supernova

What it means

1. astronomyA bright and powerful explosion of a massive star which is sudden but brief, and causes the ejection of most or all of the star's matter and the emission of radiation; afterwards, the star becomes a black hole or a neutron star, or is destroyed.First known use 1930s

   But taking #92;overline#123;m#95;#123;max

   1932 December 31 (date written), Knut Lundmark, “The Pre-Tychonic Novae”, in Lund Observatory Circular, number 8, Lund, Scania, Sweden: Lund Observatory, published January 1933, →OCLC, page 218

   5 more examples

   [page 254] The extensive investigations of extragalactic systems during recent years have brought to light the remarkable fact that there exist two well-defined types of new stars or novae which might be distinguished as common novae and super-novae. […] [page 255] Regarding the initial states of super-novae only the following meager facts are known. First, super-novae occur not only in the blurred central parts of nebulae but also in the spiral arms, which in certain cases are clearly resolved into individual stars. Secondly, the super-nova of 1572 in its initial stage probably was not brighter than apparent magnitude 5 as otherwise it would be registered as such in the old catalogues, which, however, is not the case. Super-novae are a much less frequent phenomenon than common novae. So far as the present observational evidence goes, their frequency is of the order of one super-nova per stellar system (nebula) per several centuries.

   1934 May 15, W[alter] Baade, F[ritz] Zwicky, “On Super-novae”, in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, volume 20, number 5, Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences, →DOI, →ISSN, →OCLC, pages 254–255

   Shooting stars never stop even when they reach the top / There goes a supernova / What a pushover, yeah

   1983–1984 (date recorded), Peter Gill, Holly Johnson, Mark O’Toole, Brian Nash, “Welcome To The Pleasuredome”, in Welcome to the Pleasuredome, performed by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, London: ZTT Records, published 29 October 1984, →OCLC

   Supernovas are clearly incredible objects of astoundingly explosive character. Were it possible for our Sun to go supernova, it would vaporize every planet in the solar system by the time it had reached peak brilliance. Were it possible for Alpha Centauri, which is only 1.3 parsecs away, to go supernova, it would blaze in our day and night sky with a brightness that, at maximum, would be 15,500 times that of the full Moon, or about one-thirtieth that of the Sun.

   1985, Isaac Asimov, “Bigger Explosions”, in The Exploding Suns: The Secrets of the Supernovas (Truman Talley Books), New York, N.Y.: E[dward] P[ayson] Dutton, →ISBN, page 97

   Dumpster clocking: The tendency when looking at objects to guesstimate the amount of time they will take to decompose: "Ski boots are the worst. Solid plastic. They'll be around till the sun goes supernova."

   1991, Douglas Coupland, “Plastics Never Disintegrate”, in Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, New York, N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press, →ISBN, page 162

   Someday you will find me / Caught beneath the landslide / In a champagne supernova / A champagne supernova in the sky

   1995 February–June (date recorded), Noel Gallagher, “Champagne Supernova”, in (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, performed by Oasis, London: Creation Records, published 2 October 1995, →OCLC

   Synonyms: SN

2. figurativelySomething which is brilliant or explosive.

   Butter yellow (yes, the pastel between canary and beige) has been on the rise for the past few years, and we've seen it splashed across enough recent runways and style influencers to finally make a call: The soft, silky shade is about to go supernova.

   2024 February 22, Jake Henry Smith, “Butter Yellow will be Everywhere this Year—Here’s How to Style It”, in Glamour, New York, N.Y.: Condé Nast, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 15 May 2026

   1 more example

   For my taste Mr [Peter] Thorneycroft is a less heartening supernova. […] Unfortunately, however, I am jaundiced. In his zealous devotion to European causes Mr Thorneycroft has frequently used schemes for technical development as a means to a political end.

   1962 July 19, Geminus [pseudonym], “It Seems to Me”, in New Scientist, volume 15, number 296, London: Harrison, Raison and Co., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 155, column 1

In a sentence

But taking #92;overline#123;m#95;#123;max

1932 December 31 (date written), Knut Lundmark, “The Pre-Tychonic Novae”, in Lund Observatory Circular, number 8, Lund, Scania, Sweden: Lund Observatory, published January 1933, →OCLC, page 218

Where it comes from

1. Proto-Indo-European*úp
2. Proto-Indo-European*upér
3. Proto-Italic*super
4. Latinsuper
5. Latinsuper-
6. Englishsuper-
7. Proto-Indo-European*nu
8. Proto-Indo-European*néwos
9. Proto-Italic*nowos
10. Latinnovus
11. Englishnova
12. Englishsupernova

From super- (prefix meaning ‘exceptionally large in quantity, excessive; superior in potency or power’) + nova (“sudden brightening of a previously inconspicuous star”), coined by the German astronomer Walter Baade (1893–1960) and the Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky (1898–1974) who introduced the term in an astrophysics course and in seminars at the California Institute of Technology in 1931, although it was the Swedish astronomer Knut Lundmark (1889–1958) who first used the word in print in a paper dated 31 December 1932 and published in 1933: see the quotation.

First known use: 1930s