A 'Super' Quiz

Answer: Supercilious

Someone who is supercilious is full of pride and arrogance, considering themselves better than anyone else. The usual explanation given is that the word is derived from the Latin for above (super) and eyelid (cilium), with the implication being that it refers to the raising of the eyebrow when someone is shocked.

This derivation has been disputed, as it doesn't quite make sense, but the word itself has been in use since the sixteenth century.

Answer: Superficial

The word literally refers to the surface of something and can be used to describe a minor injury, as in a 'superficial cut' which doesn't go too deeply into the skin. It can also be used in a more figurative way to refer to someone who takes only a passing interest in something - skimming a book, for example, will give you only a superficial understanding of its content.

The literal sense has been in use since the late fourteenth century with the figurative use arriving soon after in the early part of the fifteenth century.

Answer: Superfluous

Another word derived from Latin, this was originally superfluere, with the literal meaning being overflowing. This was adapted to mean 'not needed' or 'too much', and has been used in English since the early years of the fifteenth century.

Answer: Superior

Something which is superior is, literally, situated higher or above. The word passed into English in the late fourteenth century and had acquired the additional meaning of having a higher position or rank by the fifteenth century.

The word is sometimes used as a noun, to refer to someone senior to you at work or in an organisation, as in 'this is my superior'.

Answer: Superlative

This word has changed very little from its Latin roots of superlativus, although it came into English via Old French in the latter part of the fourteenth century. The meaning has remined unchanged from the French version, meaning the best and highest example of its kind.

It seems that it had a slightly derogatory meaning in the original Latin as sources describe it as meaning 'exaggerated or extravagant'.

Answer: Supernatural

The word has been used in English since the early fifteenth century with the literal meaning of over and above the natural world. Its original usage was religious, a reference to God and heavenly blessings.

The more common usage now is to refer to ghosts and other unearthly creatures such as vampires or werewolves, with this meaning overtaking the religious one by the nineteenth century.

Answer: Supersede

Another word to come into English from Latin via French, in the fifteenth century supersede meant to 'postpone, defer or delay'.

The use of the word to mean replace or take over from was first noted in the 1640s and is generally used in this sense to describe something or someone new replacing an obsolescent example.

Answer: Superstition

Dating from the thirteenth century in English, superstition referred to an irrational belief or a false religious faith. I suppose you could say it means much the same nowadays as we still have superstitions such as crossing our fingers or knocking on wood, which are unlikely to actually work in any realistic way.

The derivation of the word is Latin, but there is no consensus on how it gained the meaning we use as the literal interpretation is 'to stand over'.

Answer: Supervise

Oversee is directly linked to the Latin origin of super, meaning 'over', and videre, meaning 'see'. If you supervise someone, you are making sure they are carrying out a task correctly, with the word being in English use since the late fifteenth century.

Oversight, which should mean the same thing, has come to mean a failure to see or forgetting to do something you should have done.

Answer: Supersonic

This is the most modern word in the quiz and is derived from the Latin words for beyond (super) and sound (sonic). When it was first coined, in 1919, it referred to sounds which couldn't be heard by humans before being used to mean beyond the speed of sound in the 1930s, with ultrasonic taking over the original meaning.

Supersonic is used to describe aircraft which can fly faster than sound, with Charles Yeager being the first to achieve the feat in 1947.