What is "superior"

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.)

   1. 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.

   2. Belonging to the part of an axillary flower which is toward the main stem; posterior.

   3. 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.

Superior \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.

late 14c., "higher in position," from Old French superior "higher, upper" (Modern French superieur), from Latin superiorem (nominative superior) "higher," comparative of superus "situated above, upper," from super "above, over" (see super-).\n

\nMeaning "higher in rank or dignity" is attested from late 15c.; sense of "of a higher nature or character" is attested from 1530s. Original sense was preserved more strongly in French (as in les étages supérieur "the upper stories"), and in Lake Superior, a loan-translation of French Lac Supérieur, literally "upper lake" (at 600 feet above sea-level it has the highest surface elevation of the five Great Lakes and is the furthest north).\n\nSurprise a person of the class that is supposed to keep servants cleaning his own boots, & either he will go on with the job while he talks to you, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, or else he will explain that the bootboy or scullery-maid is ill & give you to understand that he is, despite appearances, superior to boot-cleaning. If he takes the second course, you conclude that he is not superior to it; if the first, that perhaps he is.

[Fowler]

early 15c., from Latin superior (see superior (adj.)), used in Medieval Latin with a noun sense of "one higher, a superior."

a. 1 higher in quality. 2 higher in rank. n. 1 A person of higher rank or quality. 2 The senior person in a monastic community.

1. adj. of high or superior quality or performance; "superior wisdom derived from experience"; "superior math students" [ant: inferior]

2. of or characteristic of high rank or importance; "a superior officer" [ant: inferior]

3. (sometimes followed by `to') not subject to or influenced by; "overcome by a superior opponent"; "trust magnates who felt themselves superior to law"

4. written or printed above and to one side of another character [syn: superscript] [ant: subscript, adscript]

5. having an orbit farther from the sun than the Earth's orbit; "Mars and Jupiter are the closest in of the superior planets" [ant: inferior]

6. having a higher rank; "superior officer" [syn: ranking(a), higher-ranking]

7. (often followed by `to') above being affected or influenced by; "he is superior to fear"; "an ignited firework proceeds superior to circumstances until its blazing vitality fades" [syn: superior(p)]

1. n. one of greater rank or station or quality [syn: higher-up, superordinate] [ant: inferior]

2. the head of a religious community

3. a combatant who is able to defeat rivals [syn: victor, master]

4. the largest freshwater lake in the world; the deepest of the Great Lakes [syn: Lake Superior]

5. a town in northwest Wisconsin on Lake Superior across from Duluth

6. a character or symbol set or printed or written above and immediately to one side of another character [syn: superscript] [ant: subscript]

Superior may refer to:

• Superior (hierarchy): something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind

In a hierarchy or tree structure of any kind, a superior is an individual or position at a higher level in the hierarchy than another (a "subordinate" or "inferior"), and thus closer to the apex. In business, superiors are people who are supervisors and in the military, superiors are people who are higher in the chain of command ( superior officer). Superiors are given, sometimes supreme, authority over others under their command. When an order is given, one must follow that order and obey it or punishment may be issued.

A Religious Superior is the person to whom a cleric is immediately responsible under canon law. For monks, it would be the Abbot (or the Abbess for nuns); for friars, it would be the Prior, or, for Franciscans, the Guardian (Custos), for Minims, the Corrector; for diocesan priests, it would be the local Bishop. In religious orders with a hierarchy above the local community, there will also be superiors general and possibly provincial superiors above the local abbot, prior, or Mother Superior.

The proposed State of Superior (or State of Ontonagon) is the name of a " 51st state" proposal involving the secession of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and possibly other portions of northern Michigan, and in some proposals, some of the northern counties from the state of Wisconsin as well. The proposal is spurred by cultural differences, geographic separation, and the belief that the capitals in Lansing, Michigan, and Madison, Wisconsin ignore the problems of the "Superior Region." The same area had been referred to as a possible future state named Sylvania by Thomas Jefferson. Named for Lake Superior, the idea has gained serious attention at times, though it is unlikely to ever come to fruition because of the large amount of funding that the area receives from the lower parts of the state, and because of the completion of the Mackinac Bridge in 1957, which gave the Upper Peninsula a direct highway connection to the rest of the state. Several prominent legislators, including local Upper Peninsula politician Dominic Jacobetti, attempted enacting such legislation in the 1970s, with no success.

If the Upper Peninsula of Michigan were turned into a state, it would currently have a smaller population than any other state, with its 320,000 residents representing only 60 percent of Wyoming's population and less than 50 percent of Alaska's. It would rank 40th in land area, larger than Maryland. Its most-populous city, Marquette, has a smaller population than Burlington, Vermont, which has the smallest population of the 50 cities that are the most populous in their respective states.

Superior was a German progressive metal band, founded in 1992, and disbanded in 2007. Their style was described as something very similar to Dream Theater, but there were also many big differences between them.

Superior is a station on the RTA Red Line in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. It is located on Superior Avenue ( U.S. Route 6) at the intersection of Emily Street, approximately 1½ blocks west of Euclid Avenue ( U.S. Route 20). A small parking lot is located northeast of the station entrance along Emily Street.

is a manga created by Ichtys and published by Gangan Comics. Superior is a high fantasy Manga that includes dragons, demons, and most importantly, heroes. The story centers around the Hero Exa and the Demon Queen Sheila along with the corresponding war between the demon and human races.

In the May issue on April 18, 2009, the series migrated from GanGan Powered to Monthly GFantasy, under the new title .

A Drama CD was released by Frontier Works in 2007.

Superior is the third studio album by Danish singer-songwriter Tim Christensen, released on 24 November 2008 on CD, limited edition Digipak CD/DVD which includes a 30-minute making-of, and a double vinyl box set which also includes the CD and DVD, as well as an outsize poster.

Superior is a creator-owned comic book series written by Mark Millar and illustrated by Leinil Francis Yu. It is published by Marvel Comics under the company's Icon imprint.

It is the story of Simon Pooni, a 12-year-old-boy who had it all going for him - plenty of friends at school, good looks and a promising basketball career. But that was when he could still move his legs. Now, he's living with multiple sclerosis, missing all the little things he used to take for granted, and escaping into the world of movies and comics with his best friend.

'Superior' is a white-skinned and white-fleshed, midseason potato variety. It was released by the University of Wisconsin potato breeding program in 1962 and is not under plant variety protection. It is a progeny of a cross between B96-56 and M59.44 and was first grown in 1951. B96-56 was also a parent of 'Kennebec'. Like the potato variety 'Atlantic', Superior is widely grown for chipping right off the field. Marketable yields are fairly high.

Superior Industries was an Australian bus bodybuilder in Brendale, Brisbane.