verbirregular conjugation, suppletive, no passive, no supine stem except in the future active participle, no gerund
supersum
supersum (present infinitive superesse, perfect active superfuī, future active participle superfutūrus)
Classical[sʊˈpɛr.sũː]Ecclesiastical[suˈpɛr.sum]
№ 623 of the 1,000 commonest wordsMille Verba core vocabulary
Meaning
- suppletiveto remain, to still remain, to be left, left over
Iamque adeō super ūnus eram [...].
“And now indeed only I was left ….” (Tmesis: “super” separated from “eram.”)29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 2.567Nōn putō pauperem cui quantulumcumque superest sat est.
I don’t regard [anyone as] poor to whom however little still remains is enough. (Seneca’s metaphor refers to those people who appreciate the balance of their own mortality.)c. 4 BCE – 65 CE, Seneca Minor, Epistulae Morales ad Lucilium 1.1.5 - suppletiveto survive (usually + dative)
cladi superesse
to survive the disasterNihil praeter arma et naves superesset
Had nothing survived but their swords and ships27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita I.1 - suppletiveto be in abundance, to abound
- suppletiveto be superfluous
- suppletiveto support, advocate (for), defend
Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers
vīvō, cum cēterī periēruntsupersum -esse — in IVLIANVS I: Gallia, ch. 2
reliquus sumsupersum -esse — in IVLIANVS II: Imperium, ch. 21
Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms
Restare · Superesse
Restare means to remain, in opp. to præteriisse, interiisse; whereas superesse, in opp. to deesse. (vi. 304.)
Conjugation future irregular no supine
| form | present | imperfect | future | perfect | pluperfect | fut. perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | supersum | supereram | supererō | superfuī | superfueram | superfuerō |
| 2nd sg. | superes | supererās | supereris superere | superfuistī | superfuerās | superfueris |
| 3rd sg. | superest | supererat | supererit | superfuit | superfuerat | superfuerit |
| 1st pl. | supersumus | supererāmus | supererimus | superfuimus | superfuerāmus | superfuerimus |
| 2nd pl. | superestis | supererātis | supereritis | superfuistis | superfuerātis | superfueritis |
| 3rd pl. | supersunt | supererant | supererunt | superfuērunt superfuēre | superfuerant | superfuerint |
active subjunctive
| form | present | imperfect | perfect | pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st sg. | supersim supersiem, superfuam | superessem superforem | superfuerim | superfuissem |
| 2nd sg. | supersīs supersiēs, superfuās | superessēs superforēs | superfuerīs | superfuissēs |
| 3rd sg. | supersit supersiet, superfuat | superesset superforet | superfuerit | superfuisset |
| 1st pl. | supersīmus supersiēmus, superfuāmus | superessēmus superforēmus | superfuerīmus | superfuissēmus |
| 2nd pl. | supersītis supersiētis, superfuātis | superessētis superforētis | superfuerītis | superfuissētis |
| 3rd pl. | supersint supersient, superfuant | superessent superforent | superfuerint | superfuissent |
imperative
| form | active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| pres. 2nd sg. | superes | — |
| pres. 2nd pl. | supereste | — |
| fut. 2nd sg. | superestō | — |
| fut. 3rd sg. | superestō | — |
| fut. 2nd pl. | superestōte | — |
| fut. 3rd pl. | supersuntō | — |
infinitives & participles
| form | active | passive |
|---|---|---|
| present infinitive | superesse | — |
| perfect infinitive | superfuisse | — |
| future infinitive | superfutūrum esse superfore | — |
| future participle | superfutūrus superfutūra, superfutūrā, superfutūrae, superfutūram, superfutūrārum, superfutūrās, superfutūre, superfutūrī, superfutūrīs, superfutūrō, superfutūrōrum, superfutūrōs, superfutūrum | — |
sŭper-sum, fui, esse (old collat. form of the
I. pres. superescit, Enn. and Att. ap. Fest. p. 302 Müll.;
per tmesin: jamque adeo super unus eram, Verg. A. 2, 567: nihil erat super, Nep. Alcib. 8, 1), v. n. I. To be over and above, either as a remainder or as a superfluity (class. and very freq.; cf. supero, B. 3.).
