Superior

(89), a. [Lat. superior, compar. of superus, being above, from super, above, over; It. superiore, Sp. & Pg. superior, Fr. supérieur.]

1. More elevated in place; higher; upper; as, a superior limb of the sun; the superior part of an image.
2. Higher in rank or office; more exalted in dignity; as, a superior officer; a superior degree of nobility.
3. Higher or greater in excellence; surpassing others in the greatness, goodness, or value of any quality; as, a man of superior merit, or of superior bravery.
4. Beyond the power or influence of; too great or firm to be subdued or affected by; — with to.

There is not on earth a spectacle more worthy than a great man superior to his sufferings. Spectator. 5. (Bot.) (a.) Adhering to the ovary, so as to seem above it; — said of the parts below that organ. [Nearly obs.] (b.) Belonging to the part of an axillary flower, which is toward the main stem; posterior. (c.) Pointing toward the apex of the fruit; ascending; — said of the radicle. Martyn. Superior limit of a quantity (Math.), a limit greater than the quantity, to which it may approach within less than any assignable quantity of the same kind. Math. Dict. — Superior planets (Astron.), the planets more distant from the sun than the earth, as Mars, the asteroids, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

n. 1. One who is more advanced in age.

2. One who is more elevated in rank or office.
3. One who surpasses others in dignity, excellence, or qualities of any kind; as, Addison has no superior as a writer of pure English.
4. The chief of a monastery, convent, or abbey.
5. (Print.) A small letter or figure used as an exponent, or as a mark of reference, or for other purposes; — so called from its position, standing above or near the top of the line, as a or 1.