Wordsmith.org: the magic of words


A.Word.A.Day

About | Media | Search | Contact  


Home

Today's Word

Subscribe

Archives



Mar 20, 2026
This week’s theme
Words used figuratively

This week’s words
scaturient
relucent
miasmic
labyrinthine
superincumbent

superincumbent
Farnese Atlas
Photo: Kanesue

Wordsmith Games
🧩Jigsaw Riddle
Spring begins
🌍Langitude
Trace delphic home
A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

superincumbent

PRONUNCIATION:
(soo-puhr-in-KUHM-buhnt)

MEANING:
adjective:
1. Lying or resting on something else.
2. Weighty; oppressive.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin, present participle of superincumbere (to lie on top of), from super- (above) + incumbere (to lie or lean upon), from in- (in) + cumbere (to lie down). Earliest documented use: 1659.

USAGE:
“The superincumbent weight of the coping renders the wall very insecure.”
Argen Duncan; Bullis: Multiple Cultures Helped Develop Adobe Building Methods; Albuquerque Journal (New Mexico); Aug 26, 2020.

“Each year the three-hour Oscar show becomes a more impressive, superincumbent global ritual.”
Vernon Scott; UPI; Mar 21, 1995.

See more usage examples of superincumbent in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Look into any man's heart you please, and you will always find, in every one, at least one black spot which he has to keep concealed. -Henrik Ibsen, playwright (20 Mar 1828-1906)

We need your help

Help us continue to spread the magic of words to readers everywhere

Donate

Subscriber Services
Awards | Stats | Links | Privacy Policy
Contribute | Advertise

© 1994-2026 Wordsmith