supernal 
God 
. . . will send his winged messengers 
On errands of supernal grace. 
llMon, P. L., vii. 573. 
3. In zool., superior in position; situated high 
up: as, the supernal nostrils of a bird, 
supernatant (su-per-na'taut), a. [< L. super- 
natan(t-)s, ppr. of siiperiuttare, swim above, 
float, < si/per, above, + nature, swim : see na- 
tant.] Swimming above; floating on the sur- 
face. 
After the urinous spirit had precipitated the gold into 
a fine calx, the supernatant liquor was highly tinged with 
blue, that betrayed the alloy of copper, that did not be- 
fore appear. Boyle, Works, III. 421. 
supernatation (su'per-na-ta'shon), . [< L. *su- 
))crnatatio(n-), < supernaiare, swim above, float: 
see supernatant.] The act of floating on the 
surface of a fluid. Uncoil; Sir T. Browne. 
supernatural (su-per-nat'u-ral), a. and n. [< 
OF. supernaturel, also surnaturel, F. surnaturel 
= Sp. Pg. sobrenatural = U.supernaturale, < ML. 
supernaturalis, being above nature, divine, < L. 
super, above, T natura, nature : see natural.] I. 
a. 1. Being beyond or exceeding the powers or 
laws of nature ; not occurring, done, bestowed, 
etc., through the operation of merely physical 
laws, but by an agency above and separate from 
these. 
All these gyf tes God gaue hym aboue hys naturales, and 
not for himself onely, but for him and al his posteritye. 
But all these supernaturall giftes he gaue him with the 
knot of tbys condicion : that is to wytte, tha^ yf hee brake 
hys commaundement, then shuld he lese them al. 
Sir T. More, Works, p. 1288. 
2. Of or pertaining to that which is above or 
beyond nature. 
Of all the numbers arithmetical!, 
The number three is heald for principal], 
As well in naturall philosophy 
As supernaturall theologie. 
Times' Whistle (E. E. T. S.), p. 148. 
Supernatural perfection. See perfection. =Syn. 1. Su- 
pernatural, Miraculous, Preternatural, Superhuman, Un- 
natural, Extra-natural. That which is supernatural is 
above nature ; that which is preternatural or extra-natural 
is outside of nature ; that which is unnatural is contrary 
to nature, but not necessarily impossible. Supernatural 
is freely applicable to persons : as, supernatural visitants ; 
preternatural sometimes ; unnatural only in another sense. 
Supernatural is applied to beings, properties, powers, acts, 
in the realms of being recognized as higher than man's. In 
the following extract supernatural is used in the sense or- 
dinarily expressed by extra-natural or miraculous. 
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. H. Bushnell, Nature and the Supernat., p. 37. 
The raising of the dead to life would be miraculous, be- 
cause, if brought about by a law of nature, it would be by 
a law outside of and above any that are known to man, and 
perhaps overruling some law or laws of nature. Preter- 
natural is used especially to note that which might have 
been a work of nature, but is not. That which is superhu- 
man is above the nature or powers of man. Superhuman 
is often used by hyperbole to note that which is very re- 
markable in man : as, he exhibited superhuman strength ; 
the other words may be similarly used in a lower sense. 
II. n. That which is above or beyond the 
established course or laws of nature ; something 
transcending nature ; supernatural agencies, 
influence, phenomena, etc.: with the definite 
article. 
If we pass from the Fathers into the middle ages, we find 
ourselves in an atmosphere that was dense and charged 
with the supernatural. Lecky, nationalism, 1. 157. 
SUpernaturalism (su-per-nat'u-ral-izm), n. [< 
supernatural + -ism.'] 1. Tne state or charac- 
ter of being supernatural. 2. Belief in the su- 
pernatural. Specifically (a) The doctrine that there 
is a personal God who is superior to and supreme in nature, 
and. directs and controls it : in this sense opposed to natu- 
ralism, (b) The doctrine that this power has controlled 
and directed the forces of nature in the miraculous events 
recorded in the Bible, and does continue to direct and 
control them, though not in a miraculous way, in special 
providences in answer to prayer : in this sense opposed 
to rationalism. 
Also supranaturalism. 
supernaturalist (su-per-nat'u-ral-ist), n. and a. 
[< supernatural + -ist.] I. n. One who believes 
in the supernatural; a believer in supernatu- 
ralism. Also called supranaturalist. 
II. a. Same as supernaturalistic. 
supernaturalistic (su-per-nat/u-ra-lis'tik), a. 
[< supernaturalist + -c.] Of,~pertaining to, or 
of the nature of supernaturalism. 
