superman
nounEtymology
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. Some scholars regard this word as not properly conveying the meaning of Übermensch, and prefer to use the German word or overman. The “person of extraordinary powers” sense was reinforced by the DC Comics’ character Superman, who first appeared in Action Comics #1 dated June 1938.
Definitions
An imagined superior type of human being representing a new stage of human development
An imagined superior type of human being representing a new stage of human development; an übermensch, an overman.
- Nietzsche wrote of the coming of the superman.
A man of extraordinary or seemingly superhuman powers.
- 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, [...].
- I had a vision of what the ideal man should be. 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.
A fictional comic-book superhero with superhuman strength and speed, X-ray vision, and…
A fictional comic-book superhero with superhuman strength and speed, X-ray vision, and the ability to fly.
- […] hoping against hope that she, with something like Superman's X-ray vision, might see through the photograph and behind it to the truth about Harris's architecture.
- But here's the big question: can this rip-snorting derivative lay 210 bhp down through its front wheels without forcing you to maintain Superman levels of grip on the steering wheel? Yes.
- In fact, everyone was used to her Superman-like strength. She made her way through the circuit of machines Mr. Connors had marked for them and ended up at the squat station. As she was placing the weight on the bar, she noticed[…]
›+ 4 more definitionsshow fewer
Alternative letter-case form of superman
Alternative letter-case form of superman: a man of extraordinary or seemingly superhuman powers.
A stunt in which the rider releases both hands from the handlebars in mid-air.
- I'm still trying to do the tricks Nicknack, Superman, and Bar hop. […] Superman is where you grab the handlebars and let your feet and body free.
An exercise in which one lies prone and lifts one's arms and legs, with only the abdomen…
An exercise in which one lies prone and lifts one's arms and legs, with only the abdomen touching the ground.
A flavor of ice cream that is a mixture of blue moon ice cream, and other ice cream…
A flavor of ice cream that is a mixture of blue moon ice cream, and other ice cream flavors that are colored red and yellow.
The neighborhood
- antonymnetherman
- neighborsuperwoman
Derived
supermanhood, supermanly, supermannish, superman punch, supermanship
Vish — recursive loop
No curated loop yet for superman. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.
sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA