supererogation

British  

/ ˌsuːpərˌɛrəˈɡeɪʃən /

noun

1. the performance of work in excess of that required

2. RC Church supererogatory prayers, devotions, etc

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Explanation

Supererogation is a fancy way of saying "doing more than you're expected or obligated to." If your school requires that all students perform ten hours of community service, but you volunteer at the soup kitchen for twenty hours, that's supererogation. The Late Latin supererogatio means "a payment in addition," from super, "above or over" and erogare, "pay out." In English, this word was originally used in a religious context, for good works that go beyond what God requires. Today, supererogation typically describes an ethical or religious decision to act beyond what's required for being a good person: "Donating twenty percent of their income to charity is an act of supererogation."

Example Sentences

Before the evening was over, it was tolerably certain that the President of the Board of Supererogation would identify himself publicly and at length with the minority report.

From The Sailor by Snaith, J. C.

The President of the Board of Supererogation did all his thinking vicariously in terms of Mr. Angrove.

From The Sailor by Snaith, J. C.

John Lyly is a person of much more consequence in English literature than the conceited and pragmatical pedant who wrote Pierce's Supererogation.

From A History of Elizabethan Literature by Saintsbury, George

Supererogation, sū-pėr-er-ō-gā′shun, n. doing more than duty requires or is necessary for salvation, hence anything superfluous or uncalled for.—adjs.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various

In the meantime, the Sailor was having to sustain the shock of a first meeting with the President of the Board of Supererogation.

From The Sailor by Snaith, J. C.

Related Words

• exuberance
• glut
• overkill
• surplus
• waste