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.