## Etymology
From supplement (from Latin supplementum 'that which fills up', from supplere 'to fill up', from sub- 'up from below' + plere 'to fill') plus the adjectival suffix -al.

## AI Etymology
Supplemental comes from supplement (from Latin supplementum 'that which fills up', from supplere 'to fill up', from sub- 'up from below' + plere 'to fill') plus the adjectival suffix -al. The historical chain includes Latin supplementum and Latin plēre. The quoted older senses, "that which fills up", "to fill up", "up from below", and "to fill", supply the semantic anchors for supplemental. The formation is best read as suffixal, compound, and borrowed: the word supplemental carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a adj, "added to complete or enhance something; additional". English derivatives include supplementally; related English forms include supplement, supplementary, and supply. The result is a adj whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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