"S" Word Origins

superfluity

Origin

From superflu(ous) + -ity, Old French superfluite, from Medieval Latin superfluitas, from Latin superfluus.

superfluous

Latin

From Latin superfluus, "overflowing", from super ("over, above") + fluere ("to flow") — the same root as "fluid" and "mellifluous".

superflux

Origin

From Latin superfluxus, from superfluō (“overflow”).

supergirl

Origin · 1959

From super- + girl, popularised by the DC Comics superheroine Supergirl, who debuted in 1959.

superglue

Origin

From super- + glue, originally a trademark of the Super Glue Corporation that became a generic name.

supergrass

Origin

From super- + grass, from grass (“an informer”).

superhero

Origin · 1917

From super- + hero, first recorded around 1917, though the genre exploded with comic books from the 1930s onward.

superhuman

Medieval Latin

From Medieval Latin superhumanus, from super- ("above") + humanus ("human").

superimpose

Origin

From super- + impose.

superintend

Origin

Borrowed from Ecclesiastical Latin superintendō.

superintendent

Latin

From Ecclesiastical Latin superintendens, itself modelled on Greek episkopos — the same root that eventually gives English "bishop".

superior

Latin

From Old French superiour, from Latin superior, "higher, upper" — the comparative form of super, "above".

superiority

Latin

From Old French superiorite, ultimately from Latin superior, "higher" — superior + the noun-forming suffix -ity.

superlative

Latin

From late Latin superlativus, from superlatus "carried beyond, exaggerated", from super- "beyond" and ferre "to carry".

superman

German · 1883

A calque (loan translation) of the German Übermensch, coined by philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche in Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883); the English "superman" was popularised by George Bernard Shaw in 1903 and later reinforced by the DC Comics character, who debuted in 1938.

supermarket

Origin · 1933

An American English coinage from super- + market, dating from 1933.

supermassive

Origin

From super- + massive.

supermax

Origin

From super- + max, short for "maximum security".

supermaxi

Origin

From super- + maxi.

supermodel

Origin · 1942

From super- + model, first recorded in 1942 but only widely used from the late 1980s onward.

supernatural

Medieval Latin

From Middle French supernaturel, from Medieval Latin supernaturalis, from super- ("above") + natura ("nature").

supernova

Latin

From super- + nova (Latin for "new") — a "new star" that appears far brighter than an ordinary one.

supernumerary

Origin

From Late Latin supernumerarius (“extra soldier added to a legion; supernumerary”), from super (“above; beyond”) + numerus (“number; collection, quantity”) + -ārius (suffix forming adjectives from nouns or numerals). The word is analysable as super- + numeral + -ary.

superpower

Origin

From super- + power.

superpsyched

Origin

From super- + psyched.

supersede

Latin

From Latin supersedere "to sit above, preside over, refrain from", from super- "above" and sedere "to sit".

supersonic

Origin

From super- + sonic; a doublet of hypersonic.

superstar

Origin

From super- + star.

superstition

Latin

From Latin superstitio, from superstare ("to stand over/survive") + -tio; the sense shifted from "excessive religious awe" to irrational belief.

superstitious

Latin

From Old French superstitieux, from Latin superstitiosus.

supervacaneous

Origin

From Latin supervacāneus; compare Italian supervacaneo, Portuguese supervacâneo, Spanish supervacáneo.

supervene

Origin

From Latin supervenīre (“come over or upon, overtake”), from super (“above”) + veniō (“come”).

supervillain

Origin

From super- + villain.

supervise

Medieval Latin

From Medieval Latin supervisus, from super- ("over") + videre ("to see") — literally "to oversee." A doublet of survey.

supervision

Latin

From Latin supervisio.

supervisor

Latin

From Middle English supervisor, from Latin supervideo, from super- + videre ("to see"); by surface analysis, supervise + -or.

supervisory

Origin

From supervise + -ory.

supine

Latin

From Latin supinus, 'lying on the back, bent backwards', related to sub 'under'.

supper

Old French

From Old French soper, related to sope ("soup") — the meal was originally associated with a light soup course. Compare French souper.

suppertime

Origin

From supper + time.

supplant

Origin

From Middle English supplanten, supplaunten, from Old French supplanter, from Latin supplantō (“trip up”), from sub (“from below, under”) + planta (“sole”).

supplanter

Origin

From supplant + -er.

supple

Latin

From Old French souple ("soft, lithe"), from Latin supplex ("kneeling, submissive"), ultimately from sub- + plicare ("to bend") — compare "complex."

supplement

Latin

From Latin supplementum, from supplere ("to fill up, complete").

supplemental

Origin

From supplement + -al.

supplementary

French

From supplement + -ary; compare French supplémentaire.

suppliant

Origin

From French suppliant, present participle of supplier. Doublet of supplicant.

supplicant

Origin

From Latin supplicans (“supplicating, bowing down”), from supplicō (“kneel, bow down, request”), from sub- (“lower”) + plicō (“fold”).