superb
pronunciation
How to pronounce superb in British English:
UK [suːˈpɜːb]
How to pronounce superb in American English:
US [suːˈpɜːrb]
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- Adjective:
- of surpassing excellence
- surpassingly good
Word Origin
- superb
- superb: [16] Etymologically, superb denotes being ‘above’. It comes ultimately from Latin super ‘above, over’, which with the addition of the suffix *bh- produced superbus. This had the sense ‘superior’, and it also, from the notion of being ‘above oneself’, of thinking oneself ‘superior’, came to mean ‘proud’. English acquired it via Old French superbe.=> super
- superb (adj.)
- 1540s, "noble, magnificent" (of buildings, etc.), from Latin superbus "grand, proud, splendid; haughty, vain, insolent," from super "above, over" (see super-). The second element perhaps is from PIE root *bhe- "to be." General sense of "very fine" developed by 1729. Related: Superbious (c. 1500); superbly.
Example
- 1. Hemingway-style camping and superb service are other pluses .
- 2. Its architect is unknown , but his work was superb .
- 3. The germans are superb manufacturers , while the americans and british happen to have bigger financial sectors .
- 4. The sunset was september 9 , 2011 and the sunrise , with a superb belt of venus , was the following morning .
- 5. A matisse may hang alongside a renaissance portrait or native american jewellery , superb african carvings or chinese ceramics .