supernatant

English

Etymology

From super- +‎ natant.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

supernatant (not comparable)

1. (chiefly of a liquid) Lying or floating above a denser fluid, or above a solid sediment or precipitate (which has been separated by crystallisation, centrifugation etc.).
   • 1791, Erasmus Darwin, The Economy of Vegetation, J. Johnson, page 11:

     There may be a place at some certain latitude between the poles and the line on each side the equator, where the inflammable supernatant atmosphere may end, owing to the greater centrifugal force of the heavier aerial atmosphere.

Antonyms

• infranatant

Translations

floating on the surface of a liquid

• French: surnageant (fr)
• Italian: galleggiante (it)
• Portuguese: flutuando (pt), sobrenadante
• Spanish: flotante (es), sobrenadante

Noun

supernatant (plural supernatants)

1. The liquid that lies above a sediment or precipitate; supernate
2. Material that floats on the surface of a liquid

Related terms

• immunosupernatant
• surnatant

Latin

Verb

supernatant

1. third-person plural present active indicative of supernatō