The purely external and supernaturalistic Socinian and 
Priestleian legacy. Encyc. Brit., XXIII. 726. 
supernaturality (su-per-nat-u-ral'i-ti), . [< 
supernatural + -%.] The state or quality of 
being supernatural ; supernaturalness. [Rare.] 
supernaturalize (su-per-nat'u-ral-iz), v. t.; 
pret. and pp. supernaturaUzed,']iTyr. supernatu- 
ralizing. [< supernatural + -ize.\ To treat or 
consider as belonging or pertaining to a super- 
6068 
natural state; elevate into the region of the 
supernatural ; render supernatural. 
She [Beatrice] early began to undergo that change into 
something rich and strange in the sea of his [Dante's] 
mind which so completely gupernaluralized her at last. 
Lowell, Among my Books, 2d ser., p. 68. 
supernaturally (su-per-nat'u-ral-i), adv. In a 
supernatural manner; in a manner exceeding 
the established course or laws of nature. 
supernaturalness (su-per-nat'u-ral-nes), n. 
Tne state or character of being supernatural. 
supernegative (su-p6r-neg'a-tiv), a. Contain- 
ing a double negative. 
supernodicalt (su-per-nod'i-kal), a. [< super 
+ uod(dy)i- + -ic-al.] Excessive; supreme. 
O, eupemodical foole : wel, He take your 
Two shillings, but He bar striking at legs. 
Taming of a Shrew, p. 186. (Ilalliwell.) 
supernormal (su-per-nor'mal), a. Above or 
beyond what is normal ; unusual or extraordi- 
nary, but not abnormal. Proc. Soc. Psych. Re- 
search, III. 30. [Bare.] 
supernumerary (su-per-nu'me-ra-ri), a. and . 
[= F. surnumeraire = Sp. Pg. supernumerario = 
It. soprannumerario, < LL. supernumerarius, in 
excess, counted in over and above, < L. super, 
above, + numerus, number: see number, nu- 
merary.~\ I. a. 1. Exceeding a number stated 
or prescribed : as, a supernumerary officer in a 
regiment. 
The odd or supernumerary six hours are not accounted 
in the three years after the leap year. Holder. 
2. Exceeding a necessary or usual number. 
The school hath curious questions : whether this was 
one of Adam's necessary and substantial parts, or a super- 
fluous and supernumerary rib? 
Rev. T. Adams, Works, III. 140. 
Supernumerary breast, an additional mammary gland. 
Supernumerary kidney, an additional mass of kid- 
ney-structure situated in the neighborhood of, but sepa- 
rate from, the true kidney. Supernumerary rainbow. 
See rainbow. 
II. '* ; pi. supernumeraries (-riz). A person 
or thing beyond the number stated, or beyond 
what is necessary or usual ; especially, a per- 
son not formally a member of a regular body 
or staff of officials or employees, but retained 
or employed to act as an assistant or substi- 
tute in case of necessity. 
To-day there was an extra table spread for expected 
supernumeraries, and it was at this that Christian took his 
place with some of the younger farmers, who had almost a 
sense of dissipation in talking to a man of his questiona- 
ble station and unknown experience. 
George Eliot, Felix Holt, xx. 
Specifically (a) A military officer attached to a corps or 
arm of the service where no vacancy exists. Such an offi- 
cer receives, in the United States army, the rank of brevet 
second lieutenant, or additional second lieutenant. (6) 
Theat., one not belonging to the regular company, who 
appears on the stage, but has no lines to speak. Often 
colloquially abbreviated super and supe. 
supernumerous (su-per-nu'me-rus), a. Over- 
numerous; superabundant. Fuller, Worthies, 
Northampton, ii. 182. (Dailies.) [Rare.] 
SUpernutrition (super-nu-trish'on), n. Ex- 
cessive nutrition ; hypertrophy. 
superoccipital (su"per-ok-sip'i-tal), a. and n. 
I. a. Situated at or near the upper part of the 
occipital ; of or pertaining to the superoecipi- 
tal: specifically noting one of the lateral occip- 
ital gyri of the brain. 
II. n. The superior median element of the 
compound occipital bone. It is either a distinct 
bone, as in sundry lower vertebrates and early stages of 
higher ones, or is fused with other elements of the occipi- 
tal bone. In man it forms the expanded upper and back 
part of the bone, and is developed in membrane. See cute 
under Baleenidfe, craniofacial, OaUinse, Felidse, periotic, 
skull, Pythonidee, teleost, and Trematosaurus. 
Also supra-occipital. 
super-octave (su'per-ok"tav), . In music : (a) 
An organ-stop two octaves above the principal. 
(6) A coupler in the organ, by means of which 
the performer, on striking any key on the man- 
uals, sounds the note an octave above the one 
struck. 
superolateral (su"pe-ro-lat'e-ral), a. Situated 
high up on the side (of something); lateral 
and above (something else). 
superomarginal (su"pe-ro-mar'ji-nal), a. Same 
as supramarginal. 
superomnivalentt (su // per-om-niv'a-lent), a. 
Supremely powerful over all. [Rare.] " 
God by powre super-omnivalent. 
