Supernumerary
Encyclopedia
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
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There are supernumerary actors, knights, ladies, professors, police, ministers, judges, military personnel, and writers.
This use of the word supernumerary and its counterpart, numerary
Numerary
Numerary is a civil designation for persons who are incorporated in a fixed or permanent way to a society or group: regular member of the working staff, permanent staff, or member, distinguished from a supernumerary....
, is in common use in Spanish and Latin American academy and government, and it is now also used in countries all over the world, like Great Britain, France, Italy, the US, etc.
In the Roman army, supernumerarii were either public officers who attended on several of the Roman magistrates or a kind of soldier who served to fill the places of those who were killed or disabled by their wounds, or otherwise bring up the ranks to strength.
Supernumerary is distinguished from numerary which is a civil designation for persons who are incorporated in a fixed or permanent way to a society or group, meaning a regular member of the working staff; permanent staff or member.
The term usually refers then to a type of employment which has a temporary contract.
Types of supernumeraries
There are many types of supernumeraries, depending on the society where they belong:- supernumerary actorSupernumerary actorSupernumerary actors are usually amateur character actors in opera and ballet performances who train under professional direction to create a believable scene.- Definition :...
s. The term's original use, from the Latin supernumerarius, meant someone paid to appear on stage in crowd scenes or in the case of operaOperaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
as non-singing small parts. Supernumeraries are usually amateur character artists who train under professional direction to create a believable scene. - In maritime context, the supernumeraries were the complement of persons attached to a voyage but having no shipboard responsibilities; for example, the scientists attached to a voyage of scientific exploration, or the merchant during a trade voyage.
- supernumerary professors
- supernumerary accountants,
- supernumerary judges or magistrates. See Federal Court (Canada)Federal Court (Canada)The Federal Court is a Canadian trial court that hears cases arising under certain areas of federal law. The Federal Court is a superior court with nationwide jurisdiction...
. - supernumerary members of a Council of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
- supernumerary minister
- supernumerary members of the CatholicCatholicThe word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
prelature Opus DeiOpus DeiOpus Dei, formally known as The Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei , is an organization of the Catholic Church that teaches that everyone is called to holiness and that ordinary life is a path to sanctity. The majority of its membership are lay people, with secular priests under the...
. Having the vocation to become a saint by sanctifying their ordinary circumstances and work, they are generally married men or women who live in their own homes and who perform their normal jobs with a strong sense of commitment. They help in the apostolic tasks of the prelature as their circumstances permit. These members are not fully available to work on the apostolic and formational tasks of the prelature. - supernumerary ministers, e.g. in British Methodist churches, these are ministers who have retired and are local preachers.
- supernumerary Knights and Ladies. These are members of the British Royal FamilyBritish Royal FamilyThe British Royal Family is the group of close relatives of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people as the relations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the other Commonwealth realms, thus sometimes at variance with...
and foreign monarchMonarchA monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
s, who are extra members of the Most Noble Order of the Garter, the world's oldest national order of knighthood. - supernumerary watch-standers in military. These are designated substitutes for any of a group of scheduled watch-standers who might be absent due to various causes such as illness or leave.
- Student nurses are classed as supernumerary, as they are only present on placement to shadow their mentor or other staff member, and be supervised when carrying out any clinical practice and shouldn't be classed as making up the numbers in staffing.
Example of supernumeraries
- Antonio PigafettaAntonio PigafettaAntonio Pigafetta was an Italian scholar and explorer from the Republic of Venice. He travelled with the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his crew on their voyage to the Indies. During the expedition, he served as Magellan's assistant and kept an accurate journal which later assisted him...
, the chronicler who provided the most vivid and detailed account of MagellanMagellanMagellan may refer to:*Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer who led part of the first expedition around the world*Magellan , a progressive rock band*Magellan , a forerunner of the Excite web portal...
's circumnavigational voyage, was independently wealthy but enlisted on the voyage as a lowly sobrasaliente or supernumerary. - Thomas PaineThomas PaineThomas "Tom" Paine was an English author, pamphleteer, radical, inventor, intellectual, revolutionary, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States...
, whose work Common Sense, became the most widely read work in the 18th century America, and later led to the Declaration of Independence. He worked as a supernumerary officer in 1761. - Henri d'Orléans, duc d'AumaleHenri d'Orléans, duc d'Aumale-Bibliophile:He was a noted collector of old manuscripts and books. His library remains at Chantilly.-Death:By his will of the June 3, 1884, however, he had bequeathed to the Institute of France his Chantilly estate, including the Château de Chantilly, with all the art-collection he had collected...
