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supernumerary

[soo-per-noo-muh-rer-ee, -nyoo-]

Origin

adjective

being in excess of the usual, proper, or prescribed number; additional; extra.

associated with a regular body or staff as an assistant or substitute in case of necessity.

noun

a supernumerary or extra person or thing.

a supernumerary official or employee.

a person who appears in a play or film without speaking lines or as part of a crowd; walk-on; extra.

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

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Supernumerary has a plethora of syllables.

So is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. Does it mean:

an obscure term ostensibly referring to a lung disease caused by silica dust, sometimes cited as one of the longest words in the English language.

a white, crystalline, water-insoluble, powerful high explosive, C3H6N6O6, used chiefly in bombs and shells.

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Origin:
1595–1605; < Late Latin supernumerārius. See super-, numerary

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To supernumerary

Collins

World English Dictionary

supernumerary (ˌsuːpəˈnjuːmərərɪ, -ˈnjuːmrərɪ)

—*adj*
1.	exceeding a regular or proper number; extra
2.	functioning as a substitute or assistant with regard to a regular body or staff

—n , -aries
3.	a person or thing that exceeds the normal, required, or regular number
4.	a person who functions as a substitute or assistant
5.	an actor who has no lines, esp a nonprofessional one

[C17: from Late Latin supernumerārius, from Latin super- + numerus number]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

supernumerary

1605, from L.L. supernumarius "excessive in number" (of soldiers added to a full legion), from L. super numerum "beyond the number," from super "beyond, over" (see super-) + numerum, accusative of numerus "number" (see number).

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

supernumerary su·per·nu·mer·ar·y (s&oomacr;'pər-n&oomacr;'mə-rěr'ē, -ny&oomacr;'-)
adj.
Exceeding the normal or usual number; extra.

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Matching Quote

"We do not ride on the railroad; it rides upon us. Did you ever think what those sleepers are that underlie the railroad? Each one is a man, an Irishman, or a Yankee man. The rails are laid on them, and they are covered with sand, and the cars run smoothly over them. They are sound sleepers, I assure you. And every few years a new lot is laid down and run over; so that, if some have the pleasure of riding on a rail, others have the misfortune to be ridden upon. And when they run over a man that is walking in his sleep, a supernumerary sleeper in the wrong position, and wake him up, they suddenly stop the cars, and make a hue and cry about it, as if this were an exception. I am glad to know that it takes a gang of men for every five miles to keep the sleepers down and level in their beds as it is, for this is a sign that they may sometime get up again."

-Henry David Thoreau

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