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Entry 4 senses · 2 variants Webster, 1913

Supernumerary

· Su·per·nu·mer·a·ry · IPA /ˌsupɚˈn(j)uməˌɹɛɹi/
01 a. Exceeding the number stated or prescribed; as, a supernumerary officer in a regiment.
  1. 1.
    Exceeding the number stated or prescribed; as, a supernumerary officer in a regiment.
  2. 2.
    Exceeding a necessary, usual, or required number or quality; superfluous; as, supernumerary addresses; supernumerary expense.
02 n. A person or thing beyond the number stated.
pl. Supernumeraries
  1. 1.
    A person or thing beyond the number stated.
  2. 2.
    A person or thing beyond what is necessary or usual; especially, a person employed not for regular service, but only to fill the place of another in case of need; specifically, in theaters, a person who is not a regular actor, but is employed to appear in a stage spectacle.