Superman Gives 110%

To find a supernacular superannuated supernumerary who is supererogatory would be supernal. That person might be a superman. Or that might be a first-rate retired person who takes up acting, gets a non-speaking part and does more than expected. Such a person would be heavenly.

Supernacular is the only “super” word above that wasn’t on my list of unused blog words. It’s also a “mock Latin term intended to mean ‘upon the nail’.” Because of its coinage it is not found in many  dictionaries (or on etymonline.com, since it really doesn’t have an etymology). It appears to have been coined by Thackeray,and it was also used by Byron and by Brand. Its first use was as two words, super nagulum, by Nashe in 1592. The quote helps explain its meaning: “Drinking super nagulum, a devise of drinking new come out of Fraunce; which is, after a man hath turned up the bottom of the cup, to drop it on his nails, and make a pearle with that is left; which if it slide, and he cannot make it stand on, by reason ther’s too much, he must drinke againe for his penance.”

Supererogation is one of those good words that needs to be used more often, in place of the phrase “going above and beyond” or “giving 110%” (an impossibility, by the way). Supererogate, the verb form of the noun supererogation, is defined as simply doing more than is required. Which means erogate should mean doing what is expected, right? Wrong. Erogate, before it became obsolete, meant to lay our money or expend. So how do we get from paying to doing above and beyond? Supererogation is actually the word that came in English use in the 1520s. 

It is part of Catholic theology, so it is not surprising that it came from a Late Latin word supererogationem, the nominative of which is supererogatio. It was formed by adding super (in its meaning of beyond or over) to erogare, which means to pay out. Erogare is formed from ex-, meaning out, and rogare, meaning ask or request. It is used in the Latin version of the New Testament in the story of the Good Samaritan. Luke 10:35 says that after paying the Innkeeper two silver coins (New International Version, NIV, “two pence” in the King James Version) the Good Samaritan said “Look after him, and when I return I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.” (NIV) In the Latin, the underlined words are quodcumque supererogaveris. Supererogation eventually became a sense of duty and performance that came into conflict with Martin Luther’s famous translation of the words “the just shall live by faith alone” and set off the Reformation. Supererogation now means going above and beyond and deserves a place in everyone’s lexicon; especially in lieu of giving 110%.

If you’re interested in heavenly words, look at the word supernal. It is an adjective that refers primarily to heavenly, celestial, or divine beings, but also refers to anything lofty or having an excellence of more than earthly or human proportions. But to understand it better, one should compare it with its counterpart infernal.

Infernal, the adjective that means hellish, diabolical, or fiendish, also came from Latin through 12^th century Old French. Late Latin had the word infernalis that meant “of the lower regions”; Ambrose used infernus as his word for hell. Infernus means “the lower (world)”. Its relationship to a place called hell, or things that resemble it, is due to Dante’s use of the Italian word inferno, which was adopted as an English word for a raging fire as early as 1834.

Supernumerary, as can be deduced, means in excess of the usual number. A baker’s dozen (13) would be a supernumerary dozen. But supernumerary has taken on a distinctly personnel meaning. It may refer to extra staff hired on or placed temporarily, and is used of what are commonly referred to as “extras” in film and stage productions. No wonder that it has a personnel sense since it came to English in about 1600 from a Late Latin word, supernumarius, that meant “excessive in number” in reference to soldiers being added to what was already a full legion. (Legion being the Roman word for an Army Division of 3000 – 6000 soldiers.) And yes, numarius is the word from which we get our word “number”.

For the second time I’ve used the word superannuate without explaining it. Tune in next week, when I’ll catch up on some of the words I said I’d get to later.