preternatural
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Latin preternaturalis/praeternaturalis, from praeter nātūram, from praeter (“beyond”) + nātūra (“nature”); compare supernatural.
Pronunciation[edit]
Adjective[edit]
preternatural (comparative more preternatural, superlative most preternatural)
- Beyond or not conforming to what is natural or according to the regular course of things; strange
- Synonyms: inexplicable, extraordinary, abnormal
- 1815, William Shearman, New Medical and Physical Journal
- I have employed cold air, and very often spongings with cold water, in order to moderate the preternatural heat of the skin, and to check the increased velocity of the circulation.
- 1882, George Edward Ellis, The Red Man and the White Man in North America, p. 152,
- Doubtless there has been some exaggeration in the picturesque and fanciful relations of the almost preternatural skill and cunning of the Indian […]
- 2014 January 4, Lucy Hughes-Hallett, “The other Charlotte Brontë girl [online version (3 January 2014): Why Villette is better than Jane Eyre: Everybody knows Jane Eyre, but Charlotte Brontë's greatest and most original novel was her last, Villette]”, in The Daily Telegraph[1], London, page R14:
- "Villette! Villette! wrote George Eliot. "It is a still more wonderful book than Jane Eyre. There is something almost preternatural in its power."
- 2018 "Quintessential Deckerstar", Lucifer
- D.B. Woodside as Amenadiel: "Something Charlotte said made me think. Maybe celestial beings and humans, Luci maybe they aren't that different."
- Tom Ellis as Lucifer Morningstar: "What, are we talking in bed? 'Cause we know all know my skills are preternatural. But I suppose you on the other hand..."
- (dated) Having an existence outside of the natural world.
- 1817, William Hazlitt, Characters of Shakespeare's Plays, "Macbeth",
- Macbeth is like a record of a preternatural and tragical event.
- 1860, George Eliot, The Mill on the Floss, Book 1, Chapter 11,
- Not Leonore, in that preternatural midnight excursion with her phantom lover, was more terrified than poor Maggie in this entirely natural ride on a short-paced donkey, [...]
- 1925, Arthur Conan Doyle, "The Ring of Thoth",
- Vansittart Smith, fixing his eyes upon the fellow's skin, was conscious of a sudden impression that there was something inhuman and preternatural about its appearance.
- 1817, William Hazlitt, Characters of Shakespeare's Plays, "Macbeth",
Usage notes[edit]
In modern secular use, refers to extraordinary but still natural phenomena, as in “preternatural talent”. In religious and occult usage, used similarly to supernatural, meaning “outside of nature”, but usually to a lower level than supernatural – it can be used synonymously (identical to supernatural), as a hyponym (a kind of supernatural), or a coordinate term (similar to supernatural, but a distinct category). For example, in Catholic theology, preternatural refers to properties of creatures like angels, while supernatural refers to properties of God alone.
Alternative forms[edit]
- praeternatural
- præternatural (archaic)
Synonyms[edit]
- (beyond or different from usual): abnormal, exceptional, extraordinary, uncanny
- (not natural): paranormal, supernatural, unnatural
Derived terms[edit]
Derived terms
Translations[edit]
existing outside of the natural world
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beyond or different from what is natural or according to the regular course of things
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References[edit]
- preternatural in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
