supervacaneous en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- /ˌsuːpəɹvəˈkeɪnɪəs/ (US)
- so͞o'pərvəkāʹnĭəs (UK)
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˌsuːpəvəˈkeɪnɪəs/ (UK)
- syo͞o'pərvəkāʹnĭəs (UK)
- /ˌsjuːpəvəˈkeɪnɪəs/ (UK)
Etymology
From Latin supervacāneus; compare Italian supervacaneo, Portuguese supervacâneo, Spanish supervacáneo.
Meanings
-
(archaic, not-comparable) Added above what is needed or necessary; superfluous, redundant.
It is an awful thing to find your efforts supervacaneous when you are so far away from home and friends, sympathy, and help.
1915, George Wharton James, Our American Woodlands:If I were simply to discuss noses in disregard of their relation to other entities, then I would declare without fear of contradiction that the nose of Mrs. Goldfield is superb, superlative, and, though possibly supervacaneous, one well-placed to win first prize at any exhibition of nasal development which might be organized by the long-nosed goblins on Mount Kurama.
1972, Aiko Itō and Graeme Wilson, translating Natsume Sōseki, I Am a Cat (2002 combined edition, Tuttle Publishing), volume one, chapter III, page 152‘It became all the more important for me to get out because my son Foster, aged now fifteen, is only ten points below genius and this genius would have been unavailing and supervacaneous, in other words wasted, behind the iron curtain.’
1960, Nancy Mitford, Don't Tell Alfred:
Deriveds
supervacaneously · supervacaneousness
Synonyms
redundant · pleonastic · supervacuous · supervacaneal · superfluous
Translations (4)
ru изли́шний (superfluous, redundant) · ru нену́жный (superfluous, redundant) · fi ylenpalttinen (superfluous, redundant) · ru избыточный (superfluous, redundant)