-seaman,
super-standard.
ˈsuper-head, epithet of a quality of wool (see
quot.).
| 1888 Rep. Centen. Confer. Missions II. 426 A *super⁓graduate course of training. |
| 1839 Compl. Grazier (1846) iv. ix. 254 Head or chief, either because it is derived partly or chiefly from the head, or because it stands at the head of the inferior wools. *Super-head.—An advance upon the preceding kind, but the sorter not having yet arrived at the best part of the fleece. |
| 1898 Century Mag. July 371 After almost *superseaman efforts, they reached the vessel. |
| 1909 Century Dict. Suppl. s.v. Risk, *Superstandard risk, insurance on the life of one whose habits or heredity or the state of whose health increases his expectancy of life. |
5. Prefixed to
ns., forming
ns. denoting something above, beyond, greater or higher than what is expressed by the radical part.
In some cases this use tends to blend with 6 b.
a. gen., chiefly in nonce-words, as
ˈsuper-Christ,
super-Erastian,
super-septuagenarian.
| 1850 Fraser's Mag. XLII. 479 The adhesion of one noble lord to the Italian *Superchrist. |
| 1711 G. Hickes Two Treat. Chr. Priesth. (1847) II. 393 The *Super-Erastians, Hobbes, Selden, and other such writers. |
| 1915 Observer 10 Oct. 7/3 As a *super-septuagenarian I am debarred from active participation. |
b. Mus. Designating a note next above some principal note, as
superdominant,
supertonic.
c. Nat. Hist. In classification, denoting a group or division next higher than, or including a number of, those denoted by the radical part, as
ˈsuper-family,
super-order,
super-species,
super-suborder. So
ˈsupergalaxy Astr., a supercluster;
spec. = local supercluster s.v. local a. 2 d; hence
supergaˈlactic a.;
ˈsuper-ˌmolecule,
Chem., a complex molecule formed by the combination of molecules of different substances.
| 1899 G. H. Carpenter Insects iii. 155 Some naturalists..classing Pararge and its allies as a sub-family of Nymphalidæ... Others, allowing them family rank, would group them together with the Nymphalidæ and other allied families into a *super-family. 1953 E. Mayr et al. Methods & Princ. Syst. Zool. iii. 52 The age of specialization has resulted in a general pushing upward of the categories, subfamilies becoming families, and families becoming superfamilies. 1978 Nature 16 Nov. 264/2 All three families of humans and apes are included in the superfamily Hominoidea. |
| 1971 New Scientist 29 July 245/1 His final choice of *supergalactic equator gave highly positive concentration indices for galaxies in the northern galactic hemisphere. 1982 Nature 2 Dec. 409/1 At high supergalactic z coordinates the galaxy density is much lower than near the supergalactic plane z = o. |
| 1946 G. Gamow in Nature 19 Oct. 549/1 The realm of galaxies as seen through Mt. Wilson telescope represents only a small part of a much larger system (a ‘*supergalaxy’ in the super-Shapley sense) rotating round a distant centre. 1955 Sci. Amer. Mar. 42/1 One source of radio emission, extending over a long path across the sky, coincides with the plane of the supergalaxy of which the Milky Way is a part. 1971 New Scientist 29 July 245/1 The Supergalaxy is, in turn, composed of smaller clusters of galaxies, including the local cluster of about a dozen members, our Galaxy being one of them. |
| 1834 W. Prout Chem. 149 We suppose, that the two molecules of carbon..are associated together into one symmetrical *super-molecule. |
| 1899 G. H. Carpenter Insects iv. 164 Various groupings of these orders into larger divisions (‘*super-orders’ or ‘sub-classes’) have been proposed. |
| 1900 B. D. Jackson Gloss. Bot. Terms, *Superspecies, a group of sub-species or new species regarded as an entity. 1931 E. Mayr in Amer. Mus. Novitates No. 469. 2, I propose for Artenkreis the more convenient term, Superspecies. I define superspecies as a systematic unit containing geographically representative species that have developed characters too distinct to permit the birds to be regarded as subspecies of one species. 1976 E. Delson in C. J. Jolly Early Hominids of Africa 535 The reliance on superspecies is perhaps..a recognition of our own uncertainties. |
| 1903 R. W. Shufeldt in Amer. Nat. Jan. 34 Order Saururæ. *Supersuborder Archornithiformes. Suborder Archornithes. Family Archæopteridæ. |
d. Geom. In geometry of more than three dimensions, designating a locus or figure having one more dimension than that denoted by the simple word:
e.g. ˈsupercube,
super-curve,
super-line,
super-solid,
super-surface.
| 1873 Cayley Math. Papers (1896) IX. 79 note, In 5 dimensional geometry we have: space, surface, subsurface, supercurve, curve, and point-system, according as we have between the six coordinates 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 equations: and so when the equations are linear, we have: space, plane, subplane, superline, line, and point. 1904 C. E. Benham in Knowledge Mar. 45/2 (title) The Super-Solid. Hints towards a Conception of the 4th Dimension. 1904 G. H. Bryan ibid. May 92/1 A much better idea of the regular character of the ‘super-cube’ or ‘eight-cell’, as it is called by most writers, and of its connection with four-dimensional space. |
e. Prefixed to the name of a person, forming a
vb. in sense ‘to excel, surpass, or outdo (the person named) in his characteristic quality or action’ (
= out- 22): as
ˈsupercæsar.
rare.
| 1846 Landor Imag. Conv., Jas. I & Casaubon, Even Caesars are supercaesared by their tenants of the Vatican. |
f. Biol. superˈfemale, a female with a higher ratio of X chromosomes to autosomes than normal females;
ˈsupermale, a male in which this ratio is lower than in normal males, or the ratio of Y chromosomes to autosomes is higher.
| 1922 Amer. Naturalist LVI. 63 If the intersexes result from an intermediate ratio of X [chromosomes] to autosomes because the X has a net female tendency, then it might be expected that by increasing the ratio of X to autosomes a superfemale would be produced, and conversely, a supermale by increasing the relative number of autosomes. 1955 [see intersex]. 1959 Lancet 12 Dec. 1088/1 The inappropriateness of the term ‘superfemale’ is emphasised by the discovery of a human 3X 2A individual whose primary and secondary sex characters are underdeveloped. 1969 Guardian 8 Mar. 3/1 The theory that so-called supermales—men with an extra male chromosome—might be born criminals has lost its first test in a United States court. |
6. Prefixed to
ns. with
adj. force: Higher in rank, quality, degree, or amount; of a higher kind or nature; superior.
a. With names of officials or persons in authority, forming titles designating one superior to the official denoted by the simple word, as in late or
med.L.
supercoquus head cook,
superjudex chief judge,
supertextor chief weaver;
e.g. ˈsuper-arbiter,
super-attendant (
= superintendent 2 b),
super-doctor,
super-minister,
super-quæstor,
super-sovereign; also in the names of the corresponding offices or functions, as
ˈsuper-ministry,
super-sovereignty.
| 1673 H. Stubbe Further Justif. War Neth. To Rdr. 13 To decide emergent differences a new expedient of Arbiters and *Super-arbiters was found out. |
| 1550 Coverdale Order Ch. Denmark in Treat. Sacrament etc. E iij b, The *super-attendent or chyefe curate commeth in to the pulpyt. |
| 1675 Tullie Let. Baxter 30 He had need to have a very competent measure of abilities himselfe, who is to give his verdict of anothers, even so farr as to make him his *super-Doctor of the Chaire. |
| 1946 Nature 24 Aug. 247/2 What the Haldane Report recommended, however, was, not placing responsible ministers under a *super-minister, but the consolidation or grouping of departments into a small number of super-ministries with one responsible minister for each. a 1974 R. Crossman Diaries (1977) III. 666 Benn and Crosland are now super-Ministers of industry and planning, the same level as Barbara and me. |
| 1937 L. Hart Europe in Arms xv. 191 Ideas of possible organization range from a *super-Ministry which should..absorb the..existing departments to a small Ministry, superimposed, which should guide the Government. 1975 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 25 Nov. 5/3 Liberal leader Robert Nixon also pledged to end the three super-ministries if his party were elected. |
| 1709 Mrs. Manley Secret Mem. (1720) IV. 38 As long as Cajus æmilius is *Super-Questor. |
| 1625 Donne Serm. 3 Apr. 38 Where there is an inducing of a *super-Soueraigne, and a super-Supremacie,..this is..an vnder⁓mining, a destroying of Foundations. |
| 1627 ― Serm. 6 May (1649) II. 381 Those that fix a *super-Soveraignty in the people, or in a Presbytery. |
b. with nouns of action or condition, etc.;
e.g. ˈsuper-agency,
super-canonization,
super-comprehension,
super-division,
super-good,
super-one,
super-organism,
super-priority,
super-proportion,
super-quality,
super-system,
super-truth;
superˈgravity Physics, (a theory of) gravity as described or predicted by a supersymmetric quantum field theory;
superˈsymmetry Physics, a very general type of mathematical symmetry which relates fermions and bosons; hence
ˌsupersyˈmmetric a. This use tends to blend with 5; thus
supercomprehension = higher comprehension, or comprehension above ordinary comprehension.
