sur-

¹

1. a prefix meaning “over, above,” “in addition,” occurring mainly in loanwords from French and partial calques of French words:

   surcharge; surname; surrender; survive.

sur-

²

1. variant of sub- before r: surrogate.

sur

³

[ sur ]

preposition

, Law.

1. upon; on the basis of:

   sur mortgage.

Sur

⁴

[ soor ]

noun

1. a town in S Lebanon, on the Mediterranean Sea: site of ancient port of Tyre.

Sur

¹

/ sʊə /

noun

1. transliteration of the Arabic name for Tyre

sur-

²

prefix

1. a variant of sub-

   surrogate

sur-

³

prefix

1. over; above; beyond Compare super-

   surrealism

   surcharge

Word History and Origins

Origin of sur-¹

Middle English < Old French < Latin super- super-

Origin of sur-²

< French < Latin super super-

Word History and Origins

Origin of sur-¹

from Old French, from Latin super-

Example Sentences

Organic strawberries from Harry’s Berries are given a light dusting of California-grown guajillo chile, a squeeze of Key lime and a sprinkle of Big Sur sea salt before being slowly dehydrated.

From Los Angeles Times

Recently, a blend called Cloud People combined two single-variety, high-mountain coffees grown in the Sierra Sur region of Oaxaca.

From Los Angeles Times

On “Rolling Up the Welcome Mat,” which came out just a few months after the couple finalized their divorce in late 2022, Ballerini sings that they “had to get drunk to ever really talk”; in one song she recounts a breakfast by herself in Big Sur while her husband was on tour in Europe: “The pictures look pretty,” she sings, “at least they do on your Instagram.”

From Los Angeles Times

Meanwhile in Argentina, Payne's father, Geoff Payne, on Friday viewed tributes for his son outside the Casa Sur hotel in Buenos Aires.

From BBC

Just across the road are the Palestinian villages of Umm Tuba and Sur Baher, where many public facilities are notably inferior to those in Har Homa.

From BBC