Skip to main content
superior

superior

6 8.6
A small letter or number printed above and to the side of another
  • noun
  • /səˈpɪrɪər/
  • Specialized
translation icon : superíndice
  • In mathematics, the term superior refers to a character or symbol set above another in the notation used for exponents.

Examples

  • Also, Eitan Hadar, David Sharon's immediate superior as Director of the Middle East Division, to whom he had taken the Baghdad letter that morning.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Instead of appearing as criminals, failures, or losers, they are transmuted into moral superiors.

    Academic text (1990)
  • What if the Mother Superior turns you down?

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Why was the Mother Superior being so difficult?

    Fiction book (1991)
  • I watched a rather brilliant discussion between a superior and a subordinate this weekend.

    Blog text (2)
  • If you needed two hundred lire, about fifteen cents, you had to go to your superior.

    Academic text (1994)
  • The typographic style included a small superior that denoted the power of ten in the equation.

  • To indicate squared values, the writer used a superior next to the numeral in the printed document.

Synonyms

superscript
vssuperior
  • Specialized
1 6.7

A small mark written above and to the right of another to show a power or footnote

is the general typographic term for any mark placed above and beside another character

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

Surface Forms

superior singular
superiors plural

Morphology

superior = super (transparent) = super + ior

The noun sense for a character placed above is a direct nominalization of the 'above' meaning and is predictable from the base.

Etymology

Superior comes from the Latin super 'above', so as a noun it names a symbol printed above a line, for example a small number used for exponents or footnotes. This explains why a superior mark appears 'above' the main text.