Word Direct Answers

supernumerary

supernumerary is defined in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913) with 3 senses. The full text of each entry is reproduced verbatim below.

Definitions

  1. 1.Exceeding a necessary, usual, or required number or quality; superfluous; as, supernumerary addresses; supernumerary expense. Addison.
  2. 2.A person or thing beyond the number stated.
  3. 3.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.

Source: Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).

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