| 1891 Century Dict., *Superagency, a higher or superior agency. |
| 1628 Donne Serm. xlviii. (1640) 476 This *super⁓canonization, (for, it was not of a Saint, but of a God). |
| 1887 F. Winterton in Mind Apr. 268 Molina said..that God saw the future possible acts of man through His ‘*supercomprehension’ of human nature. |
| 1633 Ames Fresh Suit agst. Cerem. ii. 174 The reason which he bringeth, is onely from the subdivision of true worship. But that doeth not hinder a *superdivision or æquidivision into common and speciall. |
| a 1619 M. Fotherby Atheom. ii. x. §3 (1622) 304 He is..a *Super-good, a Super-truth, a Super-one,..as surpassing all other Bonitie, and Veritie, and Vnitie. |
| 1976 Physics Lett. B. LXII. 335/1 The first order formulation with torsion is closely related to the description of *supergravity in superspace. 1980 Nature 21 Feb. 717/3 Known as supergravity, the new theory attempts to treat the familiar gravitational field as only a component part of a more elaborate network of forces and fields. |
| a 1619 *Super-one [see super-good above]. |
| a 1899 D. G. Brinton Basis Soc. Relat. i. ii. (1902) 39 Many writers..have spoken of the social unit, the group or the nation, as an ‘organism’. Some have further defined it as a ‘*super⁓organism’. 1971 E. O. Wilson Insect Societies (1972) i. 1/2 The giant of all such ‘superorganisms’ is a colony of the African driver ant Anomma wilverthi. 1973 P. A. Colinvaux Introd. Ecol. xl. 551 The ideas of the superorganism and the social entity no doubt acquired much of their plausibility from the prevalence of the phenomenon of ecological dominance in plant communities of the temperate zones. |
| 1917 W. S. Churchill Let. 19 Aug. in M. Gilbert W. S. Churchill (1977) IV. Compan. i. 141 At present the Admiralty claim a *super priority upon all supplies. 1952 Times 30 June 6/7 Lord De L'Isle and Dudley, V.C...announced on June 7 that the R.A.F. was to be equipped with the GA5 as an all-weather fighter and that it would have ‘superpriority’. |
| 1644 Digby Nat. Bodies ix. § 3. 64 That velocity is the effect of the *superproportion of the one Agent ouer a certaine medium, in respect of the proportion which an other Agent hath to the same medium. |
| 1922 Joyce Ulysses 312 His superb highclass vocalism, which by its *superquality greatly enhanced his already international reputation. 1960 Times 3 Oct. (John Harvey Advt. Suppl.) p. ii/3 Super-quality surgical steel. |
| 1974 Proc. 17th Internat. Conf. High Energy Physics i. 254/1 A *supersymmetric theory. 1982 Nature 26 Aug. 801/1 During the past year there has also emerged a growing interest in particle physics theories that not only unify the description of the three basic interactions (strong, weak and electromagnetic) but which are also supersymmetric. |
| 1974 B. Zumino in Proc. 17th Internat. Conf. High Energy Physics i. 254/1 Fermi-Bose *supersymmetry was introduced by Wess and the author. It connects Bosons with Fermions. Its existence was suggested by dual models (when formulated as two-dimensional field theories) and the name supergauge symmetry in four dimensions seemed a natural choice. The supergauge algebra having only a finite number of generators in four dimensions, it seems now reasonable to avoid the word gauge and adopt the expression Fermi-Bose supersymmetry, or simply supersymmetry, suggested recently by Salam and Strathdee. 1977 Physics Today Apr. 49/3 As far as I know, the only natural way to keep a scalar boson massless is to have a ‘supersymmetry’,..which puts scalar fields in the same multiplet as massless fermion fields. 1978 McGraw-Hill Yearbk. Sci. & Technol. 356/1 Gauge supersymmetry treats all fundamental particles..on the same basis, accomplishes a fusion of spacetime symmetries and internal symmetries.., and promises new types of renormalizable field theories as possible models for unified interactions, perhaps even including gravitation. |
| 1934 Webster, *Supersystem. 1940 Bryant & Aiken Psychol. Eng. ii. 8 ‘Universal grammar’, a norm or super-system which will comprehend all the various local systems. 1975 Bio Systems VII. 15/2 Having pure chemical systems for each of the three subsystems, we connect them to form a chemical supersystem. |
| a 1619 *Super-truth [see super-good above]. |
c. In recent (often nonce) formations after
superman, used to designate a person, animal, or thing which markedly surpasses all others, or the generality, of its class:
e.g. ˈsuper-being,
super-block [
block n. 14],
super-boss [
boss n.6],
super-brain,
super-brute,
super-car,
super-carrier [
carrier 1 m],
super-cinema,
super-city,
super-computer,
super-critic,
super-crook [
crook n. 13],
super-dramatist,
super-goddess,
super-grid [
grid 8 a],
super-gun,
super-hero,
super-heroine,
super-journalist,
super-liner [
liner2 8 a],
super-magic,
super-male (see also sense 5 f),
super-nation,
super-patriot,
super-port [
port n.1 1],
super-profit,
super-race,
super-rich [
rich n. 11],
super-salesman,
super-salesmanship,
super-ship,
super-sleuth,
super-speed,
super-spy,
super-stud [
stud n.2 4 d],
super-tanker [
tanker1 1 a],
super-tramp;
ˈsuperalloy Metallurgy, an alloy capable of withstanding high temperatures, high stresses, and often highly oxidizing atmospheres;
ˈsuperbike, (
a) a motor cycle with a nominal engine capacity of 750 cc. or more; (
b) a de luxe (often expensive) model of bicycle;
Super Bowl U.S. Football [after
rose bowl 2], the final of the National Football League championship, contested annually since 1967 (from 1970, a play-off between the winners of the two sections of the League, the National and the American conferences);
ˈsuperchurch, (
a) a church formed by the amalgamation of separate churches; (
b) a very large church;
ˈsupercrat N. Amer., a powerful bureaucrat;
ˈsuper-ˌDreadnought, an all-big-gun ship with an armament superior to that of the Dreadnought class;
Super Glue, the proprietary name of a strong adhesive; also
superglue;
ˈsupergrass [
grass n.1 12] (see
quot. 1979);
super-ˈhighway N. Amer., a road designed for high-speed traffic, a motorway; also
fig.;
ˈsuperjet a very large or fast jet aeroplane; also
attrib. and
fig.;
ˈsuperloo colloq., a public convenience on certain British railway stations which offers a range of washing facilities, including showers;
ˈsuper-rat, a rat that is resistant to the action of the usual rat poisons;
superset Math.,
Linguistics, etc., a set (
set n.2 10 c) which includes another set or sets;
ˈsupersound sound which is too intense to be endured, or of too high a frequency to be perceived (
cf. ultrasound);
ˈsuperstate, a dominant political community,
esp. one formed from an alliance or union of several nations;
spec. = superpower 3;
ˈsuperstore, a large store selling a variety of goods and typically situated away from a town's main shopping area; a small hypermarket;
ˈsuperwoman, the female counterpart to a
superman; in recent use, a woman who fills successfully concurrent roles as career-woman, wife, and mother.
| 1953 C. L. Clark High-Temperature Alloys xvi. 269 Up to the time of the introduction of these *superalloys it was generally agreed that any alloy intended for high-temperature service should be processed and heat treated. 1981 McGraw-Hill Yearbk. Sci. & Technol. 325/1 Superalloys can operate for extended periods of time at temperatures about 1200°F (650° C), and provide resistance to hot corrosion and erosion. |
| 1930 Daily Express 8 Sept. 2/4 A patient imagines—quite seriously—that he is a kind of *super-being. 1980 I. Watson Gardens of Delight iv. 28 Who's this ‘God’ you were telling my people about? An alien superbeing—is that it? |
| 1970 Cycle World Oct. 34 Suzuki's entry in the ‘*Superbike’ field just happens to be an excellent touring bike. 1976 Good Motoring Nov. 5/2 A strong quota of ‘superbikes’ in the 750cc-plus category. 1978 Watson & Gray Penguin Bk. Bicycle i. 39 In 1976 a long-established Austrian cycle firm introduced a top market superbike. 1979 R. Ballantine Richard's Bicycle Bk. i. ii. 61 It is grand fun to have a superbike, but I would advise leaving this until you are an experienced cyclist. |
| 1928 Survey (N.Y.) 1 Mar. 696/1 It is necessary to examine more closely the structure and use of these *superblocks. 1975 New Society 14 Aug. 375/3 A whole superblock in front of the museum, including many publishers offices and landmarks.., would have gone. |
| 1916 Blackw. Mag. June 813/2 The German *super-bosses. 1977 Listener 12 May 608/2 The man..he most admires in Italian public life today, the Fiat superboss. |
| 1966 Los Angeles Times 22 Oct. iii. 1/5 The capacity of the Coliseum for the *Super Bowl will be 90,000. 1979 Arizona Daily Star 1 Apr. h 4/1 One would think the question of desirability of rising profits was of the same genre as who should win the Super Bowl. |
| 1928 G. Campbell My Mystery Ships xi. 208 To find out what its [sc. the name's] origin is or what it means, we shall have to wait till the person with the *super-brain who thought of it appears before the Invention Board. 1975 Pix (Austral.) 13 Nov. 42/5 Futurologist and ‘super brain’ Dr. Kahn..on a recent visit said the world would be better off if Australians worked harder. |
| 1911 E. Underhill Mysticism i. vi. 176 As the angel to the man, so was the dragon to the world of beasts; a creature of splendour and terror, a *super-brute. |
| 1920 Motor 3 Nov. 113 (Advt.), The Supreme development of the British *super-car. 1977 Belfast Tel. 17 Jan. 9/4 There is everything from the family saloon to the specialised super-cars. |
| 1969 D. Acheson Present at Creation xxii. 195 We urged sending a powerful naval force, including the newly commissioned *supercarrier Franklin D. Roosevelt. 1978 Times 28 Jan. 4/8 Mr Brown was seeking to make optimum use of the Navy's power in face of the strengthened Soviet Navy, which is making supercarriers increasingly vulnerable. |
| 1970 Time 25 May 76 Episcopalians are potential participants in the proposed multichurch Protestant merger, the Church of Christ Uniting. Should the Episcopal Church join the new *super-church, [etc.]. 1977 Time 26 Dec. 41/2 The faithful throng to gaudy superchurches with 5,000 to 10,000 seats, green shag wall-to-wall carpeting, pit orchestras and Jesus rock bands. |
| 1923 Gramophone Apr. 7/1 A terrace opposite Holland House (now I believe about to be pulled down for a *super-cinema). 1931 Ann. Reg. 1930 48 Of the existing cinemas 85 per cent are now wired, and there has been a great advance in the building of new super-cinemas. 1955 Times 9 May 3/1 One of Madrid's super-cinemas, the Coliseum. |
| 1958 A. Toynbee East to West 103 You find yourself interned in one of the standardized *super-cities of the modern world. 1971 Americana Ann. 103 Paolo Soleri..planned..gigantic supercities towering high in the air or floating on water. |
| 1968 N. Walford tr. O. Johannesson's Great Computer iv. 108 The generating of controlling computers must be entirely computer-controlled. This task..was performed..by linking together about a hundred computers..and combining them..to form a unit known as the *supercomputer. Such a unit had sufficient capacity to breed new computers of its own type. 1982 Times 30 Apr. 17/2 The market for supercomputers, as they are generally known, is also set for rapid growth. |
