supernumerary

/ˌsuːpəˈnjuːm(ə)ɹ(ə)ɹi/

//ˌsuːpəˈnjuːm(ə)ɹ(ə)ɹi// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"supernumerary" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“supernumerary” is uncommon English (frequency #80,019 among 6,566 “S” headwords), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#80,019
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person who works in a group, association, or public office without forming part of the regular staff (the numerary).

Corpus desk

Index EN-supernumerary · supernumerary · English

supernumerary · rank #80,019 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #80,019
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sundries

Nearest frequency peer: sundries (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “supernumerary”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “supernumerary” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for supernumerary
PropertyValue
Headwordsupernumerary
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌsuːpəˈnjuːm(ə)ɹ(ə)ɹi/
Letters13
Frequency rank#80,019
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “supernumerary” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).supernumeraryfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “sundries” (#80,018), “supersize” (#80,020), “surrealistic” (#80,021). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “supernumerary” is #80,019. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

supernumerary is uncommon English at frequency #80,019 among 6,566 “S” headwords, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˌsuːpəˈnjuːm(ə)ɹ(ə)ɹi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.

supernumerary has no tracked misspelling variants, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. Our dataset records no confusable match here, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Late Latin supernumerarius (“extra soldier added to a legion; supernumerary”), from super (“above; beyond”) + numerus (“number; collection, quantity”) + -ārius (suffix forming adjectives from nouns or numerals). The word is analysable as super- + numer… The correct English form is supernumerary, spelled S-U-P-E-R-N-U-M-E-R-A-R-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person who works in a group, association, or public office without forming part of the regular staff (the numerary).
  2. 2
    An extra or walk-on, often non-speaking, in a film or play; a spear carrier.
  3. 3
    Something which is beyond the prescribed or standard amount or number.
  4. 4
    An animal which has not formed a pair bond and is therefore single.
  5. 5
    A married man or woman who is a secular member of Opus Dei, a Roman Catholic religious institution.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how supernumerary appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The judge was a supernumerary, helping the regular judges whenever there was a surplus amount of work.
  2. The Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers, Bombardiers, Fifers, Gunners, Private Men, and Boys of the Royal Marines belonging to Her Majesty's Ships or Vessels, whether entered on the Ship's Books as part of the complement, or borne as supernumeraries, except when borne for a passage for service on shore, shall be considered entitled to the same advantages…

Etymology

From Late Latin supernumerarius (“extra soldier added to a legion; supernumerary”), from super (“above; beyond”) + numerus (“number; collection, quantity”) + -ārius (suffix forming adjectives from nouns or numerals). The word is analysable as super- + numeral + -ary.

This word in other languages

surnuméraire(Français)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "supernumerary"?
"supernumerary" is spelled S-U-P-E-R-N-U-M-E-R-A-R-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌsuːpəˈnjuːm(ə)ɹ(ə)ɹi/.
What does "supernumerary" mean?
As a noun, "supernumerary" means: A person who works in a group, association, or public office without forming part of the regular staff (the numerary).
How do you pronounce "supernumerary"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "supernumerary" is /ˌsuːpəˈnjuːm(ə)ɹ(ə)ɹi/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "supernumerary"?
From Late Latin supernumerarius (“extra soldier added to a legion; supernumerary”), from super (“above; beyond”) + numerus (“number; collection, quantity”) + -ārius (suffix forming adjectives from nouns or numerals). The word is analysable as supe... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "supernumerary", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 13 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

synchronously#80,026syntactically#80,028structuralist#80,008stoichiometry#80,004

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list