different between superior vs chief
superior
English
Alternative forms
- superiour (British) (obsolete)
Etymology
Middle English, borrowed from Old French superiour, from Latin superior (“higher, upper”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /su??p??.?i.?/
- (General American) IPA(key): /s??p??.i.?/
- Rhymes: -???i?(?)
Adjective
superior (not comparable)
- Higher in rank, status, or quality.
- Of high standard or quality.
- Greater in size or power.
- (superior to) Beyond the power or influence of; too great or firm to be subdued or affected by.
- Greater or better than average.
- Synonym: extraordinary
- Courageously or serenely indifferent (as to something painful or disheartening).
- (typography) Printed in superscript.
- Located above or out; higher in position.
- (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.
- (botany) (of an ovary) Above and free from the other floral organs.
- (botany) Belonging to the part of an axillary flower which is toward the main stem.
- Synonym: posterior
- (botany) (of the radicle) Pointing toward the apex of the fruit.
- Synonym: ascending
- (taxonomy) More comprehensive.
- Affecting or assuming an air of superiority.
- Synonym: supercilious
- (astronomy) (of a planet) Closer to the Earth than to the Sun.
Usage notes
- Superior and inferior are generally followed by to; than is sometimes used mistakenly.
Antonyms
- inferior
Coordinate terms
- (dentistry location adjectives) anterior,? apical,? apicocoronal,? axial,? buccal,? buccoapical,? buccocervical,? buccogingival,? buccolabial,? buccolingual,? bucco-occlusal,? buccopalatal,? cervical,? coronal,? coronoapical,? distal,? distoapical,? distobuccal,? distocervical,? distocoronal,? distofacial,? distogingival,? distoincisal,? distolingual,? disto-occlusal,? distoclusal,? distocclusal,? distopalatal,? facial,? gingival,? incisal,? incisocervical,? inferior,? labial,? lingual,? linguobuccal,? linguo-occlusal,? mandibular,? maxillary,? mesial,? mesioapical,? mesiobuccal,? mesiocervical,? mesiocoronal,? mesiodistal,? mesiofacial,? mesioincisal,? mesiogingival,? mesiolingual,? mesio-occlusal,? mesioclusal,? mesiocclusal,? mesiopalatal,? occlusal,? palatal,? posterior,? proximal,? superior,? vestibular (Category: en:Dentistry) [edit]
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
Noun
superior (plural superiors)
- A person of higher rank or quality, especially a colleague in a higher position.
- Synonym: overling
- The senior person in a monastic community.
- The head of certain religious institutions and colleges.
- Hyponyms: father superior, mother superior
- (printing) A superior letter, figure, or symbol.
- Synonym: superscript
- (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.
Translations
References
- “superior”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–present.
- “superior”, in Merriam–Webster Online Dictionary, (Please provide a date or year).
- superior in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- superior at OneLook Dictionary Search
Catalan
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin superior, attested from 1653.
Pronunciation
- (Balearic, Central) IPA(key): /su.p?.?i?o/
- (Valencian) IPA(key): /su.pe.?i?o?/
Adjective
superior (masculine and feminine plural superiors)
- superior, higher, high
- Antonym: inferior
Related terms
- superioritat
Noun
superior m or f (plural superiors)
- superior
References
Further reading
- “superior” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “superior” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “superior” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
Latin
Etymology
Comparative of superus (“that is above, upper, higher”), from super (“above, over”, preposition) +? -us (adjectival suffix).
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /su?pe.ri.or/, [s???p??i?r]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /su?pe.ri.or/, [su?p???i?r]
Adjective
superior (neuter superius, positive superus); third declension
- (of place) Higher, upper.
- (of time or order of succession) Former, past, previous, preceding.
- (especially of age, time of life, etc.) Older, elder, senior, more advanced, former.
- (of strength or success in battle or any contest) Victorious, conquering, stronger, superior.
- (of quality, condition, number, etc.) Higher, more distinguished, greater, superior.
Inflection
Third-declension comparative adjective.
Descendants
References
- superior in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- superior in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- superior in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
- Carl Meissner; Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book?[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
Portuguese
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin superior.
Pronunciation
- (Portugal) IPA(key): /su.p???jo?/
- (Brazil) IPA(key): /su.pe.?i.?o?/
- Hyphenation: su?pe?ri?or
Adjective
superior m or f (plural superiores, comparable)
- upper, higher
- better
- superior
Antonyms
- inferior
Derived terms
- superiormente
Related terms
- superioridade
Noun
superior m (plural superiores, feminine superiora, feminine plural superioras)
- boss
- head of a monastery
Further reading
- “superior” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowed from French supérieur, Latin superior.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?su.pe.ri?or/
Adjective
superior m or n (feminine singular superioar?, masculine plural superiori, feminine and neuter plural superioare)
- superior
Declension
Antonyms
- inferior
Related terms
- superioritate
Spanish
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin superior.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /supe??jo?/, [su.pe??jo?]
