Search Result for "supernumerary": 
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (2)

1. a person serving no apparent function;
- Example: "reducing staff is difficult because our employees include no supernumeraries"

2. a minor actor in crowd scenes;
[syn: supernumerary, spear carrier, extra]


ADJECTIVE (1)

1. more than is needed, desired, or required;
- Example: "trying to lose excess weight"
- Example: "found some extra change lying on the dresser"
- Example: "yet another book on heraldry might be thought redundant"
- Example: "skills made redundant by technological advance"
- Example: "sleeping in the spare room"
- Example: "supernumerary ornamentation"
- Example: "it was supererogatory of her to gloat"
- Example: "delete superfluous (or unnecessary) words"
- Example: "extra ribs as well as other supernumerary internal parts"
- Example: "surplus cheese distributed to the needy"
[syn: excess, extra, redundant, spare, supererogatory, superfluous, supernumerary, surplus]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Supernumerary \Su`per*nu"mer*a*ry\, a. [L. supernumerarius: cf. OF. supernum['e]raire, F. surnum['e]raire. See Super-, and Numerary, Number.] 1. Exceeding the number stated or prescribed; as, a supernumerary officer in a regiment. [1913 Webster] 2. Exceeding a necessary, usual, or required number or quality; superfluous; as, supernumerary addresses; supernumerary expense. --Addison. [1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Supernumerary \Su`per*nu"mer*a*ry\, n.; pl. Supernumeraries. 1. A person or thing beyond the number stated. [1913 Webster] 2. A person or thing beyond what is necessary or usual; especially, a person employed not for regular service, but only to fill the place of another in case of need; specifically, in theaters, a person who is not a regular actor, but is employed to appear in a stage spectacle. [1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

supernumerary adj 1: more than is needed, desired, or required; "trying to lose excess weight"; "found some extra change lying on the dresser"; "yet another book on heraldry might be thought redundant"; "skills made redundant by technological advance"; "sleeping in the spare room"; "supernumerary ornamentation"; "it was supererogatory of her to gloat"; "delete superfluous (or unnecessary) words"; "extra ribs as well as other supernumerary internal parts"; "surplus cheese distributed to the needy" [syn: excess, extra, redundant, spare, supererogatory, superfluous, supernumerary, surplus] n 1: a person serving no apparent function; "reducing staff is difficult because our employees include no supernumeraries" 2: a minor actor in crowd scenes [syn: supernumerary, spear carrier, extra]