superman

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a man imagined to possess extraordinary or superhuman powers and abilities

   The speculative essay asked whether genetic engineering might someday produce a superman.

2. 2
   noun

   in philosophy, an imagined superior type of human who transcends ordinary values and limitations; an overman

   The translator rendered Nietzsche's Ubermensch as superman, although many scholars now prefer overman.

A transparent compound of super- ("above, beyond") + man. Its philosophical sense developed as an English rendering of German Ubermensch, especially through translations of Nietzsche. The broader sense of an extraordinarily powerful man was later reinforced by popular fiction.

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