Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Superior?

\Su*pe"ri*or\, a. [L., compar. of superus being above, fr. super above, over: cf. F. sup['e]rieur. See {Super-}, and cf. {Supreme}.] 1. More elevated in place or position; higher; upper; as, the superior limb of the sun; the superior part of an image. 2. Higher in rank or office; more exalted in dignity; as, a superior officer; a superior degree of nobility. 3. Higher or greater in excellence; surpassing others in the greatness, or value of any quality; greater in quality or degree; as, a man of superior merit; or of superior bravery. 4. Beyond the power or influence of; too great or firm to be subdued or affected by; -- with to. There is not in earth a spectacle more worthy than a great man superior to his sufferings. --Spectator. 5. More comprehensive; as a term in classification; as, a genus is superior to a species. 6. (Bot.) (a) Above the ovary; -- said of parts of the flower which, although normally below the ovary, adhere to it, and so appear to originate from its upper part; also of an ovary when the other floral organs are plainly below it in position, and free from it. (b) Belonging to the part of an axillary flower which is toward the main stem; posterior. (c) Pointing toward the apex of the fruit; ascending; -- said of the radicle. {Superior conjunction}, {Superior planets}, etc. See {Conjunction}, {Planet}, etc. {Superior figure}, {Superior letter} (Print.), a figure or letter printed above the line, as a reference to a note or an index of a power, etc; as, in x^{2} + y^{n}, 2 is a superior figure, n a superior letter. Cf. {Inferior figure}, under {Inferior}.
\Su*pe"ri*or\, n. 1. One who is above, or surpasses, another in rank, station, office, age, ability, or merit; one who surpasses in what is desirable; as, Addison has no superior as a writer of pure English. 2. (Eccl.) The head of a monastery, convent, abbey, or the like.