Davies, Mirum in Modum, p. 22. (Davies.) 
superprder (su'per-6r*der), n. In nat. hist., a 
classiflcatory group next above the order but 
below the class. It may be a combination of 
orders, or a single order contrasting with such 
a combination ; it is not well distinguished from 
subclass. 
superplus 
superordinal (su-per-6r'di-nal), a. Of the 
classificatory rank or value of a superorder; 
pertaining to a superorder: as, superordinal 
groups or distinctions. 
superordinary (su-per-6r'di-na-ri), a. Better 
than the ordinary or common ; excellent. 
superordinate (su-per-6r'di-nat), a. Related 
as a universal proposition to a particular one 
in the same terms. 
One group is superordinate to another when it is re- 
garded as the higher under which the other takes its place 
as lower. W. L. Davidson, Mind, XII. 234. 
superordination (sti-per-6r-di-na'shon), n. [< 
LL. superordinatio(n-), < superordinare, appoint 
in addition, < L. super, above, + ordinare, or- 
dain, appoint: see ordain, ordinate.~\ 1. The 
ordination of a person to fill an office still oc- 
cupied, as the ordination by an ecclesiastic of 
one to fill his office when it shall become vacant 
by his own death or otherwise. 
After the death of Augustine, Laurentius, a Roman, suc- 
ceeded him ; whom Augustine, in his lifetime, not only 
designed for, but "ordained in that place." . . . Such a 
super-ordination in such cases was canonical, it being a 
tradition that St. Peter in like manner consecrated Clement 
his successor in the Church of Rome. 
Putter, Church Hist., II. ii. 27. 
2. In logic, the relation of a universal propo- 
sition to a particular proposition in the same 
terms. 
superorganic (su"per-6r-gan'ik), a. 1. Being 
above or beyond organization ; not dependent 
upon organization: noting psychical or spiri- 
tual things considered apart from the organisms 
by or through which they are manifested : as, 
" the interdependence of organic and superor- 
ganic life," G. H. Lewes. 2. Social, with the 
implication that society is something like a 
physiological organism, but of a higher mode 
of coordination. 
SUperosculate (su-per-os'ku-lat), v. t. To touch 
at more consecutive points than usually suffice 
to determine the locus of a given order. Thus, 
a conic having six consecutive points in com- 
mon with a cubic is said to superosculate it. 
superoxygenation (su-per-ok*si-je-na'shon), n. 
Oxygenation, as of the blood, to an unusual or 
excessive degree. 
superparasite (su'per-par*a-slt), n. In zool., a 
parasite of a parasite. Also nyperparasite. 
SUperparasitic (su-per-par-a-sit'ik), a. [< su- 
perparasite + -ic.] Pertaining to superpara- 
s i t ism ; of the nature of a superparasite ; hyper- 
parasitic. Encyc. Brit., VI. 647. 
Superparasitism (su-per-par'a-si-tizm), n. [< 
superparasite + -ism.] The infestation of para- 
sites by other parasites ; hyperparasitism. 
sup 
L. super, over, + partieula, a part, particle : see 
particular.] In the ratio of a number to the 
next lower number. A superparticular multiple is a 
number one more than a multiple of another. The smaller 
number is in the former case said to be subsuperparticular, 
and in the latter a superparticular submultiple. 
superparticularity (su"per-par-tik-u-lar'i-ti), 
n. The state of being superparticular. 
superpartientt (su-per-piir'ti-eut), a. [< LL. 
super j>articn(t-)s, containing a number and sev- 
eral aliquot parts of it besides, < L. super, above, 
+ partire, share, divide, distribute : see part, .] 
In the ratio of a number to a number less by 
several units. If the latter number is less than a sub- 
multiple, the former is said to be a superpartient multiple. 
The smaller number is in the former case said to be suosu- 
perpartient, and in the latter a superpartient submultiple. 
superphosphate (su'per-fos'fat), . 1 . A phos- 
pnate containing the greatest amount of phos- 
phoric acid that can combine with the base. 
2. A trade-name for various phosphates, such 
as bone, bone-black, and phosphorite, which 
have been treated with sulphuric acid to in- 
crease their solubility, and so render them more 
available in agriculture as fertilizers. 
SUperphysical (su-per-fiz'i-kal), a. Superor- 
ganic; independent of or not explicable by 
physical laws of the organism ; psychical ; spir- 
itual. 
SUperplantt ( su'per-plant), n. A plant growing 
on another plant ; a parasite ; an epiphyte. 
We find no super-plant that is a formed plant hut mis- 
tletoe. Bacon, Nat. Hist., 556. 
superpleaset (su-per-pleV), v. t. To please ex- 
ceedingly. [Rare.] 
He is confident it shall superplease judicious spectators. 
B. Jonson, Magnetick Lady, Ind. 
superplust (su'per-plus), n. [< ML. superplus, 
excess, surplus, < L. super, above, + 2>ls, more : 
