super-
prefix 1. (Printing, Lithography & Bookbinding) placed above or over: superscript.
2. of greater size, extent, quality, etc: supermarket.
3. surpassing others; outstanding: superstar.
4. beyond a standard or norm; exceeding or exceedingly: supersonic.
5. (Chemistry) indicating that a chemical compound contains a specified element in a higher proportion than usual: superoxide.
[from Latin super above]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
su•per
(ˈsu pər)
n. 1. a superintendent, esp. of an apartment house.
2. a supernumerary.
3. a supervisor.
4. an article of a superior quality, grade, size, etc.
5. (in beekeeping) the portion of a hive in which honey is stored.
adj. 6. of the highest degree, power, etc.: a super council.
7. of an extreme or excessive degree: super haste.
8. very good; first-rate; excellent.
adv. 9. very; extremely or excessively: super cooperative.
[1855–65; independent use of
super- (construed as an adj. or adv.), or shortening of words prefixed with it]
super-
a prefix occurring orig. in loanwords from Latin, with the basic meaning “above, beyond.” Words formed with super- have the following general senses: “to place or be placed above or over” (superimpose), “a thing placed over another” (superstructure), “situated over” (superficial) and, more figuratively, “an individual, thing, or property that exceeds customary norms or levels” (superconductivity; superman), “something larger, more powerful, or with wider application than others of its kind” (supercomputer; superhighway), “exceeding norms or limits” (superhuman), “having the specified property to a great or excessive degree” (supercritical; superfine), “to subject to (a physical process) to an extreme degree” (supercharge; supercool), “a category that embraces a number of lesser items of the specified kind” (superfamily), “a chemical compound with a higher proportion than usual of a given constituent” (superphosphate).
[< Latin
super (preposition and v. prefix) above, beyond, in addition, to an especially high degree; akin to Greek
hypér (see
hyper-), Skt
upari; see
over]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.