superman
The origin and history of superman.
Etymology
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.
Class of 1883
superman first entered the language around 1883. Other words from the same year:
See the full Class of 1883 →