Dictionary

superman en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈs(j)uːpəmæn/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (Australia) audio
• /ˈsupɚmæn/ (General-American)

Etymology

A calque of German Übermensch; super- + man. The German word was introduced by the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) in his work Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spoke Zarathustra, 1883), and rendered in English as superman by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) in the play Man and Superman (1903) and by Thomas Common (1850–1919) in his 1909 translation of Nietzsche’s work. The “person of extraordinary powers” sense was reinforced by the DC Comics’ character Superman, who first appeared in Action Comics #1 dated June 1938.

Meanings

1. An imagined superior type of human being representing a new stage of human development; an übermensch; (loosely), a man of extraordinary powers.
   • "Well, what is it that he does that I don't do? Just say the word, - teetotal, vegetarian, aeronaut, theosophist, superman." 1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:
   • Heroes of myths, Titans, demi-gods, Prometheus, who brought fire from heaven; prophets, messiahs and saints of all religions; heroes of fairy tales and epic songs, knights who rescue captive princesses, awake sleeping beauties, vanquish dragons, and fight giants and ogres—all these are images of a superman. 1931, P[yotr] D[emianovich] Ouspensky, “Superman”, in R[eginald] R. Merton, transl., A New Model of the Universe, New York, N.Y.: Alfred A. Knopf, →OCLC, page 113:
   • What is the ape to man? A laughing-stock, a thing of shame. And just the same shall man be to the Superman: a laughing-stock, a thing of shame. 1909, Friedrich Nietzsche; Thomas Common, transl., “Zarathustra's Prologue”, in Thus Spake Zarathustra, New York, N.Y.: The Modern Library, [1940s?], OCLC 11993131, page 6
   • Early in Crime and Punishment, Raskolnikov has become obsessed with the notion that he himself is a "superman." Therefore, he thinks, he is not subject to the laws that govern ordinary people. 2016, A Study Guide for Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” (Novels for Students), Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale; Cengage Learning, →ISBN:
   • Man does desire an ideal Superman with such energy as he can spare from his nutrition, and has in every age magnified the best living substitute for it he can find. 1901–1903, John Tanner [pseudonym; George Bernard Shaw], “[The Revolutionist’s Handbook and Pocket Companion] Man’s Objection to His Own Improvement”, in Man and Superman. […], Westminster [London]: Archibald Constable & Co., published 1903, →OCLC, page 194:
   • Nietzsche wrote of the coming of the superman.
2. Someone likened to the comics character Superman; a man of seemingly superhuman powers.
   • What type of human weakness might a being of unfathomable power—a superman—inadvertently expose to the keen analytic mind of an avenging dark knight? 2016, Patrick J. Reider, “How Batman Cowed a God”, in Nicolas Michaud, editor, Batman, Superman, and Philosophy: Badass or Boyscout? (Popular Culture and Philosophy; 100), Chicago, Ill.: Open Court Publishing Company, →ISBN:
   • I wanted someone whose income combined with mine could afford us a family, an apartment, a car, and all the travel, luxury, and fun we could possibly tolerate. I wanted a Superman. 2010 August, A[lex] E[chevarria] Roman, chapter 25, in The Superman Project: A Chico Santana Mystery, New York, N.Y.: Thomas Dunne Books, St. Martin's Press, →ISBN, page 218:
   • By the latter part of 1848, the throne of Hudson the Railway King who had been called in in 1845 as a superman to save the Eastern Counties Railway, was tottering to its fall, [...]. 1941 December, Kenneth Brown, “The Newmarket & Chesterford Railway—II”, in Railway Magazine, page 533:
   • Didn’t they tell us we needed illegals to help build more houses to counter the housing shortage in the US? Why don’t they put all these returning construction supermen to work in Mexico?. 2025 July 8, Brandon Smith, “Do They Deserve It? Mexico Is Collapsing As The US Deports Illegals Back Home”, in Alt-Market.us:

Forms

Antonyms

netherman

Deriveds

supermanhood · supermannish · supermanship · supermanly · superman punch

Relateds

superwoman

Translations (55)

ja 超人 (übermensch) · tl higtao (übermensch) · el υπεράνθρωπος (person of extraordinary or superhuman powers) · fi teräsmies (person of extraordinary or superhuman powers) · fr surhomme (übermensch) · cs nadčlověk (übermensch) · sh надчовек (übermensch) · be супермэн (person of extraordinary or superhuman powers) · el αρχηγός (übermensch) · es supermán (person of extraordinary or superhuman powers) · pt super-homem (übermensch) · ja 超人 (person of extraordinary or superhuman powers) · pt super-homem (person of extraordinary or superhuman powers) · mk натчовек (übermensch) · sh натчовек (übermensch) · eo superhomo (übermensch) · fi yli-ihminen (übermensch) · de Supermann (person of extraordinary or superhuman powers) · hi अतिमानव (übermensch) · sh nadčovek (übermensch) · de Übermensch (übermensch) · pl nadczłowiek (übermensch) · mk натчовек (person of extraordinary or superhuman powers) · kk астам адам (übermensch) · ru суперме́н (person of extraordinary or superhuman powers) · cmn 超人 (person of extraordinary or superhuman powers) · sh natčovek (übermensch) · xmf ზეადამიანი (übermensch) · bg свръхчовек (übermensch) · nl superman (person of extraordinary or superhuman powers) · ru сверхчелове́к (übermensch) · kmr supermêr (person of extraordinary or superhuman powers) · ru сверхчелове́к (person of extraordinary or superhuman powers) · ko 초인 (person of extraordinary or superhuman powers) · km កំពូលមនុស្ស (person of extraordinary or superhuman powers) · cmn 超人 (übermensch) · kmr supermirov (person of extraordinary or superhuman powers) · kmr superjin (person of extraordinary or superhuman powers) · fr superman (person of extraordinary or superhuman powers) · ko 초인 (übermensch) · tl higtao (person of extraordinary or superhuman powers) · fi supermies (person of extraordinary or superhuman powers) · ga osduine (übermensch) · el υπεράνθρωπος (übermensch) · be супермен (person of extraordinary or superhuman powers) · be звышчалавек (übermensch) · vi siêu nhân (person of extraordinary or superhuman powers) · pl superman (person of extraordinary or superhuman powers) · ca superhome (übermensch) · kmr superman (person of extraordinary or superhuman powers) · hi अतिमानव (person of extraordinary or superhuman powers) · be надчалавек (übermensch) · cs superman (person of extraordinary or superhuman powers) · es superhombre (übermensch) · vi siêu nhân (übermensch)

wikipedia: Man and Superman · wikipedia: George Bernard Shaw · wikipedia: Thomas Common · wikipedia: Friedrich Nietzsche · wikipedia: DC Comics · wikipedia: Thus Spoke Zarathustra