supererogation

/ ˌsuːpərˌɛrəˈɡeɪʃən /

noun

1. the performance of work in excess of that required

2. RC Church supererogatory prayers, devotions, etc

Example Sentences

The donation would still be an act of “supererogation,” something above and beyond what was required.

From New York Times

It was, to use a philosopher’s sesquipedalian word, an act of supererogation.

From New York Times

It is the old idea of works of supererogation over again, in which, as in many other things, they show the closest resemblance to Romanism.

From Project Gutenberg

Here comes in Hermas’s doctrine of works of supererogation, in fulfilment of counsels of perfection, on lines already seen in Did. vi.

From Project Gutenberg

If others are unlike us, we feel it as a presumption and an impertinence to usurp their place; if they are like us, it seems a work of supererogation.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• exuberance 
• glut 
• overkill 
• surplus 
• waste