Etymologically
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superman

Etymology and origin of the English word superman

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Calque
First attested
1903
Ultimate origin
German (Übermensch)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈs(j)uːpəmæn/ (UK); /ˈsupɚmæn/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It was coined in 1903 by George Bernard Shaw in the title of Man and Superman,[2][3][4] from super- and man,[5][6] as a translation of German Übermensch (“overman”),[2][3][7] the word Nietzsche used for an ideal superior man in Also sprach Zarathustra (1883–91).[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

An ideal superior man of the future, evolved from the normal human type: 1903.[2][8][3]

Semantic evolution

The German word was first used by Hermann Rab in the 1520s, and also by Herder and Goethe.[3] It had been Englished as overman (1895) and beyond-man (1896) before Shaw.[3][9] Supermanhood is from 1905.[8] The general sense, a man of extraordinary powers, is from 1925,[2] and Superman, the invincible hero of the American comic strip, from 1938;[2][8] his ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound dates from 1941.[3]

Timeline

  • 1895 – overman.[3]
  • 1903 – superman.[2]
  • 1925 – a man of great power.[2]
  • 1938 – Superman, the comic hero.[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A man of apparently superhuman powers.
  2. (philosophy) Nietzsche's ideal superior human, who rises above conventional morality and is the goal of human evolution.
  • superwoman
  • superhero
  • superhuman

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ a b c Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  9. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Cite this entry

“Superman.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/superman. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·