*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of sur-

From Middle English sur-, from Old French sur-, sour-, sor-, soure-, a syncopic form of the Latin super. Doublet of super-, over-, and hyper-.

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
prefix

A syncopic variant of super-.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English sur-, from Old French sur-, sour-, sor-, soure-, a syncopic form of the Latin super. Doublet of super-, over-, and hyper-.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "sur-"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English sur-"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "sur-"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French sur-"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la",
        "3": "super"
      },
      "expansion": "Latin super"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "super-",
        "3": "over-",
        "4": "hyper-"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of super-, over-, and hyper-"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "sur-",
      "sur-#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "sur-",
      "sur-#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "sour-",
      "sour-#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "sor-",
      "sor-#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "soure-",
      "soure-#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "syncopic",
      "syncope#English"
    ],
    [
      "super",
      "super#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "super-",
      "super-#English"
    ],
    [
      "over-",
      "over-#English"
    ],
    [
      "hyper-",
      "hyper-#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "prefix",
      "glosses": [
        "A syncopic variant of super-."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "morpheme"
      ],
      "recordId": "c42d95dd38dfbd0b4a154401754a10f9ddb5327116c5c872be1b03046a0b1e38",
      "rawRecordSha256": "25755fd1734c916291aa31434eebb1a40026544e5703b387423de8243d1a831c",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 1047114
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for sur- →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-c3VyLQ