| 1972 Newsweek 11 Dec. 25 A slimmed-down, tidied-up..Nixon Inc. with..four or so White House-level *supercrats. 1978 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 17 July 2/4 [The Ottawa] system has fewer than a dozen super-powerful bureaucrats who dominate the policy-making process. They are the supercrats, and Mr. Gotlieb is one of the more successful ones. |
| 1903 Westm. Gaz. 19 Aug. 2/1 The ideas which the super-dramatist would convey to a *super-critic. |
| 1934 S. G. Hedges Plague Panic xxvi. 211 The organized police systems of the world had failed so utterly to bring this *super-crook to book. 1979 Daily Mail 29 Jan. 6/3 The other gel was a super-crook. |
| 1903 *Super-dramatist [see super-critic above]. |
| 1909 Westm. Gaz. 23 Aug. 2/2 The two *super-Dreadnoughts which are to be added to the United States fleet. 1910 Ibid. 18 June 14/3 In general dimensions the super-‘Dreadnought’ of to-day is a battleship of from 500ft. b.p. to, say, 536ft. over all, with a beam of 84ft. to 86ft., and with a draught of 27ft. 1911 R. A. Fletcher Warships 324 The name-ship has been so much improved upon in recent designs that she is as inferior to the last of the super-Dreadnought battleships as the displaced pre-Dreadnoughts were to her. |
| 1977 Drive May–June 91/3 One of the latest *superglue products..is a two-part, metal-to-glass adhesive. |
| 1911 Contemp. Rev. June Lit. Suppl. 3 One is almost afraid to laugh when Spenser treats Elizabeth as a *super-goddess. |
| 1978 R. Mark Office of Constable xiii. 163 The age of the *supergrass had arrived. 1979 Observer 8 Apr. 1/3 Twomey and Carpenter claim they were framed by a ‘supergrass’—a police informer hoping for lenient treatment in return for turning in other villains. 1983 Listener 19 May 7/1 Following information from a supergrass, dozens of people alleged to be members of it had been arrested. |
| 1950 Times Rev. Industry May 32/1 The projected 275/3ook V British *super-grid transmission system. 1979 Nature 8 Nov. 123/2 The extension of the Union-wide ‘supergrid’ of 1500 V dc transmission lines should, theoretically, allow power stations to be sited anywhere. |
| 1915 Chambers's Jrnl. Oct. 661/2 The journalistic words ‘*superguns’ [etc.]. 1929 Encycl. Brit. III. 367/1 As fast as the Liége forts fell to the super-guns. 1972 Village Voice (N.Y.) 1 June 53/2 Lee and Harry are inclined to put him down for killing the hawk with his supergun. |
| 1917 ‘Contact’ Airman's Outings 211 The *super-heroes of the war. 1980 Dædalus Spring 119 The only people foolish enough to believe in fairy tales and superheroes (the last survivals in the mythology of atheism). |
| 1970 Times 22 Dec. 8 Miss Comic Strip will be..selected for her..desirability as an imaginary *superheroine. |
| 1925 Amer. City Mag. Apr. 373/1 The *Super-Highway is unique... It will furnish an express motor traffic highway. 1949 Word Study May 1/2 A superhighway toward..success. 1978 J. A. Michener Chesapeake xiii. 799 She found Route 2, which took her to Route 695, the superhighway circumnavigating Baltimore. |
| 1958 Daily Herald 3 Mar. 1/1 They [sc. aircraft firms] are talking in terms of a *super jet liner capable of crossing the Atlantic in four hours with 150 passengers. 1964 S. Bellow Herzog (1965) 241 The superjet carried him to Chicago in ninety minutes. 1978 Detroit Free Press 16 Apr. (Parade Suppl.) 20/3 Except for her, however, not a single person arrested fits the image usually associated with the superjet, ‘fast lane’ set. |
| 1916 L. Curtis Let. 13 Nov. in Let. People India (1917) 27 As a sort of *super⁓journalist much of my information has been derived from pumping people with first-hand knowledge. 1976 Listener 6 May 554/1 The superjournalists have evidently conquered the supermarket, for the rise of Mr Bob Woodward and Mr Carl Bernstein is now being presented as almost as spectacular a saga as the fall of President Nixon. |
| 1928 Manch. Guardian Weekly 31 Aug. 180/3 To enlarge their docks for the building of a *super-liner. 1963 Economist 27 July 322 Cunard is still chasing its ambition of a new super-liner. |
| 1969 Daily Tel. 17 Dec. 1/4 The charge for using the ‘*superloo’ at Euston and Victoria will go up from 6d to 1s. 1972 Travelling Autumn 43/3 Edinburgh's Waverley Station..will provide superloos, catering facilities. |
| 1921 T. R. Glover Jesus in Exper. Men i. 8 The early Christian..really used the Gospel as a sort of *super-magic. 1972 D. Kennedy Recoll. Assiniboine Chief 156 The old witch saw that she was thwarted by super⁓magic. |
| 1970 G. Greer Female Eunuch 194 Her sister, killed because of the maleficent *supermale. |
| 1907 Westm. Gaz. 24 Oct. 6/3 Dr. F. W. Andrewes read a paper on ‘Medicine and *Super-Medicine.’ |
| 1914 E. Barker Nietzche & Treitschke 25 Treitschke looks to war as the expression of an exclusively national *supernation. 1977 P. Johnson Enemies of Society xix. 248 Is there to be a huge African super-nation, based only on colour, but with immense racial differences within it? |
| 1917 N.Y. World 7 Mar. 10/1 At a Carnegie Hall meeting of..*super⁓patriots, Irving T. Bush was hissed because he defended the President of the United States. 1945 [see Salisbury steak]. 1977 Private Eye 13 May 16/1 That super⁓patriot the late Lord Beaverbrook. |
| 1969 Sunday Times 16 Feb. 30/4 In addition to the container ship, another ship of the future is the LASH vessel (lighter-aboard-ship) that will cruise at high speeds, pausing only briefly at *super-port gathering points to pick up or discharge its fleet. 1970 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 9 Aug. 5/3 A second superport, providing modern bulk handling facilities. |
| 1946 Sun (Baltimore) 9 July 2/2 He declares that Mr. Norton is trying to..swell employers' ‘*super⁓profits’. 1974 B. Pearce tr. Amin's Accumulation on World Scale II. ii. 392 The origin and dynamics of the superprofits of monopolies. |
| 1912 C. Sarolea Anglo-German Problem i. 59 The German is convinced that he belongs to a *super-race. 1979 Jrnl. R. Soc. Arts CXXVII. 324/2 A single pathogen genotype able to attack all of the components, the so called ‘super-race’. |
| 1974 N.Y. Times 13 Nov. 47/8 Armed with a new toxic rodent killer, the City Health Department opened a campaign yesterday to destroy a strain of ‘*super rats’ breeding in the South Bronx. 1977 New Scientist 28 Apr. 200 This company has developed an anti-coagulant which is particularly effective against super rats..which are already prevalent in the United States and are now being reported in Europe and Asia. 1981 Oxford Jrnl. 27 Feb. 6 Pest controllers are battling against a breed of ‘super-rats’ which are immune to normal poisons. |
| 1969 Times 5 May (Wall St. Suppl.) p. xii/2 Many of the *super-rich of the United States live in Texas. 1982 Country Life 11 Mar. 666/2 This brilliant..novel about the super-rich in France. |
| 1934 Webster, *Supersalesman. 1936 O. Nash Primrose Path 127 And a bright super-salesman Has sold you a pup. 1978 M. Puzo Fools Die xvi. 172 A very soft-selling supersalesman. |
| 1933 Sat. Even. Post 7 Jan. 21 *Super⁓salesmanship—1932 model. 1968 Supersalesmanship [see sell v. 3 j]. |
| 1970 Psychonomic Sci. XXI (4) 235/3 There is no predetermined hierarchy of *supersets and subsets. 1976 J. S. Gruber Lexical Structures in Syntax & Semantics ii. ii. 278 In this case we cannot allow the derived tree to be a subset of that in the lexical environment. The only alternative is to require that the derived tree be a superset of that in the lexical environment. |
| 1937 Sun (Baltimore) 16 Nov. 12/1 The reasons that prompted the commission to advise against construction by this country of *superships to rival the Queen Mary. 1974 National Rev. (U.S.) 1 Mar. 261 New sources of competitive coal have opened up in Australia, Canada, and South Africa, and again the specter of superships rises to plague us. |
| 1974 Aiken (S. Carolina) Standard 24 Apr. 4-a/5 It's doubtful if the FBI will long retain, or ever again seek, the *super-sleuth. |
| 1942 Pop. Sci. Monthly Feb. 49/2 Sound waves too powerful for the human system to bear, and others too high in pitch for the human ear to hear, are new miracle-working tools in science and industry. In dozens of laboratories, scientists are perfecting sound-generating devices, and discovering new uses for *supersound and ultrasound. 1952 Chambers's Jrnl. 1 June 363 Scientists have been having the time of their lives exploring super sound. |
| 1927 Glasgow Herald 1 June 15 If we cleaved our way above the ocean at the *superspeeds now contemplated. 1961 Times 17 Nov. 17/5 (Advt.), Current Ferranti activities include..Atlas (most advanced super-speed computer in the world). |
| 1937 Koestler Spanish Testament i. 24 If one had taken them seriously, one might have imagined that half Esturil consisted of *super-spies. 1980 R. Hill Spy's Wife viii. 53 Is she another Kremlin super-spy? |
| 1918 O. Gregory Meccania iv. 91 The *Super-State must borrow from the Socialists the conception of an all-embracing power and activity. 1929 B. Russell Marriage & Morals xv. 173 The control of the super-State over education would be a positive safeguard against war. Ibid., Loyalty to the international super-State should everywhere be fought. 1935 J. E. C. Welldon Forty Years On ii. 76, I have felt that the Darwinian theory of the survival of the fittest..was responsible for the German doctrine of the super-state, which, as the Germans conceived it, could only be Germany. 1941 A. Huxley Let. 27 Nov. (1969) 471 The super-states based on the three centres of heavy industry and advanced technology—Europe, North America and East Asia. 1959 N. Mailer Advts. for Myself (1961) 272 The iron commisars of the Soviet superstate. 1974 M. B. Brown Econ. Imperialism ix. 225 The nation states, apart from the super-states—USA, EEC, Japan and the USSR—are forced into a client relationship with the giant companies. 1978 New York 3 Apr. 45/3 Loyalty to the superstate as a substitute for the supernatural. |
| 1965 Punch 7 July 1/2 Why bother with exports when the *superstore will take anything you care to make? 1980 Times 13 Feb. 3/2 Comparing superstores with local supermarkets is like comparing apples with oranges. |
| 1975 Time Out 19 Sept. 25/1 Petersen, the latest in the ‘Alvin Purple’ brigade of Australian *superstuds. |
| 1921 Mex Fuel Oil (Anglo-Mexican Petroleum Co.) 7 These losses are being made good by the building of several *supertankers, commencing with the San Florentino..18,000 tons. 1953 Wall St. Jrnl. 1 July 4/2 The S.S. New Jersey Sun, second of four super⁓tankers being built for Sun Oil Co. 1977 Whitaker's Almanack 1978 1035/2 A serious problem would be the shipping and supertankers passing round Cape Horn. |
| 1908 W. H. Davies (title) The Autobiography of a *Super-Tramp. |
| 1906 Westm. Gaz. 22 Jan. 2/2 We middle-aged folk, Supermen and *Superwomen, and ‘Men-and-Women-in-the-Street’. 1958 Listener 18 Dec. 1040/1 A picture of a girl maybe, fantastically beautiful, a blonde superwoman. 1975 S. Conran (title) Superwoman. 1976 National Observer (U.S.) 11 Sept. 20/5 The superwoman image ignores the reality of the average working woman or housewife. |
d. Mus. = Next higher in pitch: in
superoctave,
q.v. 7. Beyond in time, later; as in L.
supervīvĕre to outlive,
supervive,
survive;
† superˈlast v. trans., to last beyond, outlast.
| 1648 Herrick Hesper., To his Booke vii. 14 Nor thinke these Ages..Shall live, and thou not superlast all times. |
b. With prepositional force, in
med.L.
superannātus,
f. super annum beyond a year: see
superannate,
superannuate.
