superioridade

Forms

superioridade f (plural superioridades)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Portuguese superior + -idade, in Houaiss with a linking ⟨-i-⟩.^[2][3][4] Wiktionary instead takes it from Medieval Latin superiōritās, and Cunha, who dates it only to 1813, from French supériorité, itself from the Medieval Latin word.^[1][5]

The adjective is from Latin superior (“higher”), the comparative of superus (“that is above”), from super (“above”).^[6][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Houaiss dates the word to the 15th century from the slips of the medieval Portuguese index, and the Wikcionário gives the same century.^[2][7] In Pereira's dictionary of 1697 it is a cross-reference to prelasia “prelacy”, that is, the authority of a superior.^[8]

Semantic evolution

Bluteau (1712–1728) defines the word as the dignity of one person above another, superioridade de Rey “royal dignity”, quoting the Corte na Aldea, and as pre-eminence or excellence.^[9] Morais (1813) gives the quality of being superior, with examples of talents and of cloth.^[10] Today it means authority, an advantage over others (superioridade numérica), and an air of being better than others.^[2] The phrase complexo de superioridade comes from the psychology of Alfred Adler.^[11]

Timeline

• 15th century – first record, in Houaiss's dating.^[2]
• 1697 – Pereira refers superioridade to prelasia.^[8]
• 1712–1728 – Bluteau: dignity, pre-eminence.^[9]
• 1813 – Morais's dictionary, and Cunha's date for the word.^[10][5]

Meanings

Noun

1. The quality or condition of being superior; superiority.^[2][4][1]
2. Command, authority.^[2][11]
3. An advantage or lead over others; primazia: superioridade numérica.^[2][4]
4. The air of one who thinks himself better than others;^[2][3] (derogatory) a show of one's own power or qualities.^[2][3]

Related words

• superior
• inferioridade
• súpero

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 Houaiss, Antônio; Villar, Mauro de Salles (2001), Dicionário Houaiss da língua portuguesa, Rio de Janeiro: Objetiva, p. s.v. superioridade
3. ^ a b c Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, revised online edition (2023–) of the Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa Contemporânea (2001), https://dicionario.acad-ciencias.pt, p. s.v. superioridade
4. ^ a b c Ferreira, Aurélio Buarque de Holanda, Novo dicionário Aurélio da língua portuguesa, digital edition, p. s.v. superioridade
5. ^ a b Cunha, Antônio Geraldo da (2010), Dicionário etimológico da língua portuguesa, 4th ed., Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon, p. s.v. súpero
6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. superior
7. ^ Wikcionário (Portuguese Wiktionary), pt.wiktionary.org, p. s.v. superioridade
8. ^ a b Pereira, Bento (1697), Thesouro da lingoa portuguesa, in the 1697 edition of his Prosodia (1st ed. 1647; CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. superioridade
9. ^ a b Bluteau, Raphael (1712–1728), Vocabulario portuguez e latino, 8 vols. + 2 supplement vols., Coimbra / Lisboa (CLP transcription, Universidade de Aveiro), p. s.v. superioridade
10. ^ a b Silva, António de Morais (1813), Diccionario da lingua portugueza, 2nd ed., 2 vols., Lisboa: Typographia Lacerdina, p. 2, 739
11. ^ a b Porto Editora (2013), Grande Dicionário da Língua Portuguesa, Porto: Porto Editora, p. 8726