Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “superiority” come from?

Superiority comes from Old French superiorite, from Medieval Latin superioritas, from Latin superior meaning "higher or upper," derived from super meaning "over or above," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European upo meaning "under" or "up from below."

superiority (English): The state of being superior; The right which the...

Definitions

  1. The state of being superior; The right which the...

Ancestry of “superiority”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Frenchsuperiorite—
2Medieval Latinsuperioritas—
3Latinsuperiorhigher; superior; previous, preceding
4Latinsuper"accusative" above, on the top of, upon;...
5Latineks-uper—
6Proto-Indo-Europeanupérialternative reconstruction of *upér
7Proto-Indo-Europeanupérabove; over
8Proto-Indo-Europeanupóunder, below
9Proto-Indo-Europeanh₃ewp-—
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₃ewp- →