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supernus. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
supernus, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
supernus in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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Latin
Etymology
Most likely a back-formation from supernē.
Pronunciation
Adjective
supernus (feminine superna, neuter supernum, adverb superne); first/second-declension adjective
- upper, that is located above
c. 77 CE – 79 CE,
Pliny the Elder,
Naturalis Historia 9.12.37:
- Dentēs nōn sunt testūdinī, set rōstrī marginēs acūtī supernā parte, interiōrem claudente pyxidum modō tantā ōris dūritiā ut lapidēs comminuant.
- The turtle has no teeth, but the edges of the beak are sharp on the side above, which closes the lower jaw in the manner of boxes with such hardness that they can crush stones.
- celestial, supernal, lofty
- (geography, figuratively, rare) northern
- 5th C. CE, Priscian (translator), Periegesis 29–33, original author: Dionysius Periegetes, in Poetae Latini Minores (volume V), Emil Baehrens (editor), Bibliotheca Teubneriana, Leipzig 1879, page 276:
Fīnibus est Asiae latus artum lingua supernīs,
Caspia quam mediam faciunt atque aequora pontī
Euxīnī: locus hic discrīmen dīcitur esse
Eurōpae atque Asiae disiungēns rūribus arva.- The northern limits of Asia Minor have a narrow flank, a tongue,
which the Caspian Sea and the waters of the Black Sea create
in the middle: this place is said to be the separation
of Europe and Asia, distinguising the country from the fields.
Declension
First/second-declension adjective.
Derived terms
Descendants
Noun
supernus m (genitive supernī); second declension
- (Medieval Latin) heaven-dweller, God
- (military) a sword thrust made over the top of an opponent's shield
Declension
Second-declension noun.
References
- “supernus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “supernus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- supernus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
- “supernus” on page 2069/3 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (2nd ed., 2012)