A. As a remainder, to be left, to remain, to exist still.
1. In gen.: dum quidem unus homo Romanus toga superescit, Enn. ap. Fest. p. 302 Müll. (Ann. v. 486 Vahl.): inde sibi memorat, unum superesse laborem, id. ap. Gell. 1, 22, 16 (Ann. v. 159 ib.):
duae partes, quae mihi supersunt illustrandae orationis, etc., Cic. de Or. 3, 24, 91: ut nulli supersint de inimicis, id. Marcell. 7, 21: omnes qui supersint de Hirtii exercitu, Pollio ap. Cic. Fam. 10, 33, 5: quid superest de corporibus, Juv. 3, 259; 1, 35: ex eo proelio circiter milia hominum CXXX. superfuerunt, Caes. B. G. 1, 26: perexigua pars illius exercitūs superest, id. B. C. 3, 87: quod Morini Menapiique supererant, id. B. G. 3, 28: cum hostes vestri tantum civium superfuturum putassent, quantum, etc., Cic. Cat. 3, 10, 25: quantum satietati superfuit, Cic. Verr. 1, 4, 13; cf.: quantum ipsi superesse potest, id. Rep. 1, 4, 8: biduum supererat, Caes. B. G. 1, 23: non multum ad solis occasum temporis supererat, id. B. C. 3, 51: non multum aestatis superesset, id. B. G. 5, 22: fessis tantum superesse maris, Verg. A. 5, 616: spatia si plura supersint, id. ib. 5, 325: deos Ambraciensibus non superesse, Liv. 38, 43: nemo superesse quemquam praeter eos credebat, id. 5, 39: quod superest, scribe quaeso quam accuratissime, quid placeat, as for the rest, as to what remains, Cic. Att. 9, 19, 3; Verg. A. 5, 691: quod superfuit, Phaedr. 2, epil. 6: nunc mihi cur cantent, superest Dicere, it still remains to tell, Ov. F. 3, 675: superest tercentum messes videre, id. M. 14, 145; Lact. 1, 6, 6.—With ut and subj., Plin. Ep. 1, 1, 2; Lact. 1, 23, 1.—2. In partic., to live after, outlive, to be still alive, to survive (rare):
sicut tuum vis unicum gnatum tuae Superesse vitae sospitem et superstitem, Plaut. As. 1, 1, 2: neque deesse neque superesse rei publicae volo, Pollio ap. Cic. Fam. 10, 33, 5: Lucumo superfuit patri, Liv. 1, 34: fugae, id. 28, 28: ne superesset tanto exercitui suum nomen secuto, id. 27, 49: dolori, Ov. M. 11, 703: cum superessent adhuc qui spectaverant, etc., Suet. Claud. 21.—B. To be in abundance, to abound (syn. abundo):
cui tanta erat res et supererat, Ter. Phorm. 1, 2, 19: tibi, quia superest, dolet, id. ib. 1, 3, 10: vereor ne jam superesse mihi verba putes, quae dixeram defutura, Cic. Fam. 13, 63, 2: adeo supererunt animi ad sustinendam invidiam, Liv. 2, 27, 12: tantum illi ingenii superfuit, Suet. Tit. 1.— Poet.: modo vita supersit, if life be long enough, suffice, Verg. G. 3, 10: ne blando nequeant superesse labori, i. e. to be sufficient for, equal to, id. ib. 3, 127; so, Veneri, Col. 4, 27, 8.—2. In a bad sense, to be in excess, to be superabundant or superfluous:
ut vis ejus rei, quam definias, sic exprimatur, ut neque absit quicquam neque supersit, Cic. de Or. 2, 25, 108; cf. Varr. ap. Gell. 1, 22, 5 and 6.—II. For adesse, to be present, to serve by being present, to assist: si superesset (opp. sin deesset), Aug. ap. Suet. Aug. 56.—Esp., to serve as an advocate:
falsa atque aliena verbi significatio, quod dicitur, hic illi superest, cum dicendum est, advocatum esse, etc., Gell. 1, 22, 1.—III. To be over or beyond, to be prominent, project, Val. Fl. 6, 760.
Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.
super-sum or super sum fuī, esse.—Of a remainder,
to be over and above, be left, remain: duae partes, quae mihi supersunt inlustrandae orationis: quid superest de corporibus, Iu.: perexigua pars illius exercitūs superest, Cs.: quantum satietati superfuit: biduum supererat, Cs.: spatia si plura supersint, V.: nemo superesse quemquam praeter eos crederent, L.: quod superest, scribe quid placeat, for the rest: quod superfuit, Ph.: nihil erat super, N.: supererat nihil aliud quam evadere, L.: Pervigilem superest herbis sopire draconem, O.—To live after, outlive, be still alive, survive: Lucumo superfuit patri, L.: dolori, O.— To be in abundance, abound: Quoi tanta erat res et supererat, T.: vereor ne iam superesse mihi verba putes: adeo supererant animi ad sustinendam invidiam, L.—To be adequate, suffice: modo vita supersit, V.: labori, V.—To be in excess, be superabundant, be superfluous: ut neque absit quicquam neque supersit.
Origins
- Proto-Indo-European*úp
- Proto-Indo-European*upér
- Proto-Italic*super
- Latinsupersum
Latin super- Latin sum Latin supersum From super- + sum.
In English words that came into English from supersum
- superessivesuperesse