Adjective
superior (plural superiores)
- upper, higher
- better
- superior
Derived terms
Noun
superior m (plural superiores, feminine superiora, feminine plural superioras)
- boss
- Synonyms: jefe, jefa, patrón, patrona
Related terms
- superioridad
Further reading
- “superior” in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014.
superior From the web:
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chief
English
Etymology
From Middle English chef, borrowed from Old French chief (“leader”), from Vulgar Latin capus (from which also captain, chieftain), from Latin caput (“head”) (English cap (“head covering”)), from Proto-Indo-European *kauput- (English head).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /t?i?f/
- Rhymes: -i?f
Noun
chief (plural chiefs)
- A leader or head of a group of people, organisation, etc. [from 13th c.]
- 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, Abacus 2010, p. 4:
- My father, Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa, was a chief by both blood and custom.
- All firefighters report to the fire chief.
- 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, Abacus 2010, p. 4:
- (heraldry) The top part of a shield or escutcheon; more specifically, an ordinary consisting of the upper part of the field cut off by a horizontal line, generally occupying the top third. [from 15th c.]
- 1889, Charles Norton Elvin, A Dictionary of Heraldry:
- When the Chief is Charged with any figure, in blazon it is said to be "On a Chief".
- 1889, Charles Norton Elvin, A Dictionary of Heraldry:
- The principal part or top of anything.
- An informal term of address, sometimes ironic.
- Hey, chief.
Synonyms
- chieftain
- chiefess (female chief)
- See also Thesaurus:boss
Derived terms
Pages starting with “chief”.
Related terms
- captain
- chef
- chieftain
Descendants
- ? Japanese: ??? (ch?fu)
- ? Swahili: chifu
Translations
Adjective
chief (comparative chiefer or more chief, superlative chiefest or most chief)
- Primary; principal.
- (Scotland) Intimate, friendly.
- 2006, James Robertson: The Testament of Gideon Mack, p 324:
- 'You’re doing it because she was your friend, not because she was a parishioner, and certainly not because of the Declaratory Articles,' Macmurray said, pushing himself forward on his seat. 'Everybody knows how chief you and she were. It was an unfitting relationship for a minister while she was alive, and it is equally unfitting for you to do her a favour like this now she's dead.'
- 2006, James Robertson: The Testament of Gideon Mack, p 324:
Translations
Verb
chief (third-person singular simple present chiefs, present participle chiefing, simple past and past participle chiefed)
- (US, slang) To smoke cannabis.
- 2012, Marquis "Cream" Cureton, When the Smoke Clears (page 268)
- He chiefed on the bud like a pro, taking long deep hits and holding it within until he had inhaled as much of the weed smoke as he could.
- 2012, Marquis "Cream" Cureton, When the Smoke Clears (page 268)
See also
- chef
Anagrams
- cheif, fiche, fiché
Middle English
Noun
chief
- Alternative form of chef
Adjective
chief
- Alternative form of chef
Middle French
Etymology
From Old French chief.
Noun
chief m (plural chiefs)
- head
Descendants
- French: chef (see there for further descendants)
Old French
Alternative forms
- cap (La Vie de Saint Léger, circa 980)
- chef, cief
Etymology
First known attestation 881 in The Sequence of Saint Eulalia. From Vulgar Latin capus, from Latin caput.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?t?je?f/
Noun
chief m (oblique plural chiés, nominative singular chiés, nominative plural chief)
- (anatomy) head
- circa 1170, Chrétien de Troyes, Érec et Énide:
- Le chief li desarme et la face.
- He exposed his head and his face.
- Le chief li desarme et la face.
- circa 1170, Chrétien de Troyes, Érec et Énide:
- leader, chief
- front (foremost side of something)
Descendants
- Middle French: chief
- French: chef (see there for further descendants)
- Norman: chef
- ? Middle English: chef
- English: chief
- Scots: chief
- ? Old Spanish: xefe
- Spanish: jefe, gefe
- ? English: jefe
- ? Cebuano: hepe
- ? Asturian: xefe
- ? Galician: xefe
- ? Portuguese: chefe
- Spanish: jefe, gefe
chief From the web:
- what chiefs
- what chiefs players are injured
- what chiefly determines the polarity of a bond
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