英语词源字典 - 在线词源网站

superfly (adj.)[superfly 词源字典]: "excellent, superior," 1971, originally U.S. black slang, from super- + slang sense of fly (adj.).[superfly etymology, superfly origin, 英语词源]
supergiant (n.): 1927, from super- + giant (n.).
superheat (v.): 1827 (implied in superheated) "to heat to a very high degree," specifically of steam until it resembles a perfect gas, from super- + heat (v.). Related: Superheating.
superhero (n.): 1908 (in a translation of Nietzsche), from super- + hero. Used in 1930 of Tarzan; modern use is from 1960s.
superhighway (n.): 1921, from super- + highway.
superhuman (adj.): 1630s, from Medieval Latin superhumanus; see super- + human (adj.). In early use often "divine," since 19c. typically "above the powers or nature of man." Related: Superhumanly.
superimpose (v.): 1787, back-formation from superimposition (1680s), or from super- + impose. Compare Latin superimponere "to put upon, place over, place above." Related: Superimposed; superimposing.
superintend (v.): "to have charge and direction of," 1610s, from Church Latin superintendere "to oversee" (see superintendent). Related: Superintended; superintending.
superintendence (n.): "act of superintending," c. 1600; from superintendent + -ce, or from Latin superintendens. Related: Superintendency.
superintendent (n.): 1550s, originally an ecclesiastical word meaning "bishop" or "minister who supervises churches within a district" (ultimately a loan-translation of Greek episkopos "overseer"), from Medieval Latin superintendentem (nominative superintendens), present participle of Late Latin superintendere "oversee," from Latin super "above" (see super-) + intendere "turn one's attention to, direct" (see intend). Famously used by 16c. radical Protestants in place of bishop, which to them was tainted by Papacy.
[Martinists] studie to pull downe Bishopps, and set vp Superintendents, which is nothing else, but to raze out good Greeke, & enterline bad Latine. [Lyly, "Pappe with an Hatchet," 1589]
The general sense of "a person who has charge of some business" is first recorded 1580s. Meaning "janitor, custodian" is from c. 1935. Shortened form super first attested 1857, especially at first of overseers of sheep ranches in Australia. As an adjective meaning "superintending," from 1590s.
superior (adj.): late 14c., "higher in position," from Old French superior "higher, upper" (Modern French superieur), from Latin superiorem (nominative superior) "higher," comparative of superus "situated above, upper," from super "above, over" (see super-).

Meaning "higher in rank or dignity" is attested from late 15c.; sense of "of a higher nature or character" is attested from 1530s. Original sense was preserved more strongly in French (as in les étages supérieur "the upper stories"), and in Lake Superior, a loan-translation of French Lac Supérieur, literally "upper lake" (at 600 feet above sea-level it has the highest surface elevation of the five Great Lakes and is the furthest north).
Surprise a person of the class that is supposed to keep servants cleaning his own boots, & either he will go on with the job while he talks to you, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, or else he will explain that the bootboy or scullery-maid is ill & give you to understand that he is, despite appearances, superior to boot-cleaning. If he takes the second course, you conclude that he is not superior to it; if the first, that perhaps he is. [Fowler]
superior (n.): early 15c., from Latin superior (see superior (adj.)), used in Medieval Latin with a noun sense of "one higher, a superior."
superiority (n.): late 15c., from superior (adj.) + -ity, or directly from Medieval Latin superioritatem (nominative superioritas), from superior.
superlative (adj.): late 14c., from Old French superlatif "absolute, highest; powerful; best" (13c.) and directly from Late Latin superlativus "extravagant, exaggerated, hyperbolic," from Latin superlatus "exaggerated" (used as past participle of superferre "carry over or beyond"), from super "beyond" (see super-) + lat- "carry," from *tlat-, past participle stem of tollere "to take away" (see extol). Related: Superlatively; superlativeness.

The noun is attested from 1520s, originally in the grammatical sense, "a word in the superlative;" hence "exaggerated language" (1590s).
superman (n.): 1903, coined by George Bernard Shaw to translate German Übermensch, "highly evolved human being that transcends good and evil," from "Thus Spake Zarathustra" (1883-91), by Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900). First used in German by Hermann Rab (1520s), and also used by Herder and Goethe. Translated as overman (1895) and beyond-man (1896) before Shaw got it right in his play title "Man and Superman" (1903). Application to comic strip hero is from 1938.
So was created ... Superman! champion of the oppressed, the physical marvel who had sworn to devote his existence to helping those in need! ["Action Comics," June 1, 1938]
supermarket (n.): 1933, American English, from super- + market (n.). The 1933 reference is in an article that says the stores themselves began to open around 1931.
supermodel (n.): 1978, from super- + model (n.).
supernal (adj.): mid-15c., "heavenly, divine," from Old French supernal "supreme" (12c.), formed from Latin supernus "situated above, that is above; celestial" (from super "above, over;" see super-) as a contrast to infernal.
supernatant (adj.): "floating on the surface," 1660s, from Latin supernatantem (nominative supernatans), present participle of supernatare "to swim above," from super (see super-) + natare "to swim," frequentative of nare "to swim" (see natatorium). Related: Supernatation (1620s).
supernatural (adj.): early 15c. "of or given by God," from Medieval Latin supernaturalis "above or beyond nature, divine," from Latin super "above" (see super-) + natura "nature" (see nature (n.)). Originally with more of a religious sense, "of or given by God, divine; heavenly;" association with ghosts, etc., has predominated since 19c. Related: Supernaturalism.
That is supernatural, whatever it be, that is either not in the chain of natural cause and effect, or which acts on the chain of cause and effect, in nature, from without the chain. [Horace Bushnell, "Nature and the Supernatural," 1858]