superior

Etymology

Middle English, borrowed from Old French superiour, from Latin superior (“higher, upper”).

adj

1. Higher in rank, status, or quality.
   1. Of high standard or quality.
   2. Greater in size or power.
   3. (superior to) Beyond the power or influence of; too great or firm to be subdued or affected by.
   4. Greater or better than average.
2. Courageously or serenely indifferent (as to something painful or disheartening).
3. (typography) Printed in superscript.
   a superior figure or letter
4. Located above or out; higher in position.
   1. (anatomy, medicine) Located above or higher, a direction that in humans corresponds to cephalad.
   2. (botany) (of a calyx) 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.
   3. (botany) (of an ovary) Above and free from the other floral organs.
   4. (botany) Belonging to the part of an axillary flower which is toward the main stem.
   5. (botany) (of the radicle) Pointing toward the apex of the fruit.
5. (taxonomy) More comprehensive.
   A genus is superior to a species.
6. Affecting or assuming an air of superiority.
7. (astronomy) (of a planet) Closer to the Earth than to the Sun.

noun

1. A person of higher rank or quality, especially a colleague in a higher position.
   1. The senior person in a monastic community.
   2. The head of certain religious institutions and colleges.
2. (printing) A superior letter, figure, or symbol.
3. (Scotland, law, historical) One who has made an original grant of heritable property to a tenant or vassal, on condition of a certain annual payment (feu duty) or of the performance of certain services.