superiore

Forms

superiore m or f by sense (plural superiori)^[1] Old Italian also wrote soperiore and Old Italian supperiore.^[2]

Etymology

It is a learned word, borrowed from Latin superior (“higher”), the comparative of superus (“that is above, upper”), from super (“above”), with the comparative suffix -ior.^[3][4][5][1] Devoto describes “superior” as a comparative built again on “superus”, which already had a contrastive sense.^[6] The same Latin word gave French supérieur and Spanish superior.^[4]

Latin “super” goes back to Proto-Italic *super and Proto-Indo-European *(h₁)uper(i) (“over, above”), with an ⟨s⟩ added in Latin as in sub; it is related to Ancient Greek ὑπέρ (hupér), Sanskrit उपरि (upári) and Old High German ubir.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

GRADIT dates the word to Boccaccio's Decameron (1348–1353), and DELI dates the noun “person of higher rank” to Boccaccio in 1353; in one tale of the Decameron a speaker says he was sent by his superiore to the lands where the sun rises.^[5][3][8] Boccaccio also used it for “previous, mentioned above” (before 1375).^[3]

Semantic evolution

The religious superior, who governs a community, is recorded, perhaps in the 14th century, in a translation of St Bernard, and the word was already used in civil administration in the 14th century; at Urbino in 1677 it was the title of the highest local magistrate, and at Venice in 1485 of a senior judge of appeal.^[3][9] The feminine superiora for a mother superior first appears in Manzoni's Fermo e Lucia (1821–1823); in 1829 a grammarian conceded that the correct la superiore could not be imposed on common usage.^[3]

The sense “of greater quality or ability” is recorded before 1405 (Filippo Villani), “placed higher” before 1555 (Pierfrancesco Giambullari), “above petty things” in 1656–1666 (Sforza Pallavicino), “higher in a hierarchy” in 1804 and “greater in number” in 1904.^[3] Its use for a haughty, disdainful attitude was noted as a neologism in 1886, although Manzoni had written superiore d'animo in 1827.^[3] Superiorità is first recorded in Leon Battista Alberti (before 1472) and comes from Medieval Latin superioritas.^[3][4]

Timeline

• 1348–1353 – Boccaccio uses superiore in the Decameron.^[5][3]
• Before 1405 – Filippo Villani uses it for greater quality or ability.^[3]
• Before 1472 – Leon Battista Alberti has superiorità.^[3]
• 1485 – At Venice superiore is the title of a senior judge.^[9]
• Before 1555 – Pierfrancesco Giambullari uses it for “placed higher”.^[3]
• 1804 – The sense “higher in a hierarchy” is recorded.^[3]
• 1821–1823 – Manzoni uses superiora in Fermo e Lucia.^[3]
• 1886 – The sense “disdainful, aloof” is recorded as a neologism.^[3]

Meanings

Adjective

1. upper, higher, placed above: Abitano al piano superiore al nostro., arti superiori, the arms; of a river, nearer the source.^[5][10][11]
2. Greater in height, size, quantity, number or intensity (with a): un'altezza superiore ai due metri.^[5][12]
3. Of better quality, first-rate: un vino di qualità superiore.^[5][11]
4. Having greater ability or worth than others; exceptional: si crede superiore a tutti, essere superiore to something, to rise above it.^[5][12][13]
5. Going beyond a limit: un risultato superiore alle attese.^[5][10]
6. Higher in a social or administrative scale: ceti superiori, scuola superiore, secondary school (le superiori); istruzione superiore, university education, ufficiali superiori, the field officers.^[5][11]
7. (history) Of a Roman province, the part nearer Rome: Gallia superiore.^[11][13]

Noun

1. A superior, someone of higher rank in a hierarchy: Ha chiesto il permesso al suo superiore.^[5][10]
2. The head of a religious community; also as an adjective, padre superiore.^[5]
3. (prison slang) A warder.^[5]

Word family

• superiora
• superiorità
• superiormente
• superiorato

Related words

• sopra
• supremo
• superare
• inferiore
• Latin superior

Usage notes

Treccani notes that superiore is also treated in Italian as a comparative of alto, as inferiore is of basso.^[13]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Battaglia, Salvatore; Bàrberi Squarotti, Giorgio (1961–2002), Grande dizionario della lingua italiana, 21 vols., Torino: UTET; digital ed. Accademia della Crusca
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
4. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
6. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
7. ^ de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
8. ^ Tommaseo, Niccolò; Bellini, Bernardo (1861–1879), Dizionario della lingua italiana, 4 vols., Torino: UTET
9. ^ a b Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 3679
10. ^ a b c Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
11. ^ a b c d Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
12. ^ a b Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
13. ^ a b c Vocabolario della lingua italiana Treccani (2011), Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana