supererogate

American  

[soo-per-er-uh-geyt] / ˌsu pərˈɛr əˌgeɪt /

verb (used without object)

supererogated, supererogating

1. to do more than duty requires.

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supererogate British  

/ ˌsuːpərˈɛrəˌɡeɪt /

verb

1. obsolete (intr) to do or perform more than is required

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Other Word Forms

• supererogation noun
• supererogator noun

Etymology

Origin of supererogate

First recorded in 1730–40; from Late Latin superērogātus (past participle of superērogāre “to pay out in addition”), equivalent to super- “above, beyond” + ērogātus, past participle of ērogāre “to pay out,” equivalent to ē- “out of, from” + rog(āre) “to ask” + -ātus past participle suffix; see super-, e- ¹, -ate ¹

Example Sentences

To supererogate is to overpay, or to do more than duty requires.

From Write It Right A Little Blacklist of Literary Faults by Bierce, Ambrose

But for all that, Horse Shoe, he wa'n't going to supererogate me, without getting as good as he sent.

From Horse-Shoe Robinson A Tale of the Tory Ascendency by Kennedy, John Pendleton

Were this all, therefore, or my task confined to such a relation, I should supererogate indeed in making this appearance.

From Shrewsbury A Romance by Weyman, Stanley J.

Nevertheless, it is veriform, that because Mammona doth not supergurgitate anything in my loculs, that I am somewhat rare and lent to supererogate the elemosynes to those egents that hostially queritate their stipe.

From Gargantua and Pantagruel, Illustrated, Book 2 by Motteux, Peter Anthony