Etymologically
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superi

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ˈsʊ.pɛ.riː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [ˈsuː.pe.ri][1]

Forms

superī m pl (genitive superōrum); second declension[1] In these uses the genitive superum is commoner than superōrum.[2]

Etymology

It is the masculine plural of superus (“upper, above”) used as a noun.[2][1] The adjective is formed from super (“above”); de Vaan traces it to Proto-Italic *supero- (“upper”) and Proto-Indo-European *uper-o- (“above”), cognate with Oscan supruis (“upper”) and Ancient Greek ὑπέρ (hupér, “over”).[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Livius Andronicus' Odyssey asks whether a god of the underworld or of the sky (inferus an superus) brings death.[2][4]

Semantic evolution

It is the gods above, the gods of heaven as opposed to those of the underworld, and the people who live in the upper world, the living, as opposed to the dead: an old play speaks of a father coming back ad superōs.[2][1]

Timeline

  • 280/260–before 200 BC – Livius Andronicus of the gods above.[2][4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. The gods above, the heavenly gods.[2][1]
  2. The living, those in the upper world (as opposed to the dead).[2][1]

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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ 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 Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de