Meanings
- not comparableastronomyFaster than light; having a speed greater than light.
The first thing to understand about superluminal expansion is that it isn't visible to the unaided eye. The objects that appear to be moving faster than light are emitting radio waves, not visible light.
1984, Edward Edelson, “Faster than light?”, in Popular Science, retrieved 20 Nov 2013, page 70Synonyms: FTL, hyperlight, supercausal, superlumic · Antonyms: STL, sublight, subluminal, sublumic
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveFaster than light; having a speed greater than light.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*úp
- Proto-Indo-European*upér
- Proto-Italic*super
- Latinsuper
- Latinsuper-
- Englishsuper-
- Latinlumina
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
- Englishluminal
- Englishsuperluminal
Translations
German superluminar, überlichtschnell
- superluminarhaving a speed greater than light
- überlichtschnellhaving a speed greater than light
Greek υπερφωτοταχικός
- υπερφωτοταχικός (yperfototachikós)having a speed greater than light
Icelandic ljósfrár, yfir ljóshraða
- ljósfrárhaving a speed greater than light
- yfir ljóshraðahaving a speed greater than light
Polish nadświetlny
- nadświetlnyhaving a speed greater than light
Russian сверхсветовой
- сверхсветовой (sverxsvetovoj)having a speed greater than light
Spanish superlumínico
- superlumínicohaving a speed greater than light
Cite this entry
superluminal. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/superluminal
“superluminal.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/superluminal. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “superluminal,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/superluminal.
Source: superluminal on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.