SUPERIORS
Noun
superiors
plural of superior
Source: Wiktionary
SUPERIOR
Su*pe"ri*or, a. Etym: [L., compar. of superus being above, fr. super
above, over: cf. F. supérieur. 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.)
(a) 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.
(b) Belonging to the part of an axillary flower which is toward the
main stem; posterior.
(c) 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 x2 + yn, 2 is a superior figure, n a superior
letter. Cf. Inferior figure, under Inferior.
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.)
Definition: The head of a monastery, convent, abbey, or the like.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition