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sundry [sundry 词源字典]: sundry: [OE] Sundry goes back to an Old English syndrig ‘apart, separate’. This, like sunder [OE], is descended ultimately from an Indo-European base *su-, denoting ‘separation’, which also produced Latin sine ‘without’, Welsh hanner ‘half’, and German sondern ‘but’.
[sundry etymology, sundry origin, 英语词源]
super: super: [17] Super has been used over the centuries as an abbreviated form of a variety of English words containing the Latin element super ‘above’. Its earliest manifestation, short for the now defunct insuper ‘balance left over’, did not last long and it was the 19th century which really saw an explosion in the use of the word. In 1807 it appeared as an abbreviation for the chemical term supersalt, and in the 1850s its long career as an ‘extra person’ (short for supernumerary [17]) began.

Its application to superintendant [16], today its commonest noun usage, dates from around 1870. But it is as an adjective that it has made its greatest impact. In this context it is short for superfine [15], and originally, in the mid 19th century, its use was restricted to denoting the ‘highest grade of goods’ (‘showing me a roll of cloth which he said was extra super’, Charles Dickens, David Copperfield 1850); not until the early 20th century did it really begin to come into its own as a general term of approval.

Amongst the more heavily disguised English descendants of Latin super (a relative of Latin sub ‘below’ and also of English sum and supine) are insuperable [14], soprano [18], soubrette [18], and sovereign. And superior [14] comes from the Latin comparative form superior ‘higher’.
=> insuperable, soprano, soubrette, sovereign, superb, superior, supreme
superb: superb: [16] Etymologically, superb denotes being ‘above’. It comes ultimately from Latin super ‘above, over’, which with the addition of the suffix *bh- produced superbus. This had the sense ‘superior’, and it also, from the notion of being ‘above oneself’, of thinking oneself ‘superior’, came to mean ‘proud’. English acquired it via Old French superbe.
=> super
supercilious: supercilious: [16] The etymological notion underlying supercilious is of raising the ‘eyebrows’ as a sign of haughty disdain. It comes from Latin superciliōsus, a derivative of supercilium ‘eyebrow’, hence ‘haughtiness’. This was a compound noun formed from the prefix super- ‘above’ and cilium ‘eyelid’ (source of the English biological term cilium ‘hair-like process’ [18], whose meaning evolved via an intermediate ‘eyelash’).
superficial: superficial: [14] Superficial means literally ‘of the surface’. It comes from Latin superficiālis, a derivative of superficiēs ‘surface’. This was a compound noun formed from the prefix super- ‘above’ and faciēs ‘face’ (ancestor of English face). The main modern sense, ‘concerned only with outward appearances’, emerged in the 16th century.
=> face, surface
superfluous: superfluous: see flux
superman: superman: [20] The term superman was introduced into English in 1903 by George Bernard Shaw in his play Man and Superman. It was a direct translation of German übermensch, coined by the philosopher Friedrich Nietsche to designate a superior, highly evolved human being that transcended good and evil.
supersede: supersede: [15] Etymologically, to supersede something is to ‘sit above’ it, hence to ‘be above’ it or ‘desist’ from doing it. The word comes via Old French superseder from Latin supersedēre ‘desist from’, a compound verb formed from the prefix super- ‘above’ and sedēre ‘sit’ (source of English sedentary, session, etc).

It carried the sense ‘desist from’ with it into English (‘I could not see, but your both majesties must supersede and give place to your ardent appetites, in concluding of the said marriage’, State Papers of Henry VIII 1527), but this gradually evolved via ‘set aside’ to ‘take the place of something set aside’. The word is frequently spelled supercede, as if it came from Latin cēdere ‘go’, and there are long-standing historical precedents for this, going back via Old French superceder to medieval Latin supercēdere.
=> sedentary, session
superstition: superstition: [15] Etymologically, superstition denotes ‘standing over’ something. It comes via Old French superstition from Latin superstitiō, a derivative of superstāre ‘stand over’. This was a compound verb formed from the prefix super- ‘above’ and stāre ‘stand’ (a relative of English stand). The sense ‘irrational fear’, which evolved in Latin, may have been based on the notion of someone ‘standing over’ something in awe or fear.
=> stand, station, statue
supine: supine: [15] Supine means literally ‘lying on one’s back’. It comes from Latin supīnus. This was derived from a prehistoric base *sup- ‘up’ which also produced Latin super ‘above, over’ (and summus, source of English sum), so the word’s etymological meaning is presumably ‘with the front of one’s body upwards’. The metaphorical sense ‘inactive’ evolved in Latin. The origins of the use of supine as a noun, to designate a type of ‘verbal noun’, are not known.
supper: supper: [13] Supper started life as a verb. It was borrowed from Old French super, which was a noun use of the verb super ‘eat one’s evening meal’ (source of English sup ‘have supper’ [13]). This in turn was formed from the Germanic base *sup-, which also produced English sip, sop, and sup [OE] and Latin *suppāre ‘soak’ (source of English soup).
=> sip, sop, soup, sup
supplant: supplant: [13] Supplant has no connection with things that grow, even though it may be related to English plant. Etymologically it means ‘trip up’. It comes via Old French supplanter from Latin supplantāre ‘trip up’, hence ‘overthrow’, a compound verb formed from the prefix sub- ‘up from under’ and planta ‘sole of the foot’ (possible ancestor of English plant).
supplement: supplement: see supply
supplicate: supplicate: [15] Someone who supplicates is etymologically ‘bending or folding up underneath’ – hence ‘kneeling down to pray’. The word comes from the past participle of Latin supplicāre, a compound verb formed from the prefix sub- ‘down, underneath’ and plicāre ‘fold’ (a relative of English fold). Also formed from sub- and the base *plic- was Latin supplex ‘bending under’, hence ‘submissive’, from which English gets supple [13].
=> complicate, fold, ply, supple
supply: supply: [14] Latin supplēre meant ‘fill up, complete’. It was a compound verb formed from the prefix sub- ‘under, from below’, hence ‘up’, and plēre ‘fill’ (source of English accomplish, complete, etc). The sense ‘provide’ evolved via the notion of ‘making good a deficiency, fulfilling a need’. The original meaning is better preserved in supplement [14], whose Latin ancestor supplēmentum was derived from supplēre.
=> accomplish, complete, full, plus, supplement, surplus
support: support: [14] Latin supportāre meant ‘carry, convey, bring’ (it was a compound verb formed from the prefix sub- ‘up, towards’ and portāre ‘carry’, source of English portable, porter, etc). The sense ‘endure’ (represented in English mainly by the derivative insupportable [16]) evolved in post-classical Latin. ‘Bear the weight of’ is not recorded in English until the 16th century.
=> port, portable, porter
suppose: suppose: [14] Latin suppōnere meant literally ‘put under’ (it was a compound verb formed from the prefix sub- ‘under’ and pōnere ‘put, place’, source of English position, and its original meaning is best preserved in English suppository [14], literally ‘something placed underneath’). From it was derived the noun suppositiō, which, on the analogy of Greek hupóthesis (source of English hypothesis [16], and itself made up of elements meaning literally ‘under’ and ‘put’), came to be used for an ‘assumption’ – English gets supposition [15] from it.

This meaning then fed back into the verb, which English acquired via Old French supposer.
=> position, suppository
suppress: suppress: see press
suppurate: suppurate: see pus
supreme: supreme: [16] Supreme comes ultimately from Latin suprā ‘above’ (a close relative of super). From this was formed the adjective suprēmus ‘highest’, which English adopted as supreme. Supremo is a 20th-century borrowing of the Spanish version of the word.
=> super