1、super- 就是拉丁语的"在上面":superior(上级的,更好的)是它的比较级原形;superintendent(主管,负责人)是"在上面盯着的人";supernumerary(定额以外的人,临时雇员)是"编制外多出来的人"——都带"在上、多出"的意味。 2、几个看不出亲缘的其实是本家:soprano(女高音)和 sovereign(君主;至高无上的)都是 super 化了妆的后代——音最高、权最大;sum(总共)、supine(仰卧)也列在远亲里,它的反方向就是 sub(在下面)。 3、义项这样挂:口语 super = 棒极了,最早是"特一级货物"的说法(extra super 是布匹的最高等级),后来泛指一切顶好;拼写注意中间 p 只有一个,别写成双 p。
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
super (adj.)
"first-rate, excellent," 1837, from prefix in superfine (1680s), denoting "highest grade of goods," from Latin super "above, over, beyond" (see super-). Extended usage as a general term of approval is 1895 slang, revived by 1967. Rhyming reduplication form super-duper first attested 1940. Super Bowl attested from 1966; Super Glue from 1975; as a verb by 1983.
权威例句
1. For super-soft skin, lather on a light body lotion before you bathe.
皮肤极柔嫩者,可在沐浴前涂上温和的护肤露。
2. "I think I could find you something."—"That would be super."
“我想我可以给你找到点儿什么东西。”——“那太棒了。”
3. He is currently starring in pantomime in Weston-super-Mare.
他目前正在滨海韦斯顿主演圣诞童话剧。
4. Their bodies were well-developed and super fit.