Supernatural vs Preternatural
Wilson
Preternatural: adj 1. out of the ordinary course of nature; abnormal.
2. due to something above or beyond nature; supernatural. Latin:
praeter-beyond + natura-nature.
Supernatural: adj 1. above or beyond what is natural. -n the
supernatural, supernatural agencies, influences, or phenomena.
Latin: super-over or above + natura-nature.
Thorndike-Barnhart Comprehensive Desk Dictionary. 1965.
Doubleday & Company, INC. : Garden City, New York
That was a good question. Does anyone have a dictionary with a
different or more complete definition?
Mike/Damon or Peni R. Griffin
The words are synonyms for all practical purposes.
Fine shades of meaning such as Northwood attempts to delineate fall
into the realm of connotation, which makes them individual and, thus,
largely pointless to argue about. One person's supernatural will be
another's preternatural; another will use "preternatural" because it
sounds cool; another will think "preternatural" more ominous and use
it for supernatural evil; another will regard "preternatural" as
midway between "unnatural" and "supernatural" in meaning; another will
go back to the Latin roots and decide that since "preter" means
"beyond" and "super" means "above" he must base his fine shades of
meaning on the distinctions between those two concepts. None of which
is a problem; as long as nobody insists that everybody else in the
world adopt his system, and as long as trifling misunderstandings that
arise due to differences in usage do not turn into flamewars.
This is Peni.
Kid books are better than grownup books.
Check out http://www.geocities.com/athens/3401
J. Northwood
Well, sort of.
Mine is of even less help:
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preternatural (prę´ter-nŕch´er-el, -nŕch´rel) adjective
1. Out of or being beyond the normal course of nature; differing from
the natural.
2. Surpassing the normal or usual; extraordinary: "Below his
preternatural affability there is some acid and steel" (George F.
Will).
3. Transcending the natural or material order; supernatural.
[Medieval Latin praeternâtúrâlis, from Latin praeter nâtúrâm, beyond
nature : praeter, beyond. See preterit + nâtúra, nature. See
nature.]
- pre´ternat´uralism noun
- pre´ternat´urally adverb
- pre´ternat´uralness noun
_The American HeritageŽ Dictionary of the English Language_, Third
Edition, S.v. "Preternatural," (N.p.: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992).
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supernatural (sĄ´per-nŕch´er-el) adjective
1. Of or relating to existence outside the natural world.
2. Attributed to a power that seems to violate or go beyond natural
forces.
3. Of or relating to a deity.
4. Of or relating to the immediate exercise of divine power;
miraculous.
5. Of or relating to the miraculous.
noun
That which is supernatural.
- su´pernat´urally adverb
- su´pernat´uralness noun
_The American HeritageŽ Dictionary of the English Language_, Third
Edition, S.v. "Supernatural," (N.p.: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992).
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Hey, I was going to write something pithy, but I'm working on another
monograph.
What can I say? I got inspired.
~ Jon
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"Perhaps humans have some basic need that causes us to believe in ghosts
. . . to seek verification that although the mortal body may die, the
soul survives after death."
Arthur C. Lehmann and James E. Myers, "Magic, Witchcraft, and
Religion: An Anthropological Study of the Supernatural," Third Edition,
(Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company, 1993), pg. 283.
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My e-mail address is gte.net after jmnorthw
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