superus

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈsʊ.pɛ.rʊs]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈsuː.pe.rus]^[1]

Forms

superus (feminine supera, neuter superum, comparative superior, superlative suprēmus or superrimus or superrumus or summus, adverb super or suprā); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *superos, equivalent to super “above” with the adjective suffix ⟨-us⟩, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *upér (“over”).^[1][2] Cognate with Oscan supruis and Umbrian supru; the OLD compares Ancient Greek ὕπερος (húperos, “pestle”).^[1][2] Cato and Lucretius have a nominative ⟨super⟩, and the genitive plural ⟨superum⟩ is commoner than ⟨superōrum⟩ for the gods.^[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Köbler's first source is Livius Andronicus, whom he dates 280/260–before 200 BC, and the OLD's earliest citation for the gods above is from Livius Andronicus.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

It meant situated above, upper, of persons living upstairs or upstream, as in Cato, and mare superum was the Adriatic, as against the Tuscan mare īnferum.^[2] Dē superō meant from above, as in Plautus, and Cicero uses it of what is above the horizon.^[2] In Virgil it meant of the upper world as opposed to the underworld, and superī the living.^[2] It meant heavenly, celestial, and superī were the gods above, as Cicero's superī diī.^[2][5] In Cicero it also meant earlier, previous.^[2] Its comparative is superior and its superlatives suprēmus and summus.^[1]

In Ecclesiastical Latin it meant upper, higher, divine, and superus an angel.^[6] Its superlative suprēmus gave English supreme in the 1520s.^[7]

Timeline

• 280/260–before 200 BC – Livius Andronicus uses superī of the gods.^[2][4]
• c. 250–184 BC – Plautus uses mare superum.^[2][4]
• 81–43 BC – Cicero uses it of the gods above and of what is earlier.^[2][5][4]
• 70–19 BC – Virgil uses superī of the living.^[2][4]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Upper, situated above, mare superum, the Adriatic.^[2]
2. Of the upper world, superī, the living.^[2]
3. Heavenly, celestial, superī, the gods above.^[2]
4. Earlier, previous.^[2]
5. (Ecclesiastical Latin) As a noun, an angel.^[6]

Related words

• super
• superior
• suprēmus
• summus
• īnferus
• English supreme
• English superior

References

1. ^ a b c d e f 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 Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
4. ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
5. ^ a b Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
6. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
7. ^ Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com