Pronounced: SAY-lyent, adj
Notes: I thought I knew this definition
Yesterday’s word
The word preternatural means “beyond what is natural or normal”
First usage
Our word came into English in the late 1500s
Background / Comments
Our word came from the Latin words praeter- (beyond; past) and naturam (nature), so it still has the literal meaning of its two components. When I saw the definition, I thought it sounded a lot like “supernatural” and wondered what the difference between the two words is. They do share similarities, but our word focuses on the “beyond” part of the definition. The word “supernatural” can be used in the same way (beyond nature), but the “super-” prefix means “above” and can refer therefore to God or some deity or to things outside nature like ghosts or goblins. It can refer to the occult as well. It is interesting to me that our word, being less well known, has stuck to its definition, while “supernatural” has spread into multiple meanings.
Richard's Vocabulary Word-of-the-Day 