superluminal

[ soo-per-loo-muh-nl ]

adjective

, Astronomy.

1. appearing to travel faster than the speed of light.

superluminal

/ ˌsuːpəˈluːmɪnəl /

adjective

1. physics of or relating to a speed or velocity exceeding the speed of light

Word History and Origins

Origin of superluminal¹

First recorded in 1955–60; super- + Latin lūmin-, stem of lūmen “light, rays of light, radiance” + -al ¹

Example Sentences

Manzoni, on hearing about the superluminal tunneling issue in the early 2000s, worked with a colleague to redo the calculations.

From Quanta Magazine