8. (
a) Before in time, prior to; as in
Superlapsarian;
e.g. super-creation (used as
adj.), decreed before the Creation.
| a 1679 T. Goodwin Of Election i. i, The necessity of an election or super-creation grace, if either angels or men..be certainly..saved. |
(
b) So in nonce-vbs. formed by Heylin after H. L'Estrange's use of
superannuate v. (sense 5), in reference to dating events (so much) too early.
| 1656 Heylin Extraneus Vapulans 102 We have here a super-semi-annuating (a fine word of our Authors new fashion) in making Doctor Laud Bishop of Bathe and Wells, seven moneths at least before his time: a superannuating in the great rout given to Tilly by the King of Sweden placed by our Author in the year 1630 whereas that battle was not fought till the year next following; a super-triennuating in placing the Synod of Dort..in the year 1615, that Synod not being holden untill three years after, and if I do not finde a super-superannuating [sic; read super-sexannuating] (that is to say, a lapse of six years) either in the Pamphlet or the History, I am content, our Author shall enjoy..a publick triumph. |
III. In or to the highest or a very high degree; hence, in excess of what is usual, or of what ought to be; superabundant(ly); excessive(ly).
9. a. Prefixed in
advb. relation to
adjs.: Exceedingly, very highly, extremely, supremely, extraordinarily; over-; as in late or
med.L.
supergloriōsus (Vulgate) exceedingly glorious,
superillustris very illustrious (see
superillustrious below),
superlaudābilis (Vulgate) greatly to be praised;
e.g. superactive (
= highly active),
super-ceremonious (
= over-ceremonious),
super-dainty,
super-dense,
super-fast,
super-glorious,
super-ingenious,
super-luminous,
super-sufficient,
super-sumptuous,
super-sweet,
super-zealous.
† superˈbenedict [L.
benedictus blessed], supremely blessed;
ˈsupercoˌlossal a. U.S. colloq., very large, very good, stupendous;
super-ˈcool a. slang (
orig. and chiefly
U.S.), very cool (
cool a. 4 e), relaxed, fine, etc.; also
absol. as n.;
super-ˈextra, applied to commodities,
esp. to a style of bookbinding, of the very best quality (
cf. extra super,
s.v. super a. 2);
superˈfatted, (
a) (of soap), containing an excess of fat,
i.e. more than can combine with the alkali; (
b)
slang, of persons: overweight, fat;
-ˈfatty a. = superfatted (a);
superfidel,
nonce-wd. [after
infidel:
cf. semi-fidel], believing too much;
† superiˈllustrious, honorific title of certain kings and other exalted personages;
ˌsuperineˈnarrable [
ad. late L.
superinēnarrābilis (
St. Augustine): see
inenarrable], supremely indescribable;
superiˈonic a. Physics, having a high ionic electrical conductivity; also as
n., a superionic substance;
superˈmassive a. Astr., having a mass many (
i.e. typically between 10
6 and 10
9) times that of the sun;
† ˌsuperomˈnivalent [omnivalent], supremely omnipotent;
† superˈpassing, surpassing (in
quot. as
adv.);
† superproˈportioned, of excessive proportions;
† superˈsufferable [
sufferable 1], extremely long-suffering;
superˈweak a. Particle Physics, pertaining to or being a proposed interaction several orders of magnitude weaker than the weak interaction which would not be invariant under charge conjugation and space inversion jointly.
| 1654 tr. Scudery's Curia Pol. 87 Hee who is too slow may equally be quickened by him who is *superactive and vigorous. |
| 1873 M. Arnold Lit. & Dogma ix. 276 St. Augustine prays: ‘Holy Trinity, *superadmirable Trinity, and superinenerrable, and superinscrutable, and superinaccessible, superincomprehensible. |
| 1880 W. S. Gilbert Patience ii, An ultra-poetical, *super-æsthetical, out-of-the-way young man. |
| 1683 E. Hooker in Pordage Mystic Div. Pref. Ep. 107 The ony True,..ever-adorabl and *super-benedict Triune Deitie. |
| 1575 G. Harvey Letter-bk. (Camden) 92 O my soverayne goodman, howe can your owne soverayne joye..but shape a benigne answer to so benigne and *superbenigne a replye? |
| 1601 in Farr S.P. Eliz. (1845) II. 431 The *super⁓blessed Trinity. |
| 1659 Gauden Tears Ch. iv. xxiii. 625 Superstitious and *Super-ceremonious Prelates. |
| 1833 Lamb Elia Ser. ii. Product. Mod. Art, Those high aspirations of a *super-chivalrous gallantry. |
| 1934 Webster, *Supercolossal. 1937 Amer. Speech XII. 241/1 Supercolossal is an adjective heard several times orally in Colorado. 1938 Wodehouse Code of Woosters v. 130 Big is right, though perhaps ‘super⁓colossal’ would be more the mot juste. 1947 ― Full Moon v. 92 ‘Her profile. Lovely, don't you think?’ ‘Yup.’ ‘And her eyes. Super-colossal.’ 1976 National Observer (U.S.) 17 July 6/3 The brand-new National Air and Space Museum here is a supercolossal mixture of show biz and science. |
| 1970 T. Wolfe Radical Chic & Mau-Mauing Flak Catchers 131 The pimp style was a *supercool style that was much admired or envied. 1975 Radio Times 23–29 Aug. 11/4 James Coburn was the nicest of all those Bond-type supercools. 1978 Hot Car July 91/3 They were super-cool amongst the sixties surfing set in the USA. 1981 Times 22 July 11/2 That style had itself been borrowed from younger Jamaicans, and the super cool they affected. |
| 1699 Evelyn Acetaria 105 Eighthly, (according to the *super⁓curious) that the Knife, with which the Sallet Herbs are cut..be of Silver. |
| 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. ii. i. 189 Kate of Kate-hall, my *super-daintie Kate. |
| 1596 Nashe Saffron Walden Wks. (Grosart) III. 134 Her *super-delicate bastard daughter ceremonious dissembling Italy. 1888 E. D. Gerard Land beyond Forest II. xliv. 220 Some people..there are, of super-delicate digestions. |
| 1967 Listener 27 Apr. 545/1 These observations..imply an origin [of the Universe] from a *superdense state 10,000 million years ago. 1977 Time 19 Sept. 50/1 The whole principle of diesel ignition is to raise the temperature of the fuel mixture by compressing it into a superdense mass in the cylinder. |
| 1593 G. Harvey Pierce's Super. ** iv b, Spare me, o *super-dominering Elfe. |
| 1851 Mayne Reid Scalp-Hunters ii. 17 His dress will be more gaudy and *super-elegant. |
| 1593 G. Harvey Pierce's Super. 163 Mercury..the most nimble, and *supereloquent God. c 1860 B. Harte My Other Self in Fiddletown, etc. (1873) 121 Looking in her eyes, and carrying on a conversation in their supereloquent language. |
| 1699 R. L'Estrange Erasm. Colloq. (1725) 275 But a Man should rather die, than violate so *super-Evangelical a Rule. |
| 1619 W. Sclater Exp. 1 Thess. (1630) 225 To attaine the vtmost *superexcedent end [sc. eternal happiness]. |
| 1807 Southey Espriella's Lett. II. 212 Who would be content..to put up with the second best, instead of ordering at once the *super-extra-double-superfine? 1835 J. R. Smith's Catal. Bks. May 4/2 New and very elegant calf super extra. |
| 1980 Lok Sabha Deb. (Delhi) 5 Aug. 264 A *superfast train like the K.K. Express runs late by 5 to 6 hours. 1982 Economist 3 Apr. 120/3 It is at the frontiers of R and D now being done into superfast computers. |
| 1891 C. L. Field Patent Specif. No. 21438 An Improved Manufacture of *Superfatted Soap. 1892 Jrnl. Soc. Chem. Industry 31 May 446/1 This improvement in the manufacture of superfatted soaps consists in adding to soap, made by the cold process, milk, cream, or butter in such quantities that any alkali in excess is saturated and an excess of cream is left. 1927 Wodehouse Small Bachelor iii. 48 ‘Important people!’ Mr. Waddington snorted sternly, ‘A bunch of super-fatted bits of bad news.’ 1947 L. Hastings Dragons are Extra ix. 212 A bald, double-chinned type who looked very like a super-fatted edition of ex-President Hoover. |
| 1550 R. Hutchinson Image of God xx. (1560) 100 b, I wil..shew..that there be thre persons in ye *supergloriouse deitie. 1648 J. Beaumont Psyche xviii. xcix, His superglorious most refined Nature. |
| 1593 G. Harvey Pierce's Super. 102 *Superhappy Creatures, that haue illuminate vnderstanding. |
| 1579 Spenser Let. to Harvey Poet. Wks. (1912) 638/2 With many *superhartie Commendations, and Recommendations to your selfe, and all my friendes. |
| 1630 tr. Camden's Hist. Eliz. iv. 154 Amongst the Kings which they termed *Superillustrious, the King of England was accompted the third, and the Spaniard the fourth. |
| 1633 Ld. Wariston Diary (S.H.S.) 31 Gods *super⁓incomprehensible goodnes, kyndnes, and merciful tendernes to me. |
| 1873 *Superinenarrable [see superadmirable above]. |
| 1594 Nashe Unfort. Trav. Wks. (Grosart) V. 65 That abundant and *superingenious clarke Erasmus. 1885 Huxley in L. Huxley Life & Lett. (1900) II. vi. 95, I shall be curious to see what defence the superingenious Premier has to offer for himself in Parliament. |
| 1628 Feltham Resolves ii. [i.] lxxix. 229 It were a *superinsaniated folly, to struggle with a Power, which I know is all in vaine contended with. 1665 J. Gadbury London's Deliv. Predicted v. 28 It is an Argument of super-insaniated folly. |
| 1972 W. L. Roth in Jrnl. Solid State Chem. IV. 60/1 Such solids, which may be called *super ionic conductors, exhibit ionic conductivities that can be as large as inverse ohm-centimeters at temperatures ranging from near room temperature to 1200°C. 1972 New Scientist 11 May 321 A small and hardly known group of compounds called ‘superionics’ reveal exceptional electrical conductivity in the solid state. 1980 Jrnl. Physics & Chem. Solids XLI. 1323/1 The superionic conductors are characterized by their high ionic but very low electronic conductivity at room temperature. |
