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superjacent: msg#00026

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Subject: superjacent

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The Word of the Day for October 28 is:

superjacent \soo-per-JAY-sunt\ adjective
: lying above or upon : overlying

Example sentence:
"Foreign states enjoy the right of overflight in the
airspace superjacent to a coastal state's 200-mile exclusive
economic zone...." (James C. Hsiung, _The New York Times_, April
14, 2001)

Did you know?
You're probably familiar with "adjacent," and if you
guessed that it's a relative of "superjacent," you're right.
Both derive from the Latin verb "jacere," meaning "to
lie." "Adjacent," which is both the more popular and the earlier
word (it first appeared in print in the 15th century,
while "superjacent" turned up in 1610), comes from "jacere" and
the prefix "ad-," meaning "near." "Superjacent," on the other
hand, was formed by combining "jacere" with the prefix "super-,"
meaning "over," "above," or "on top of." In case you were
wondering, "jacere" descendants are also available for other
possible configurations -- "subjacent" means "lying below,"
and "circumjacent" means "lying near on all sides"
or "surrounding."






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