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superior

superior

4 7.7
Printed above and to the side of another letter or number
  • adjective
  • /səˈpɪr.i.ər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : en superíndice

Examples

  • It's called superior conjunction.

  • The superior twin.

  • Carbon nanotubes, shown here in tufts several millimeters tall, have the strength and suppleness to make superior springs.

    Academic text (2010)
  • In math class, we learned that the exponent is written as a superior character next to the base number.

  • The superior symbol used in the equation indicated that it was an exponent.

  • To denote a footnote in the text, the writer placed a superior digit next to the corresponding word.

Synonyms

superscript
vssuperior
  • Specialized
6.5

Above and to the right of another character, as in a power in math

is the adjective used to describe that placement

Compounds

superior court
  • Specialized
42 5.3

A court that hears appeals and serious trials

A woman who is in charge of a group of nuns in a convent

1 7.0

A large blood vessel from the aorta that sends blood to the small intestine and part of the colon

The largest freshwater lake in the world on the border of the United States and Canada

1 9.6

The head of a religious group who leads the whole community

A very high level of ability better than most people have

superior vena cava
  • Specialized
1 4.5

A large vein that carries blood with little oxygen from the upper body to the right side of the heart

superior vocal cord
  • Specialized
1 8.9

An upper fold of tissue in the throat that does not make sound

9.9

An artery that gives blood to the upper teeth and nearby gums

9.6

A blood vessel that brings blood to the upper lip

rectus superior
  • Specialized
7.8

A muscle that moves the eye upward and inward

9.6

A thin muscle in the upper back that lifts the top ribs

6.8

A vein that drains blood from the upper front of the belly and runs beside its artery

6.2

A vein in the top of a lung that carries oxygen-rich blood to the left upper part of the heart

superior rectus
  • Specialized
7.2

A muscle in the eye that turns the eyeball up and toward the nose

6.5

A muscle in the eye that moves the eyeball upward and inward

A long vein in the deep part of the brain that drains blood

6.0

A blood vessel that carries blood to the upper lip

superior labial vein
  • Specialized
6.3

A blood vessel that carries blood from the upper lip

9.1

A vein that carries blood from the inner corner of the eye into a deep vein behind the eye

superior planet
  • Specialized
7.9

A planet that orbits the Sun outside Earth's orbit, like Mars or Jupiter

superior thyroid vein
  • Specialized
5.5

A neck vein that carries blood from the top of the thyroid gland into a large neck vein

6.8

A blood vessel that carries blood to the upper part of the cerebellum and nearby midbrain

superior colliculus
  • Specialized
9.9

A part of the brain that helps process what you see and control quick eye movements

superior conjunction
  • Specialized
9.9

When a planet is on the far side of the Sun from Earth so we cannot see it

7.1

A brain vein that drains blood from the top half of the brain

6.5

A blood vessel that brings blood to the upper teeth

9.3

A vein that carries blood away from the upper lip

9.6

A vein that carries blood from the upper part of each lung to the left upper chamber of the heart

How High

superior
  • Specialized
4 7.7
inferior
  • Archaic
1 8.2

Surface Forms

superior positive
superiorer comparative
superiorest superlative

Morphology

superior = super (transparent) = super + ior

The typographic sense ('placed above') is a literal extension of 'super' meaning 'above' and thus is inferable from the base.

Etymology

Superior comes from the Latin super 'above', and in printing it describes a letter placed above and to one side of another character. So a superior letter is simply one that sits 'above' the normal line.