| 1661 J. Davies Civil Warres 109 He..applies..to the faithful Montrose..a *super-loyal soul. |
| 1968 D. Moore tr. Schatzman's Struct. Universe i. 15 If our present interpretations are correct, quasars are very remote and *super-luminous. 1977 Jrnl. R. Soc. Arts CXXV. 215/1 The enigmatical ‘quasars’..are thought to be immensely remote and super-luminous. |
| 1614 B. Jonson Barth. Fair v. vi, Thou *superlunaticall hypocrite. |
| 1787 Beckford Italy (1834) II. xxx. 208 To all these *super-marvellous narrations, the missionary appeared to listen with implicit faith. |
| 1967 *Supermassive [see relativistic a. 2 b]. 1981 Economist 24 Jan. 97/1 Still higher output would result from the collision of super⁓massive black holes containing, say, a mass equivalent to a million of earth's suns. |
| 1579 G. Harvey Letter-bk. (Camden) 78 Out of Aggrippaes *super⁓notable fourthe booke. |
| 1650 B. Discolliminium 18 They are dextrously pragmatick..*Super-officious. |
| 1602 J. Davies Mirum in Modum Wks. (Grosart) I. 22/2 God by powre, *super-omnivalent. |
| 1608 J. Day Law Trickes i. i, Thanks:—*superpassing good! |
| 1657 J. Sergeant Schism Dispach't 648 He excepts against the *super proportion'd multitude of members out of one province, which hee says never lawfull Parliament had. |
| 1768 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) I. 460 Sentimental *super-refined ladies. 1888 Pall Mall Gaz. 24 Oct. 3/2 The distinction is, perhaps, super-refined. |
| 1887 Lecky Hist. Eng. VI. xxiii. 299 The combination of mean action and *supersaintly profession. |
| 1633 Ford Broken H. iv. ii, 'Tis wonderful, 'Tis *super-singular, not to be match'd. |
| 1656 Artif. Handsom. 56 Such a *super-stoicall piece of Philosophy. |
| 1844 Hood Forge i. 70 Walking, leaping, striding along, As none can do but the *super-strong. |
| c 1450 Mirour Saluacioun (Roxb.) 150 Alle this tholid thow Jhū in paciens *supersuffrable. |
| 1648 W. Jenkyn Blind Guide i. 3 The..foolish pamphlets..are a *supersufficient testimony. 1864 Duke of Manchester Crt. & Soc. Eliz. to Anne I. xiv. 280 Superabundant pride born of supersufficient wealth. |
| 1922 Joyce Ulysses 497 It is immense, *supersumptuous. |
| 1840 Haliburton Clockm. Ser. iii. (1862) 518 A most *super⁓superior gall. |
| 1625 Gill Sacr. Philos. i. 8 Whatsoever is *supersupreme, or highest in all degrees of perfection. |
| 1593 Breton Phoenix Nest Wks. (Grosart) I. 4/1 Sundrie flowres so *super sweete of smell. |
| 1592 G. Harvey Four Lett. iii. 31 Those Miracles, which some round liberality, and thy *super-thankfull minde, would hugelie enable thee to worke. |
| 1817 Coleridge Biog. Lit. xxiii. (Bohn) 290 A series of *super-tragic starts, pauses, screams. |
| 1649 Prynne Vind. Lib. Eng. 13 More then Regall,..*Super-transcendent Arbitrary power. |
| 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXVI. 66/2 This ‘*super⁓virulent’ character [of bacillus-cultures]. |
| 1970 Physical Rev. D. II. 257 (heading) Unitarity and the phase of the mixing parameter in *superweak theories. 1979 Cheng & O'Neill Elem. Particle Physics ix. 206 If the Wolfenstein model is correct, there exists a ‘superweak’ fifth force in nature. |
| 1627 Donne Serm. Easter-day (1640) 217 A *super-zealous, an over-vehement animosity. |
(
b) In corresponding adverbs, as
supercolossally,
† super-effluently,
super-infinitely, etc.
| 1966 New Yorker 1 Oct. 184 Both *supercolossally ambitious and energetic men. |
| a 1711 Ken Sion Poet. Wks. 1721 III. 380 O may kind Heav'n on good Macario's Head Grace and Truth *super⁓effluently shed. |
| 1628 Donne Serm. 15 Apr. (1640) 765 We were still short of numbring the benefits of God, as God; But then, of God in Christ, infinitely, *Super-infinitely short. |
| 1908 Westm. Gaz. 5 Aug. 12/1 A prize in books, *super⁓magnificently bound. |
| 1607 Barley-Breake (1877) 9 A little tilt..Whereunto *super-solemnly they goe. |
| a 1665 J. Goodwin Being filled with the Spirit (1867) 125 The things promised..are so above measure desirable and *super-transcendently glorious. |
b. Prefixed to verbs or participles (with derivatives), in same senses as in a.: as in late L.
superabundāre to
superabound,
supereffluĕre (in the same sense),
superextendĕre to stretch excessively,
superincendĕre to inflame greatly;
e.g. ˌsuperaˈccumulate (
= to accumulate beyond measure),
super-exceed,
super-extol,
super-please,
super-praise,
super-reward vbs.;
ˌsuperaˈcidulated (
= acidulated to excess),
super-civilized (also
absol. as n.),
super-elated,
super-excited,
super-faced (
faced ppl. a.
2 2),
super-peopled pples. and
ppl. adjs.; sometimes
= ‘more than’, as in
ˌsuperˈneutralized,
ˈsuperˈsatisfy.
superaˈllowed a. Nucl. Physics, (of a beta decay) having an exceptionally high probability of occurrence as measured by the product of the half-life of the initial state and a function of the energy and momentum of the emitted electron.
superˈosculate v.,
Geom.,
trans. to osculate at more coincident points than usually suffice for determining the locus; so
ˌsuperoscuˈlation.
| a 1709 Atkyns Parl. & Polit. Tracts (1734) 215 A smart Epistle..wherein he does cry out upon the Pope, for that the Pope's Bulls did *superaccumulate (as he terms it) the Words (Non obstante). |
| 1828–32 Webster, *Superacidulated. |
| 1950 Rev. Mod. Physics XXII. 397/2 The very lowest log10 ft ∼ 3 to 4 are allowed transitions between nuclei having similar nuclear wave functions. These transitions are called the *superallowed transitions, while allowed transitions between nuclei not having very similar wave functions have log ft ranging from 4 to 6. 1964 Physical Rev. Lett. XII. 301/1 The transition from the ground state of 37Cl to the 5·1-MeV excited state of 37Ar is superallowed and has a large matrix element for neutrino absorption. 1975 Nature 18 Sept. 179/2 They start..from basic input experimental data—the lifetimes and energy release of certain particularly simple nuclear β decays known as superallowed transitions. |
| 1865 E. S. Ffoulkes Christ. Div. 2 The New World..is becoming super-peopled and *super-civilised. 1929 ‘R. Crompton’ William i. 12 The Outlaws never made the pretence affected by the super-civilised, of indifference to their neighbours' affairs. |
| 1818 Bentham Ch. Eng. 174 Suppose the Archbishop of Canterbury..with his own *super-consecrated hands, washing the feet of a dozen of the inhabitants. |
| 1652 Urquhart Jewel Wks. (1834) 231 Through the too intensive stretching of the already *super-elated strings of their imagination. |
| 1622 Malynes Anc. Law-Merch. Ded., Being confident of your most gratious benignitie and *super⁓exceeding grace. 1635 Heywood Hierarchy ii. 78 This great Nature Naturant..Which All things Holds,..Super⁓exceedes, Sustaines. a 1665 J. Goodwin Being filled with the Spirit (1867) 109 Those degrees of [righteousness and holiness] which in persons highly qualified with them do super-exceed that measure or degree of them which are found in Christians of a lower pitch and stature. |
| 1862 Lytton Str. Story xxxiii, A brain *super-excited by the fumes of a vapour. |
| 1696 Lorimer Goodwin's Disc. vii. 83 It was necessary that the Decrees..should be *superextended, (i.e. should be enlarged above what they were before). |
| 1865 Pusey Eiren. 369 Who *superextol reason and its discoveries. |
| 1894 C. Vickerman Woollen Spinning x. 243 In addition to a *super-faced cloth..an immeasurably superior class of tweeds could be produced. |
| 1822–7 Good Study Med. (1829) V. 12 The stoutest tree, if *superfructified, is impaired for bearing fruit the next year. |
| 1881 Tyndall Ess. Floating Matter Air 90 The same infusions slightly *superneutralized by caustic potash. |
| 1891 Century Dict. s.v., A conic having six consecutive points in common with a cubic is said to *super⁓osculate it. |
| 1902 Science 18 Apr. 625/2 On the *Superosculation of Surfaces. |
| 1632 B. Jonson Magn. Lady Induct., He is confident it shall *super-please judicious Spectators. |
| 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. iii. ii. 153 To vow, and sweare, and *superpraise my parts. |
| 1622 Bacon Let. to Jas. I in Spedding Lett. & Life (1874) VII. 383 They were from time to time far above my merit over and *super-rewarded by your Majesty's benefits. |
| 1853 Mrs. Gore Dean's Dau. II. x. 253 The..wife and nurse of a *superrheumatised D.D. |
| 1629 Donne Serm. 22 Nov. (1649) II. 417 To merit, and over⁓merit; To satisfie, and *super-satisfie the justice of God. |
| 1818 T. L. Peacock Nightmare Abbey x, Like a shuttlecock between two battledores,..flying from point to point on the feathers of a *super-sublimated head. |
| 1832 L. Hunt Redi Bacchus in Tuscany 139, I love my wine iced through and through, If I will have it..*Superultrafrostified. |
10. Prefixed with adjectival force to abstract
ns.: Very great, or too great; surpassing; excessive, extreme; after late L.
superabundantia superabundance;
e.g. ˌsuperacˈtivity,
super-conformity (
= overpreciseness in conforming to ecclesiastical rules),
super-effluence,
super-exiguity,
super-infirmity,
super-treason,
super-vexation; hence
occas. agent-nouns, as
ˌsuper-conˈformist,
super-individualist.
