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insuper

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word insuper

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
c. 250–184 BC, Plautus
Ultimate origin
Proto-Indo-European (*(h₁)uper(i))

Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈĩː.sʊ.pɛr][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈin.su.per][1]

Forms

īnsuper (not comparable)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from in (“in, on”) and super (“above”).[2][1] De Vaan derives ⟨super⟩ from Proto-Italic *super(i) (“above”) and Proto-Indo-European *(h₁)uper(i) (“over, above”), with an ⟨s-⟩ added in Latin as in sub.[3] Cognate with Umbrian super (“on top”), Old Irish for (“over”) and Sanskrit उपरि (upári, “above”).[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

De Vaan dates it from Plautus,[3] where Amphitruo demands that the man make amends and “swear besides” that he did not mean it;[2] Köbler gives Ennius, who has a warrior fall “and his armour clanged over him”.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

As an adverb it is on top or above, as in Ennius, and more often in addition, besides, over and above, as in Plautus.[2][5][1] Īnsuper habēre is to overlook or pay no heed to, as in Fronto.[2]

As a preposition it takes the accusative, onto the top of, as in Cato's “lay a flat beam over the trees and stakes”, or the ablative, above or in addition to, as Lucretius' clouds heaped one above another.[2][5] Church Latin glosses it “in addition to, moreover, besides, above”.[6] Köbler finds it often in the early medieval law codes.[4]

Timeline

  • 204–169 BC – Ennius of armour clanging above a fallen man.[2][4]
  • c. 250–184 BC – Plautus in the sense “besides”.[2][4]
  • 234–149 BC – Cato uses it as a preposition.[2][4]
  • 100–170 AD – Fronto has īnsuper habēre.[2][4]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. On top, above, overhead.[2][5][1]
  2. In addition, besides, moreover, over and above;[2][5][1][6] īnsuper habēre, to disregard.[2]

Preposition

  1. (with accusative) Onto the top of, upon, over.[2][6]
  2. (with ablative) Above; in addition to.[2][6]

Word family

  • deinsuper

Usage notes

Döderlein distinguishes praetereā, which completes what has gone before, from īnsuper, which adds something to it, and ultrō, which goes beyond it.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill
  4. ^ a b c d e f Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c d Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b c d Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
  7. ^ Döderlein, Ludwig (1874), Döderlein’s Hand-book of Latin Synonymes, tr. H. H. Arnold, Andover: W. F. Draper
Cite this entry

“Insuper.” Etymologically, 19 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/la/insuper. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

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