supernumerary
/ˌsuːpəˈnjuːm(ə)ɹ(ə)ɹi/
"supernumerary" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“supernumerary” is an uncommon English word, ranked #80,019 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #80,019
- frequency rank, English
- 13
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A person who works in a group, association, or public office without forming part of the regular staff (the numerary).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | supernumerary |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˌsuːpəˈnjuːm(ə)ɹ(ə)ɹi/ |
| Letters | 13 |
| Frequency rank | #80,019 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “supernumerary” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for supernumerary is 13 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌsuːpəˈnjuːm(ə)ɹ(ə)ɹi/. Corpus data places it at rank #80,019 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
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
- 1A person who works in a group, association, or public office without forming part of the regular staff (the numerary).
- 2An extra or walk-on, often non-speaking, in a film or play; a spear carrier.
- 3Something which is beyond the prescribed or standard amount or number.
- 4An animal which has not formed a pair bond and is therefore single.
- 5A married man or woman who is a secular member of Opus Dei, a Roman Catholic religious institution.
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
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
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Using “supernumerary”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-U-P-E-R-N-U-M-E-R-A-R-Y - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˌsuːpəˈnjuːm(ə)ɹ(ə)ɹi/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.