ˌsuperintroˈmission Sc. Law, intromission beyond one's legal rights.
| 1553 Bradford Serm. Repentance (1574) C iij, Workes of supererogation (yea *superabomination). |
| 1895 Pop. Sci. Monthly July 398 A *superactivity of nutrition. |
| 1638 Ld. Wariston Diary (S.H.S.) 342 Rayning doune the *super⁓afluence of his blessings. 1880 Academy 28 Feb. 153/3 Its superaffluence of splendour. |
| 1801 W. Taylor in Monthly Mag. XII. 575/2 The *super-civilization..of Europe. |
| 1684 Baxter Par. Congreg. 22 The writings of *superconformists and subverters, or changers of the church government. |
| 1659 Gauden Tears Ch. i. xiii. 113 Either to a peevish nonconformity, or to a pragmatick *super-conformity. |
| 1644 Digby Nat. Soul Concl. 463 His liberall *supereffluence of Being vpon me. 1660 Hammond Χάρις καὶ Εἰρήνη 41 That the super⁓effluence of Grace may be resisted. a 1711 Ken Lett. Wks. (1838) 39, I beseech God..to give you a super-effluence of his H. Spirit. |
| 1856 Dove Logic Chr. Faith vi. §5. 369 The *super⁓excitation of the devotional faculty. |
| 1664 Power Exp. Philos. i. xxxviii. 47 The *super-exiguity of this farinaceous Seed of Wort. |
| 1641 Hacket Sp. Parl. in Plume Life (1865) 49 The *superexquisiteness of the music. |
| 1802 Paley Nat. Theol. xxvi, The system of animal destruction ought always to be considered in strict connexion with another property of animal nature, viz. *superfecundity. a 1835 F. W. Hope in Kirby Hab. & Inst. Anim. II. xx. 334 A Superintending Power which ordains checks and counterchecks to remedy the superfecundity of the insect world. |
| 1912 Engl. Rev. Mar. 638 Mystical *super-individualism. |
| Ibid., The art of world-forsakers and hermits, of *super-individualists. |
| 1581 J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 375 b, Is this..the super⁓abundance of your eloquence? or..*superinfirmity of your slippery braynes? |
| 1678 Fountainhall Decis. (1759) I. 1 The Ordinary found the pursuer could not reply on *super⁓intromission, unless she had taken a dative ad omissa. a 1768 Erskine Inst. Law Scot. iii. ix. §52 Where an executor confirmed,..intermeddles with subjects not given up by him in inventory, after being cited by a creditor, such superintromission makes him liable as a vitious intromitter. |
| 1871 J. Brown Lett., to Lady Minto 31 Dec. (1907) 208 There are too many big words and hints of *superknowledge. |
| 1599 Nashe Lenten Stuffe Wks. 1905 III. 186 Not the dimunutiuest nooke or creuise of them but is parturient of the like *superofficiousnes. |
| 1662 Hibbert Body of Div. i. 327 They can do works of supererrogation; therefore they may challenge..a *superperfection to themselves. |
| 1670 H. Stubbe Plus Ultra 164 What we experiment here is not the weight of the Air properly, but the *super-ponderancy or over-weight of it. |
| 1805 E. de Acton Nuns of Desert I. 238 People being in those times more superstitious than in our present day of *super-refinement. |
| 1654 Gayton Pleas. Notes iii. xii. 157 In case of extreme calidity, and *supersufficiency. |
| 1651 Cleveland Scots Apostasy 19 The infamie this *super-treason brings. |
| 1626 B. Jonson Staple of News 3rd Interm. 56 Not teach 'hem to speake Playes, and Act Fables of false newes..to the *superuexation of Towne and Countrey. |
b. (Chiefly
Phys. and
Path.) Denoting processes or conditions in excess of the normal; as in
mod.L.
superfētātio superfetation,
supernutrītio excessive nutrition;
e.g. ˌsuperalkaˈlinity,
super-fecundation,
super-irritation,
super-salinity,
super-secretion.
† ˌsuperfoliˈation, excessive growth of foliage;
ˈsupervoltage Physics and
Med., a higher than usual voltage;
spec. a voltage in excess of 200 kilovolts;
usu. attrib. with reference to the use of X-rays generated using such voltages.
| c 1865 J. Wylde's Circ. Sci. I. 151/1 The *super-alkalinity of the bath. |
| 1822–7 Good Study Med. (1829) V. 129 The imperfect emission proceeding from *super-erection or priapism. |
| 1855 Dunglison Med. Lex., *Superfecundation, see Superfoetation. 1901 Dorland Med. Dict., Superfecundation, the successive fecundation of two ova formed at the same menstrual period. |
| 1857 Dunglison Med. Lex., *Superfibrination, Hyperinosis. |
| a 1682 Sir T. Browne Tracts (1683) 76 The Disease of ϕυλλοµανία, ἐµϕυλλισµός, or *superfoliation, mention'd by Theophrastus; whereby the fructifying Juice is starved by the excess of Leaves. |
| 1872 T. G. Thomas Dis. Women (ed. 3) 571 *Superinvolution can be confounded with no other condition than undeveloped uterus. |
| 1890 Billings Nat. Med. Dict., *Super⁓lactation, excessive secretion of milk. |
| 1648 Baillie Let. to W. Spang 26 June, I was forced to keep my chamber ten days with a dangerous *superpurgation. 1751 Stack in Phil. Trans. XLVII. 274 These two doses..might cause a superpurgation. 1845 W. C. Spooner Veterinary Art (1851) 58 Superpurgation from actual inflammation is extremely dangerous. |
| 1882 J. C. Burnett (title) *Supersalinity of the Blood. |
| 1843 R. J. Graves Syst. Clin. Med. xx. 233, I often diminish *supersecretion from the lungs by strong hydragogue cathartics. |
| 1934 Illinois Med. Jrnl. LXVI. 286/2 Much of the improvement claimed for *super-voltage is available at 200 kilovolts. 1956 A. H. Compton Atomic Quest i. 14 The new physics laboratory..would include space for supervoltage equipment. 1976 Lancet 6 Nov. 992/2 Patients who received T.N.I. were all treated with supervoltage or megacurie equipment. |
11. In prepositional relation with the radical element, as in late L.
supernumerārius , that is
super numerum beyond the (normal) number,
supernumerary.
12. Chem. † a. Prefixed to
vbs.,
pa. pples., and cognate nouns of action, denoting a high proportion of the ingredient indicated by the radical element;
e.g. ˌsuperazoˈtation (
= the condition of being highly charged with nitrogen),
super-carbonate vb.,
super-carburetted,
super-oxidated,
super-oxygenated,
super-oxygenation,
super-phlogistication.
| 1783 Priestley in Phil. Trans. LXXIII. 405 By *super⁓phlogisticating iron with nitrous air. |
| 1789 Ibid. LXXIX. 289 What we have called the phlogistication of them, ought rather to have been called their *super-phlogistication. |
| 1793 Beddoes Calculus p. x, Easy extemporaneous way to *supercarbonate alkali to a certain degree. |
| 1794 Hutton Philos. Light, etc. 297 The *super-oxigenated marine acid. |
| 1796 Hatchett in Phil. Trans. LXXXVI. 285 A peculiar metallic substance, which..was liable by *superoxygenation to be converted into a metallic acid. 1799 Mushet in Phil. Mag. IV. 381 note, When supercarbonated crude iron is run from the furnace, it is frequently covered with a scurf, which..is found to be a coating of plumbago. |
| 1799 Monthly Rev. XXX. 498 Water with the addition of about one-fourth part of the *super-oxydated acid. |
| 1802 Edin. Rev. I. 243 Their grand energy..in a word..depends upon a real *superazotation. |
| 1816 S. Parkes Chem. Catech. ix. (ed. 7) 257 note, A gas..called *super-carburetted hydrogen and also olefiant gas. |
| Ibid. 255 note, Sulphuretted hydrogen is capable of combining with an additional portion of sulphur, forming a compound which may be called *super-sulphuretted hydrogen. 1829 Nat. Philos. I. Optics xviii. 64 (Usef. Knowl. Soc.) Super-oxygenated muriate of potash. |
b. In names of compounds, indicating that the ingredient denoted by the radical is in the highest proportion:
e.g. superacetate (
= a salt containing the highest proportion of acetic acid);
superoxide orig. = peroxide; in
mod. use distinguished from peroxide, and restricted to the anion O
2-;
† supersulphuret (
= a binary compound containing the highest proportion of sulphur, a persulphide). Otherwise surviving in the names of certain salts used in manufactures or the arts,
e.g. superphosphate.
[
1839: see
sub- 24.]
| 1811 A. T. Thomson Lond. Disp. (1818) 555 The dose of *superacetate of lead. |
| 1807 T. Thomson Chem. (ed. 3) II. 396 *Superarseniate of potash. |
| 1826 Henry Elem. Chem. II. 226 The neutral malate of lime..may be obtained by adding lime water to a solution of the *super-malate. |
| 1797 Pearson in Phil. Trans. LXXXVIII. 44 *Super⁓oxalate of potash. |
| 1847 Webster, *Super-oxyd, an oxyd containing more equivalents of oxygen than of the base with which it is combined; a hyperoxyd. 1853 W. Gregory Inorg. Chem. 51 Deutoxide (binoxide, peroxide, or superoxide) of manganese. 1950 Chambers's Jrnl. Apr. 255/2 It [sc. a new lifesaving apparatus] has depended upon finding a method for fairly large-scale production of the chemical used, namely potassium superoxide. 1965 Phillips & Williams Inorg. Chem. I. xiii. 491 The metal oxides so far discussed contain the anion O2- only. There are also two other series of oxides, the peroxides and superoxides which contain the anions O2- and O2- respectively. 1979 Experientia XXXV. 245/2 The explanation for such action is the hypothesis that vitamin C can act as an antoxidant as well as oxidant, by generating superoxide. |
| 1807 T. Thomson Chem. (ed. 3) II. 616 *Supersulphate of alumina-and-potash. |
| 1812 Sir H. Davy Chem. Philos. 383 The other sulphuret of tin, or the *supersulphuret is made by heating together the peroxide of tin and sulphur. |
| 1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 296 *Super-tartrate of potass. 1843 Penny Cycl. XXVII. 458/2 Malate of lime and super-tartrate of lime [in the juice of the grape]. 1891 Science-Gossip XXVII. 32 The colour is fixed by a mordant of alumina and oxide of tin, and the colour is intensified by super-tartrate of potash. |
IV. Expressing addition.
13. In
advb. or
adj. relation to a
vb.,
n., or
adj.: Over and above, in addition, additional(ly), extra; as in (late) L.
superaddĕre to add over and above,
superadd,
superērogāre to spend over and above,
supererogate,
superfētāre to conceive again while already with young,
supernōmināre to give an additional name to,
surname,
superordināre to appoint in addition; (late or
med.) L.
superaugmentum further increase,
superindictio [see
indiction 2],
supernōmen surname,
superplūs surplus:
e.g. † superassume,
super-elect,
super-illustrate,
super-ordain vbs.;
super-accession,
super-conception,
super-dying,
† super-graffing,
super-illustration,
super-injustice,
super-ornament,
super-sanction,
super-straining,
super-stuff ns. and
vbl. ns.;
† superaccessory adj. † ˌsuperadˈvenient a., coming upon or after something as an addition.
† superbibe v. [late L.
superbibĕre]
trans., to drink in addition.
super-ˈcalender v. trans., to subject (paper) to additional calendering, so as to produce a highly glazed surface; chiefly in
ppl. adj. and vbl. n.; hence
super-ˈcalender n., a roller used for supercalendering.
ˌsuperfeuˈdation,
ˌsuperinfeuˈdation, creation of a new feudal estate out of one already established.
ˌsuperinstaˈllation, installation into an office or dignity already held by another (
cf. superinstitution).
ˈsuper-tax n., an additional duty of income tax levied upon incomes above a certain value: abolished as an official term in the
U.K. in 1929, but still in common (
esp. attrib.) use;
cf. surtax n.| 1701 Norris Ideal World i. vii. 410 One is conceived as a *super-accession to the other. |
| 1698 ― Treat. Sev. Subj. 392 The Divine Light..*Superaccessory to the Natural Light. |
| 1647 H. More Song of Soul Notes 160/1 By the powerfull appulse of some *superadvenient form. 1664 ― Myst. Iniq. xx. 77 Which will again be hugely increased by another superadvenient Incertainty. |
| 1620 Venner Via Recta viii. 190 Vpon meats taken againe, let there be assumed a draught of ordinarie Beere, and therewith, or a litle meat *super-assumed. |
| 1691 Sancroft Let. to Sir H. North in D'Oyly Life (1821) xi. II. 10, I sometimes eat bread and butter in a morning, and *superbibe my second dish of coffee after it. |
| 1888 Daily News 10 Dec. 3/2 The choice *super-calendered paper with which the American magazines have made us familiar. 1894 *Super-calender n. [see sheave n.2 3]. 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXXII. 6/1 Super-calendered paper, which is still largely used for the printing of ordinary illustrations. |
| 1911 Ibid. (ed. 11) XX. 734/2 For the better class or very highly-glazed papers..a subsequent glazing process is required; this is effected by sheet or plate-glazing and by *super-calendering or web-glazing... The super-calender is used to imitate the plate-glazed surface. |
| 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. iii. xvii. 150 In those *superconceptions where one childe was like the father, the other like the adulterer. 1855 Dunglison Med. Lex. s.v. Superfœtation, Twin cases may be of this kind of superconception. |
| 1627 Donne Serm. Lady Danvers 159 When there was a *Super-dying, a death vpon the death,..a Spirituall death after the bodily. |
| a 1734 North Lives (1826) I. 360 How can you *super-elect and set up anti⁓sheriffs to oust them before their title is tried? |
| 1627 Donne Serm. 25 Dec. (1640) 44 That God would *super-endow him with parts, and faculties, fit for that service. |
| 1861 Maine Anc. Law iv. (1870) 107 To mount up, through narrowing circles of *super-feudation, till we approximate to the apex of the system. |
| 1664 Evelyn Sylva (1679) 4 *Super-graffing, or the repetition of Graffing, for the inlargement, and melioration of Fruit. |
| 1629 Donne Serm., Acts xxiii. 6, 7 (1640) 496 At thy death thou shalt be *super-illustrated, with a Meridionall light. |
| a 1631 ― 2nd Serm. Gen. i. 26 (1634) 23 Those *super-illustrations, which the blessed shall have in Glorie. |
| 1781 Gibbon Decl. & F. xxxvi. (1787) III. 455 The provincials, oppressed by the accumulated weight of indictions and *superindictions. |
| a 1626 Bacon Consid. Warre w. Spaine (1629) 5 The Rauishing whereof was a meere Excursion of the first Wrong, and a *Super-Iniustice. |
| 1642 Fuller Holy & Prof. St. iv. xi. 285 Such a *superinstallation seems an unlawfull bigamy, marrying two husbands at the same time to the same Church. |
| 1590 Greenwood Answ. to Giffard 32 Christ pronounceth them accursed that add or *superordeyne any thing to his worde. |
| 1709 Mrs. Manley Secret Mem. (1720) I. 114 The *super-Ornaments of the Mind..were not necessary. |
| 1657 in Burton's Diary (1828) I. 407 The frequent *super-sanction of Magna Charta. |
| 1626 Bacon Sylva §182 In the Straining of a String, the further it is strained, the lesse *Superstraining goeth to a Note. |
| 1792 D. Lloyd Voy. Life iii. 51 If you in works of merit prove too light, They'll add their *super-stuff into the scale. |
| 1906 Westm. Gaz. 5 July 2/2 The powers that would..be necessary to obtain a full disclosure of income..under a system of *super-tax. 1908 Daily Chron. 23 Nov. 1/6 A graduated super tax on incomes over {pstlg}5,000 a year. 1931 Times Lit. Suppl. 16 July 556/4 The incidence of income-tax and supertax on business profits. 1972 Daily Tel. 14 Jan. 13 Our friends, on hearing that we own two houses, put us in the super-tax class. 1978 F. Olbrich Desouza pays Price v. 21 The Taj Mahal Hotel['s]..clientele consisted exclusively of those in the super-tax bracket. |
| 1905 Ibid. 23 June 5/7 Only those *super⁓values would be taxed which are due to the growth of a town [etc.]. |
† 14. Math. In
adjs. denoting ratios expressible by unity (or some other integer) with some number of aliquot parts over; as in late L.
superdīmidius (
sc. numerus number) ‘that is a half more’,
i.e. 1½, denoting a ratio of 3:2,
supertertius ‘that is a third over’,
i.e. 1
1/
3 = 4:3,
supersesquialter ‘that is 1½ over’,
i.e. 2½
= 5:2; also, with less precise indication of the denominator of the fraction, after
superpartiens superpartient (
cf. superparticulāris superparticular),
superbipartiens ‘that is two parts over’,
i.e. 1
2/
3 = 5:3,
superquadripartiens, ‘that is four parts over’,
i.e. 1
4/
5 = 9:5.
Obs.| [1570 Billingsley Euclid v. 127 b, If the antecedent containe aboue the consequent two partes, it is called Superbipartiens, as 7. to 5. If 3 partes Supertripartiens as 7. to 4.] 1678 Phillips (ed. 4), Superbipartient number. Ibid., Supertripartient number. a 1696 Scarburgh Euclid (1705) 180 As 8 to 3 is..22/3..: therefore this proportion is named Duple superbitertial. 1709–29 V. Mandey Sys. Math., Arith. 36 Proportion Superpartient, is the Habitude of a greater Number to a lesser, when the greater contains the lesser once, and moreover some Aliquot parts... The Denominators of it are, 12/3, Superbipartient. 13/4, Supertripartient. 14/5, Superquadrupartient,..etc. ad Infinitum. 1737 E. Manwaring Stichology 16 Supertertian Ratio is, when the Arsis and Thesis is as 4 to 3 or 3 to 4. |
15. Upon something of the same kind, in a secondary relation; secondary, secondarily:
e.g. supercommentary (
= a commentary on a commentary),
super-commentator,
† super-consequency (
= a consequence of a consequence),
super-heresy,
super-parasite,
super-parasitic (
= hyperparasite, -itic),
super-reflection,
super-reformation;
super-crown vb.| 1876 Schiller-Szinessy Catal. Hebr. MSS. 137 This *supercommentary has been printed twice. |
| Ibid. 139 Our author as well as other *supercommentators..commented on the short commentary. |
| 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. i. iii. 9 Not attaining the deuteroscopy, or second intention of the words, they are faine to omit their *superconsequencies, coherencies, figures, or tropologies. |
| 1633 T. Adams Exp. 2 Peter iii. 18. 1564 Crowned with his [sc. Job's] patience, which is *supercrowned with everlasting blessednesse. |
| 1846 Proc. Philol. Soc. III. 14 This principle of *super-formation. |
| 1643 Sir T. Browne Relig. Med. i. §8 Even in Doctrines hereticall there will be *super-heresies. |
| 1891 Century Dict., *Superparasite. |
| 1877 Encycl. Brit. VI. 647/2 Another parasite..had become parasitic upon the parasite. The most curious part of this *super-parasitic history is [etc.]. |
| 1626 Bacon Sylva §241 There be three Kindes of Reflexions of Sounds; A Reflexion Concurrent; A Reflexion Iterant, which we call Eccho; And a *Super-reflexion, or an Eccho of an Eccho. |
| 1622 Donne Serm. Easter-Monday (1660) III. 372 We shall not need any such re-Reformation, or *super-Reformation. 1670 Walton Lives iii. 185 Men of the slightest Learning, and the most ignorant of the Common People were mad for a new, or, Super, or Re-reformation of Religion. |
V. † 16. Representing
Gr. ὑπερ-, ἐπι-, in nonce-renderings of words in the
N.T.:
superexpostulate = Gr. ὑπερεντυγχάνειν to intercede on behalf of;
superintroduction = Gr. ἐπεισαγωγή a bringing in besides.
Obs. See also
supersubstantial 1.
| 1647 Trapp Comm. Rom. viii. 26 The Spirit..doth super⁓expostulate for us. Ibid., Heb. vii. 19 The Law is a super⁓introduction to Christ our hope. |
VI. With reduplication of the prefix.
17. Used as an intensifier
Cf. Branch III.
| 1871 W. G. Ward Ess. Philos. Theism (1884) II. 259 The super-superabundance..of evidence. Ibid., II. 258 All men have access to super-superabundant evidence for the truth of Theism. Ibid., II. 256 Evidence super-superabundantly sufficient. 1934 ‘J. Spenser’ Limey breaks In ix. 158 This warder was another of the variety known amongst prison populations as super-super bastards. 1937 A. Calder-Marshall in C. Day Lewis Mind in Chains 60 The second stage was reached, where super- and super-super-films were made. 1963 Supermarket & Self Service (Johannesburg) Aug. 16/1 A further ‘super-supermarket’ of American-style dimensions, is under contemplation. 1974 T. P. Whitney tr. Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago I. ii. iv. 590 Things were neat and clean, they said, and it was always warm, and the only work was mental work—and all of it super-supersecret. |
18. Used to denote a further increase in rank or degree.
Cf. Branch II.
| 1971 Nature 26 Nov. 182/1 The observations would therefore seem to exclude super-clusters or the still greater hierarchy of super-super-clusters as the source of X-ray background. 1979 Ibid. 12 Apr. 615/1 Since nuclear shell theory predicts a further island of stability at Z = 164–184..we must consider whether the three peaks originate from decay of super-superheavy elements. 1980 Sci. Amer. July 112/1 In this way super-supercoiled molecules can be created, molecules that have many more super⁓helical twists than are usually present. |
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[II.] [6.] [c.] supercomputing.
| 1978 Datamation Feb. 159 (heading) Taking another approach to *supercomputing. 1982 Financial Times 18 Jan. (Computers Suppl.) p. iv/5 The Cray II..should set new benchmarks for supercomputing. 1989 New Scientist 21 Jan. 69/1 Supercomputing is at the heart of any discussion about building machines that perform as well as animals. |
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[II.] [6.] [c.] supermodel, a highly successful and internationally famous fashion model.
| 1977 Time 25 July 45/2 *Supermodel Margaux Hemingway dreamed up the idea of posing in high fashion in Jimmy's home town to make people think of plain old Plains as a fashion capital. 1987 Telegraph (Brisbane) 3 July 14/4 Supermodel Elle has slipped back home to Sydney for a secret working visit. 1992 Sun 16 Sept. 5/5 Supermodel Claudia Schiffer has ditched her boyfriend to wed Prince Albert of Monaco, it was claimed last night. |
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super-achiever n.| 1972 N.Y. Times 27 Sept. 64 (advt.) Career Expo '72 for *super achievers who'd like to become Merrill Lynch Account Executives. 1996 ikon Jan.–Feb. 41/2 In many ways, the James Bond of the Connery era was a hard-to-beat role model, a super-achiever in every possible department, a multi-talented anti-slacker. |
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super audio CD n. (also
super audio compact disc) a type of compact disc offering better sound quality than that of conventional compact discs (a proprietary name in the United Kingdom); abbreviated
SACD n. at
S n.1 Additions.
