supererogatory
/suːpəɹɛˈɹɒɡətəɹi/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.44 in modern English
20
Scrabble Score
14
Letters
4
Syllables
10
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Pertaining to supererogation; doing more than is required.
adj
Of a deed or action, morally benevolent and exceeding the strict requirement of God.
Example Sentences
- "They passed into the ancient shipyard which lay beyond, and which was now a mere vague, grass-grown approach to the waterside, bestrewn with a few remnants of supererogatory timber."
- ""In now you come," she ordered, "and we make love." That seemed supererogatory to David Jones, who, under the gaze of the painted deer, got in there and did as he was told."
- "It is, for example, not clear whether “love thy enemy” is a precept or a supererogatory counsel."
- "It [capitalism] increasingly deploys not just bureaucratic repression but an invested, overt, supererogatory sadism."
Etymology
From Latin superērogātōrius (“supererogatory”), from superērogātiō (“payment in addition”), from superērogō (“pay out over and above”), from super (“above”) + ērogō (“pay out, expend”); from ex (“out of, from”) + rogō (“ask; request”).
Inflected Forms
more supererogatory (comparative)
most supererogatory (superlative)