supreme

C1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˌsuˈpɹim/ UK /ˌs(j)uːˈpɹiːm/ See IPA manual

Freq #4562

Meanings

1

adj
Highest in authority, rank, or power.

The Supreme Court made its final ruling on the case.
2

adj
Greatest in degree; the very best or most extreme.

It took supreme effort to finish the marathon.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · highest in authority, rank,... sovereign

Opposites

inferior minor

Word family

Derived forms supremacismsupremacistsupremacy

Related forms super

Appears in

Phrases (2)

See all

Simplified etymology

Supreme entered English in the late Middle English period and comes from Latin supremus, meaning “highest.” It is presented as one step higher than superior, which came through Old French from Latin superior, “that is higher.”

Etymology

From Middle English suppreme, partly from Middle French suppreme, supreme and partly from its etymon, Latin suprēmus, superlative of superus (“that is above”). In the cooking sense, partly an independent borrowing of French suprême, partly merged with the existing English word. Doublet of supremo.

suppreme Middle English suprēmus Latin suprême French

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# supreme

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˌsuˈpɹim/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌs(j)uːˈpɹiːm/
**Frequency rank:** 4562

## Meanings
1. Highest in authority, rank, or power.
2. Greatest in degree; the very best or most extreme.

## Examples
- The Supreme Court made its final ruling on the case.
- It took supreme effort to finish the marathon.

## Antonyms
- inferior
- minor

## Derived Forms
- supremacism
- supremacist
- supremacy

## Related Forms
- super

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: suppreme
- Root: suprēmus
- Root: suprême

## Etymology
From Middle English suppreme, partly from Middle French suppreme, supreme and partly from its etymon, Latin suprēmus, superlative of superus (“that is above”). In the cooking sense, partly an independent borrowing of French suprême, partly merged with the existing English word. Doublet of supremo.

## AI Etymology
Supreme comes from Middle English suppreme, partly from Middle French suppreme, supreme and partly from its etymon, Latin suprēmus, superlative of superus (“that is above”). In the cooking sense, partly an independent borrowing of French suprême, partly merged with the existing English word. Doublet of supremo. The historical chain includes suppreme (Middle English), suppreme (Middle French), suprēmus (Latin), and suprême (French). The surrounding word family includes derived forms such as supremacism, supremacist, and supremacy and related forms such as super. In present use it covers highest in authority, rank, or power and greatest in degree; the very best or most extreme.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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