| 1995 Photonics Spectra Aug. 75/1 For example, it becomes a ‘*super audio CD’ when audio signal is stored without compression to take advantage of a high data-transfer rate. 1997 Billboard (Nexis) 11 Oct. They claim the technology—which they call Super Audio Compact Disc—is the answer to the industry's needs for a digital audio carrier that offers vast improvements over the CD but is compatible with the 16-year-old format. 2003 T3 Mar. 35/2 Despite the advent of high-quality audio formats such as DVD-Audio and Super Audio CD, there are still some beardy-weirdies out there clinging to vinyl. |
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superculture n. orig. Anthropol. and
Sociol. a set of cultural attitudes, beliefs, customs, etc., holding a dominant or very influential position in the world or in a large geographical area, and often regarded as overwhelming the culture of less powerful areas or groups.
| 1914 Man 14 195 A matrilineal system of inheritance was a feature of the sub-culture of the south, on which the Brahmanic *super-culture was imposed. 1927 V. W. Brooks Emerson & Others 129 It was a ‘trans-national’ America of which he caught glimpses now, a battle-ground of all the cultures, a superculture, that might perhaps, by some happy chance, determine the future of civilization itself. 1990 Chicago Tribune 29 July iv. 3/4 Influential academic figures..made such arguments in late 1960s as that the U.S. and USSR were jointly moving towards a post-industrial ‘Technotronic superculture’, outstripping Europe and Japan. |
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supercyclone n. an extremely powerful cyclone; (
Meteorol.) a warm core tropical cyclone in the region of the Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, or Bay of Bengal with sustained wind speeds in excess of 130 knots or 240 km per hour.
| 1975 R. F. Nyrop Area Handbk. for Bangladesh 66 The first half of the twentieth century was comparatively free from the devastation of the *supercyclones recorded in earlier centuries, but since then a heavier pattern has resumed. 1999 Financial Times 1 Nov. 14/3 The fierce cyclone, which Indian meteorological officials described as a ‘supercyclone’, pounded the state with 155mph winds. |
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superfamily n. Linguistics a group of language families believed to have developed from a single common ancestor.
| 1951 Internat. Jrnl. Amer. Linguistics 17 266 A *superfamily..is established by Loukotka for the languages of the following eight language families. 1989 Sci. Amer. Oct. 90/1 More than 20 years ago the Soviet linguists Vladislav M. Illich-Svitych and Aron Dolgopolsky proposed that a number of Eurasian language families, including, among others, the Indo-European, the Afro-Asiatic and the Dravidian, are related in a ‘superfamily’ they called the Nostratic. 2003 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 15 July f1 Humans dispersed from the African homeland and one language became many, under pressures of distance and tribal differentiation, splitting into at least 19 superfamilies. |
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superfood n. a food considered especially nutritious or otherwise beneficial to health and well-being.
| 1915 Daily Gleaner (Kingston, Jamaica) 24 June 18/2 He had changed the tenor of his mood, And wisely written wine as *super-food. 1949 Lethbridge (Alberta) Herald 3 Feb. 14/3 Mr. LeBourdais extolled their [sc. the muffins's] worth as a superfood that contained all the known vitamins and some that had not been discovered. 2002 Here's Health Mar. 59/3 Sprouts have long been recognised as superfoods, due to their high protein, enzyme, vitamin and mineral content. |
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superhighway n. (in extended use, in
Computing and
Telecomm.), a route or network for the high-speed transfer of information;
cf. information superhighway n. at
information n. Additions,
highway n.| 1975 Bell Lab. Rec. 53 352 (heading) New *superhighway for metropolitan communications. 1981 N.Y. Times 8 Mar. iii. 8/4 His three sponsors want to build a communications network in space, a ‘super highway’.. to carry electronic mail, computer data, television images and telephone conversations. 1993 Electronic House Dec. 49/3 How does DirecTv/USSB compare with the much-talked-about future 500-channel fiber-optic superhighway? 2001 Business Times Singapore (Nexis) 8 Mar. 12 Our cellular superhighways are getting smoother. |
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super-hurricane n. an extremely powerful hurricane; (
Meteorol.) a warm core tropical cyclone in the Caribbean with sustained wind speeds in excess of 130 knots or 240 km per hour.
| 1929 S. Chase Men & Machines 31 Similarly one can make a wind, indeed a *super-hurricane, with rushing steam, and blow a set of blades around the great steel bottle of a steam turbine. 2000 Mirror (Electronic ed.) 30 Sept. Super-hurricanes like Mitch and Floyd could become more common. |
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supermassive black hole n. Astron. a (hypothetical) black hole with a mass many times (typically 10
6 to 10
10) greater than the sun, believed to lie at the centre of some galaxies.
| 1973 Science 3 Aug. 396/3 If a *supermassive black hole..existed near the galactic center,..the power generated would exceed 1043 erg/sec. 2002 Sci. Amer. June 46 (caption) Sombrero Galaxy..has a bright ellipsoidal bulge of stars, a supermassive black hole buried deep within that bulge..and star clusters scattered about the outskirts. |
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supermassive star n. Astron. a (hypothetical) star with a mass at least 10
3 that of the sun.
| 1962 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 48 1997 If there were equipartition in this system, the globular clusters, considered as *super-massive stars, would be found only in the central regions. 1990 J. Gribben & M. Rees Cosmic Coincidences (1992) iii. 84 We do not understand star formation well enough to be able to decide whether a gravitationally bound primordial cloud containing a million solar masses of material will form a single supermassive star or fragment into a cluster of more ordinary stars. |
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superstation n. chiefly
U.S. a very large station (in various senses); (now)
spec. an (often ostensibly local) independent television station which extends its geographical coverage by transmitting via satellite to viewers of cable networks.
| 1918 Times 9 July 13/1, I wish some attention to this necessity had been visible in the recent report on the organization of *super-stations contemplated in this country. 1960 Wall St. Jrnl. 1 Apr. 15/1 Early this year, the [petrol] firm closed eight smaller stations.., bidding for the town's traffic with a single ‘Superstation’. 1977 N.Y. Times 28 Nov. 60/3 A..‘super station’..is merely an ordinary local television station..that, in effect, becomes a national station when its signal is picked up by satellite and distributed to cable systems around the country. 2000 E. Abbott & B. M. Pellerin in P. F. Korsching et al. Having All Right Connections vii. 141 When cable began providing additional value in the form of independent superstations, such as HBO, Cinemax, and Showtime, sales increased. |
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Super Tuesday n. U.S. Polit. a single Tuesday on which primary (
esp. presidential) elections take place in many states, often setting the tone for the rest of the election; also in extended use.
| 1980 U.S. News & World Rep. 28 Apr. 13 Ronald Reagan will pull away for good in remaining tests—notably ‘*Super Tuesday’ on June 3 in California, New Jersey, Ohio. 1990 P. Taylor See how they Run i. 16 Super Tuesday, the great novelty of the 1988 nomination calendar, was a disaster as a result. Twenty states held primaries on the same day—March 8, 1988—at a time when ten candidates were still in the running. 1992 Economist 7 Mar. 44/2 As he headed off, bull-like, for the southern Super Tuesday states, the talk was even of winning one of them. 2001 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 14 Sept. d18/4 DVD's Super Tuesday is Sept. 25. A digitally remastered ‘Citizen Kane’..leads a half-dozen big releases. |
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super-typhoon n. an extremely powerful typhoon; (
Meteorol.) a warm core tropical cyclone in the region of the western Pacific ocean with sustained wind speeds in excess of 130 knots or 240 km per hour.
| 1980 G. Dunnavan & J. Diercks Monthly Weather Rev. 108 1915/1 A typhoon is designated a ‘*super typhoon’ when maximum surface winds reach a velocity of 67 ms-1. 1997 N.Y. Times 17 Oct. c21/4 Tropical Storm Joan..churned west over the western Pacific... Forecasters expect Joan to reach the status of a super typhoon, with winds of at least 150 miles an hour. |
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super VHS n. a type of high-quality video recording system that is compatible with VHS but with better image resolution; abbreviated
S-VHS n. at
S n.1 Additions.
| 1984 Financial Times 18 July 18/5 Meanwhile JVC have stated that continuing inprovements [sic] in the VHS format will eventually lead to a *Super VHS—perhaps using metal tape and improved signal processing. 1995 Pop. Sci. July 40/4 Owners of Super-VHS (S-VHS) video recorders are accustomed to watching time-shifted programs that nearly match the picture quality of the real-time broadcast. 2002 Amer. Photo May–June 23/1 JVC's sophisticated new VCR..does just that, employing its digital signal processing..to improve the playback of standard VHS and Super VHS tapes. |
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supervirus n. (a) Med. and
Biol., a particularly infectious or dangerous virus,
esp. a virulent new strain, for which no effective treatment has yet been developed;
(b) Computing colloq., a (hypothetical) computer virus with large destructive potential or which bypasses standard antivirus software or measures.
| 1951 N.Y. Times 22 Apr. iv. 11/6 Dr. Langmuir does not believe in any new ‘super germ’ or ‘*super virus’ or in unscientific ways of spreading epidemics. 1990Re: Modula-2 to C translation? in comp.lang.modula2 (Usenet newsgroup) 31 July It is impossible to translate Modula-2 into C..any attempt to do so will immediately cause a cold fussion [sic] of bits resulting in a implosion of the machine and the creation of a super virus which will crash harddisks all over the net. 2001 Egypt Today (Electronic ed.) 1 Feb. The supervirus..has yet to materialize. But no one doubts that it will. According to experts, future viruses won't need you to open an attachment or e-mail to begin inflicting harm. 2002 J. Goad Shit Magnet xvi. 262 Jericho told me he recently contracted a ‘super-virus’ strain of HIV from sharing a needle in a phone booth. |
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superweed n. a weed that is extremely robust or resistant to herbicides or natural checks on growth; (now)
esp. one resulting from genetic modification.
| 1943 Times 17 Apr. 6/4 Agropyron repens or, more familiarly, couch grass, quitch, scutch, or quack, is a *super-weed and holds high rank in that formidable force known to gardeners as the devil's army. 1977 N.Y. Times 20 Feb. 16/3 What if scientists inadvertantly produced a super germ or super weed capable of upsetting the entire balance of life on earth? 1999J. Sheppard in G. Tansey & J. D'Silva Meat Business xiv. 156 There is no way of controlling the transfer of genes for herbicide resistance from crops to ‘weedy’ relatives, thereby producing ‘superweeds’ which cannot be easily eradicated. |