FromLatinpreternātūrālis/praeternātūrālis, frompraeternātūram, frompraeter(“beyond”) +nātūra(“nature”); comparesupernatural.
preternatural (comparativemorepreternatural,superlativemostpreternatural)
- Beyond or notconforming to what is natural oraccording to theregularcourse of things;strange.
- Synonyms:inexplicable,exceptional,extraordinary,abnormal,uncanny
1815, William Shearman,New Medical and Physical Journal:I have employed cold air, and very often spongings with cold water, in order to moderate thepreternatural 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,page152:Doubtless there has been some exaggeration in the picturesque and fanciful relations of the almostpreternatural 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]”, inThe Daily Telegraph[1], London, pageR14:
2018, “Quintessential Deckerstar”, inLucifer: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 arepreternatural. But I suppose you on the other hand..."
- (dated) Having anexistence outside of thenatural world.
- Synonyms:paranormal,supernatural,unnatural
1817,William Hazlitt, “Macbeth”, inCharacters of Shakespeare's Plays:Macbeth is like a record of apreternatural and tragical event.
1860,George Eliot,The Mill on the Floss,Book 1, Chapter 11:Not Leonore, in thatpreternatural 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 andpreternatural about its appearance.
- In modern secular use, refers to extraordinary but still natural phenomena, as in “preternatural talent”. In religious and occult usage, used similarly tosupernatural, meaning “outside of nature”, but usually to a lower level thansupernatural – 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, whilesupernatural refers to properties of God alone.
Etymologically related to
praeter(“beyond”)existing outside of the natural world
beyond or different from what is natural or according to the regular course of things
Borrowed fromLatinpraeternaturālis.
preternatural m orf (masculine and feminine pluralpreternaturals)
- preternatural
- (Portugal)IPA(key): /pɾɨ.tɨɾ.nɐ.tuˈɾal/[pɾɨ.tɨɾ.nɐ.tuˈɾaɫ]
- (Southern Portugal)IPA(key): /pɾɨ.tɨɾ.nɐ.tuˈɾa.li/
- Hyphenation:pre‧ter‧na‧tu‧ral
preternatural m orf (pluralpreternaturais)
- preternatural
- IPA(key): /pɾeteɾnatuˈɾal/[pɾe.t̪eɾ.na.t̪uˈɾal]
- Rhymes:-al
- Syllabification:pre‧ter‧na‧tu‧ral
preternatural m orf (masculine and feminine pluralpreternaturales)
- preternatural
preternatural on Wikipedia.Wikipedia