Etymology

supernumerary

su·per·nu·mer·a·ry
S1U1P3E1R1N1U1M3E1R1A1R1Y4

Today it means: A person who works in a group, association, or public office without forming part of the regular staff (the numerary). Full definition →

First used early 17th c.Late Latin supernumerarius
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The story

  1. Late Latin · borrowed fromsupernumerarius“extra soldier added to a legion; supernumerary”
  2. English todaysupernumerary

From Late Latin supernumerarius (“extra soldier added to a legion; supernumerary”), from super (“above; beyond”) + numerus (“number; collection, quantity”) + -ārius (suffix forming adjectives from nouns or numerals). The word is analysable as super- + numeral + -ary.

First known use, by meaning

  • from early 17th c. A person who works in a group, association, or public office without forming part of the regular staff (the numerary).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.