Adjacent Words

Supernumerary definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SUPERNU'MERARY, a. [L. super and numerus, number.]
1. Exceeding the number stated or prescribed; as a supernumerary officer in a regiment; a supernumerary canon in the church.
2. Exceeding a necessary, a usual or a round number; as supernumerary addresses; supernumerary expense.
SUPERNU'MERARY, n. A person or thing beyond the number stated, or beyond what is necessary or usual. On the reduction of the
regiments, several supernumeraries were to be provided for.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: more than is needed, desired, or required; "trying to lose excess weight"; "found some extra change lying on the dresser"; "yet another book on heraldry might be thought redundant"; "skills made redundant by technological advance"; "sleeping in the spare room"; "supernumerary ornamentation"; "it was supererogatory of her to gloat"; "delete superfluous (or unnecessary) words"; "extra ribs as well as other supernumerary internal parts"; "surplus cheese distributed to the needy" [syn: excess, extra, redundant, spare, supererogatory, superfluous, supernumerary, surplus] n
1: a person serving no apparent function; "reducing staff is difficult because our employees include no supernumeraries"
2: a minor actor in crowd scenes [syn: supernumerary, spear carrier, extra]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Late Latin supernumerarius, from Latin super- + numerus number Date: 1605 1. a. exceeding the usual, stated, or prescribed number <a supernumerary tooth> b. not enumerated among the regular components of a group and especially of a military organization 2. exceeding what is necessary, required, or desired 3. more numerous II. noun (plural -aries) Date: 1639 1. a supernumerary person or thing 2. an actor employed to play a walk-on

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 in excess of the normal number; extra. 2 (of a person) engaged for extra work. 3 (of an actor) appearing on stage but not speaking. --n. (pl. -ies) 1 an extra or unwanted person or thing. 2 a supernumerary actor. 3 a person engaged for extra work. Etymology: LL supernumerarius (soldier) added to a legion already complete, f. L super numerum beyond the number

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Supernumerary Su`per*nu"mer*a*ry, a. [L. supernumerarius: cf. OF. supernum['e]raire, F. surnum['e]raire. See Super-, and Numerary, Number.] 1. Exceeding the number stated or prescribed; as, a supernumerary officer in a regiment. 2. Exceeding a necessary, usual, or required number or quality; superfluous; as, supernumerary addresses; supernumerary expense. --Addison.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Supernumerary Su`per*nu"mer*a*ry, n.; pl. Supernumeraries. 1. A person or thing beyond the number stated. 2. A person or thing beyond what is necessary or usual; especially, a person employed not for regular service, but only to fill the place of another in case of need; specifically, in theaters, a person who is not a regular actor, but is employed to appear in a stage spectacle.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. Odd, redundant, in excess, above the regular number, left over (from a specified number), superfluous.