Etymologically
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supérieur

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /sy.pe.ʁjœʁ/[1]

Forms

supérieur (feminine supérieure, masculine plural supérieurs, feminine plural supérieures)[1] Old French superior (about 1160), supereor (1195), superiour;[2][3] supérieur from 1530.[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin superior (“higher; earlier; stronger, superior”), remade in 1530 from the Old French form.[4][2][5][6] The Latin word is the comparative of superus (“that is above”), from super (“above, over”).[4][2][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Benoît de Sainte-Maure's Roman de Troie (about 1165) speaks of Inde la superior, Upper India;[4][2] Alexandre de Paris has ciel superior (1180–1190).[4][2]

Semantic evolution

In the 16th century the sense “situated above” was used in astronomy (planètes supérieures, 1562) and anatomy (membres supérieurs, 1564).[2][3] The idea of value appears in 1543, and supérieur à “better than” in Montaigne (1588); without a complement it was said of a remarkable person in 1694.[4][2] From the 1845 Bescherelle it also qualified a higher level of a classification (animaux supérieurs) and l'enseignement supérieur.[2][3] Zola has the psychological sense “showing a feeling of superiority” in 1887.[2][3]

As a noun, superieux (1482) were the people in authority;[4][2] Corneille has the head of a monastery in 1656, as in la mère supérieure.[4][2] The lac Supérieur is Lake Superior, the largest of the Great Lakes.[2][1]

Timeline

  • c. 1165 – Inde la superior, in Benoît de Sainte-Maure.[4]
  • 1482 – Les superieux, people in authority.[4]
  • 1530 – The form supérieur.[2][3]
  • 1564 – Membres supérieurs.[2]
  • 1588 – Supérieur à, of what surpasses, in Montaigne.[2]
  • 1656 – The superior of a monastery, in Corneille.[4]
  • 1845 – Enseignement supérieur.[3]
  • 1887 – “Condescending”, in Zola.[2]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Upper, higher; situated above: les étages supérieurs, la lèvre supérieure.[7][8]
  2. Of a river, nearer its source: le cours supérieur.[7]
  3. Supérieur à: better than, greater than, above.[8][7]
  4. Of higher rank: officier supérieur, cadre supérieur; of a higher level: enseignement supérieur.[2][7]
  5. Outstanding, of great merit: un esprit supérieur.[7][2]
  6. (of a manner) Condescending, showing a sense of superiority: un air supérieur.[7][2]
  7. (mathematics) Supérieur ou égal: greater than or equal to.[1]

Noun

  1. A superior, a person who has authority over others.[7][1]
  2. The head of a religious community: la mère supérieure.[2][7]
  3. Le supérieur: higher education.[2]

Word family

  • supérieurement

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  5. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 12, 441b
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  8. ^ a b Dictionnaire Le Robert en ligne, dictionnaire.lerobert.com (accessed 2024)