superman English · revision 10519

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=calque|attested=1903|origins=de Übermensch}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈs(j)uːpəmæn/ ''(UK)''; /ˈsupɚmæn/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It was coined in 1903 by George Bernard Shaw in the title of Man and Superman,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from [[super-]] and [[man]],^(NODE 1998)^(SOED 2002) as a translation of German [[m|de|Übermensch|t=overman]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024) the word Nietzsche used for an ideal superior man in Also sprach Zarathustra (1883–91).^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ An ideal superior man of the future, evolved from the normal human type: 1903.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The German word was first used by Hermann Rab in the 1520s, and also by Herder and Goethe.^(Etymonline) It had been Englished as overman (1895) and beyond-man (1896) before Shaw.^(Etymonline)^(AHD) ''Supermanhood'' is from 1905.^(OED 1989) The general sense, a man of extraordinary powers, is from 1925,^(Barnhart 1988) and Superman, the invincible hero of the American comic strip, from 1938;^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) his ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound dates from 1941.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1895 – overman.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1903 – superman.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1925 – a man of great power.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1938 – Superman, the comic hero.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A man of apparently superhuman powers.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(philosophy)'' Nietzsche's ideal superior human, who rises above conventional morality and is the goal of human evolution.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[superwoman]]

+ * [[superhero]]

+ * [[superhuman]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}