supernus

Latin

Etymology

Most likely a back-formation from supernē.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /suˈper.nus/, [s̠ʊˈpɛrnʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /suˈper.nus/, [suˈpɛrnus]

Adjective

supernus (feminine superna, neuter supernum, adverb superne); first/second-declension adjective

1. 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.

2. celestial, supernal, lofty
3. (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.

	singular				plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter		masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	supernus	superna	supernum		supernī	supernae	superna
genitive	supernī	supernae	supernī		supernōrum	supernārum	supernōrum
dative	supernō	supernae	supernō		supernīs
accusative	supernum	supernam	supernum		supernōs	supernās	superna
ablative	supernō	supernā	supernō		supernīs
vocative	superne	superna	supernum		supernī	supernae	superna

Derived terms

• supernas
• supernē
• supernitās

Related terms

• super
• superāns
• superō

Descendants

• English: supernal
• French: supernel
• Italian: superno

Noun

supernus m (genitive supernī); second declension

1. (Medieval Latin) heaven-dweller, God
2. (military) a sword thrust made over the top of an opponent's shield

Declension

Second-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	supernus	supernī
genitive	supernī	supernōrum
dative	supernō	supernīs
accusative	supernum	supernōs
ablative	supernō	supernīs
vocative	superne	supernī

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)