Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Supernumerary"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Supernumerary \Su`per*nu"mer*a*ry\, a. [L. supernumerarius: cf.
OF. supernum['e]raire, F. surnum['e]raire. See {Super-}, and
{Numerary}, {Number}.]
1. Exceeding the number stated or prescribed; as, a
supernumerary officer in a regiment.
2. Exceeding a necessary, usual, or required number or
quality; superfluous; as, supernumerary addresses;
supernumerary expense. --Addison.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Supernumerary \Su`per*nu"mer*a*ry\, n.; pl. {Supernumeraries}.
1. A person or thing beyond the number stated.
2. A person or thing beyond what is necessary or usual;
especially, a person employed not for regular service, but
only to fill the place of another in case of need;
specifically, in theaters, a person who is not a regular
actor, but is employed to appear in a stage spectacle.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
supernumerary
adj : more than is needed, desired, or required; "trying to lose
excess weight"; "found some extra change lying on the
dresser"; "yet another book on heraldry might be
thought redundant"; "skills made redundant by
technological advance"; "sleeping in the spare room";
"supernumerary ornamentation"; "it was supererogatory
of her to gloat"; "delete superfluous (or unnecessary)
words"; "extra ribs as well as other supernumerary
internal parts"; "surplus cheese distributed to the
needy" [syn: {excess}, {extra}, {redundant}, {spare}, {supererogatory},
{superfluous}, {surplus}]
n : a minor actor in crowd scenes [syn: {spear carrier}, {extra}]
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