supernumerary
Greater in number thanGreater in number than.
Meaning
4 senses(not comparable)Greater in number than.
more than is needed, desired, or required
(not comparable)Beyond the prescribed or standard amount or number; excess, extra.
Beyond the prescribed or standard amount or number; excess, extra.
(not comparable, specifically)Of an organ or structure: additional to what is normally present.
a supernumerary nipple; a supernumerary tooth
(not comparable)Beyond what is necessary; redundant.
Translations
4 languagesOrigin
From Late Latin supernumerarius (“extra soldier added to a legion; supernumerary”), from sFrom Late Latin supernumerarius (“extra soldier added to a legion; supernumerary”), from super (“above; beyond”) + numerus (“number; collection, quantity”) + -ārius (suffix forming adjectives from nouns or numerals). The word is analysable as super- + numeral + -ary.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Synonyms
12 synonyms- more than is needed, desired, or required:excessextraredundantsparesupererogatorysuperfluoussurplus
Word family
3 related wordsSee also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.