- The act of exception passed in 1883 deprived all members of families that had reigned in France of their military positions; consequently the duc d'Aumale was placed on the unemployed supernumerary list. - Aubrey HerbertAubrey HerbertAubrey Nigel Henry Molyneux Herbert was a British diplomat, traveller and intelligence officer associated with Albanian independence. Twice he was offered the throne of Albania...
, M.P., (1880- September 26, 1923) was a British diplomat, traveller and intelligence officer, associated with Albanian independence - served in a supernumerary position for the Irish Guards. - A. C. GraylingA. C. GraylingAnthony Clifford Grayling is a British philosopher. In 2011 he founded and became the first Master of New College of the Humanities, a private undergraduate college in London. Until June 2011, he was Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck, University of London, where he taught from 1991...
MA, DPhil (Oxon) FRSA (born 3 April 1949) is a British philosopher and author. He is Professor of Philosophy at Birkbeck College, University of London and a supernumerary fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford. - Conway Walter Heath Pulford, Air Vice Marshal - supernumerary, HQ Coastal Area in 1925 August 17
- Constantin FlorosConstantin FlorosConstantin Floros is a Greek musicologist. He studied law at the University of Thessaloniki and then composition and conducting at the Vienna Music Academy. At the same time he studied musicology with Erich Schenk at Vienna University as well as art history , philosophy and psychology...
(Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Φλόρος) is a Greek musicologist. In 1967 he became supernumerary professor, in 1972 professor of musicology and in 1995 professor emeritus at the University of HamburgUniversity of HamburgThe University of Hamburg is a university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by Wilhelm Stern and others. It grew out of the previous Allgemeines Vorlesungswesen and the Kolonialinstitut as well as the Akademisches Gymnasium. There are around 38,000 students as of the start of...
. - Nick MiddletonNick MiddletonNick Middleton is a physical geographer and supernumerary fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford. He specialises in desertification.Nick Middleton was born in London, England. As a geographer he has travelled to more than 50 countries...
is a physical geographer and supernumerary fellow of St Anne's College, Oxford. He specialises in desertification. - Moshe DayanMoshe DayanMoshe Dayan was an Israeli military leader and politician. The fourth Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces , he became a fighting symbol to the world of the new State of Israel...
, Israeli general and defense minister, was a uniformed member of the British Supernumerary Police during the Emergency of 1936-1938. - Jay Zeamer, Jr.Jay Zeamer, Jr.Jay Zeamer Jr. was a pilot of the United States Army Air Forces in the South Pacific during World War II, and received the Medal of Honor for valor during an air mission on June 16, 1943. Zeamer is one of only seven known Eagle Scouts who also received the Medal of Honor. The others are Aquilla...
, awarded the Medal of HonorMedal of HonorThe Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
in 1943, was a supernumerary of the 43rd Bombardment Group (Heavy), a group that flew the four-engined B-17 Flying Fortress.
- Guillermo MenesesGuillermo MenesesGuillermo Meneses , Venezuelan writer, playwright, journalist, author of La Balandra 'Isabel' llegó esta tarde and Campeones, among other works....
, winner of the National Prize for Literature was supernumerary writer of the Ministry of Outer Relations and at that time was named first secretary of the Embassy of Venezuela in Brussels (1953-1957) and soon with the same position in the Embassy of Venezuela in Paris (1957-1959). - Lee Kuan YewLee Kuan YewLee Kuan Yew, GCMG, CH is a Singaporean statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore, governing for three decades...
is presently supernumerary minister, appointed as Minister MentorMinister MentorMinister Mentor is a Singapore cabinet position created in 2004 as part of a leadership transition.The newly appointed Prime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong , announced Lee Kuan Yew's new title together with the naming of his Cabinet on August 12, 2004...
for the cabinet ministers of SingaporeSingaporeSingapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. - Ruth KellyRuth KellyRuth Maria Kelly is a British Labour Party politician of Irish descent who was the Member of Parliament for Bolton West from 1997 until she stood down in 2010...
, former British Secretary of State for TransportSecretary of State for TransportThe Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. The role has had a high turnover as new appointments are blamed for the failures of decades of their predecessors...
, is a supernumerary member of the Opus Dei prelature. She belongs to the Labour PartyLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, a centre-left political grouping. - Anne, Princess RoyalAnne, Princess RoyalPrincess Anne, Princess Royal , is the only daughter of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
, Prince Edward, Earl of WessexPrince Edward, Earl of WessexPrince Edward, Earl of Wessex KG GCVO is the third son and fourth child of Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh...
and Prince Andrew, Duke of YorkPrince Andrew, Duke of YorkPrince Andrew, Duke of York KG GCVO , is the second son, and third child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
are supernumerary members of the Most Noble Order of the Garter.