# preternatural
## English
### Alternative forms

* praeternatural
* præternatural (archaic)

### Etymology

From Latin preternātūrālis/praeternātūrālis, from praeter nātūram, from praeter (“beyond”) + nātūra (“nature”); compare supernatural.

### Pronunciation

* (UK) IPA: /ˌpɹiː.təˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə)ɹ.əl/
* (General American) IPA: /ˌpɹi.tɚˈnæt͡ʃ.(ə)ɹ.əl/
* Audio (US):(file)

### Adjective

preternatural (comparative more preternatural, superlative most preternatural)
* Beyond or not conforming to what is natural or according to the regular course of things; strange.
    Synonyms: inexplicable, exceptional, extraordinary, abnormal, uncanny
** 1815, William Shearman, New Medical and Physical Journal:I have employed cold air, and very often spongings with cold water, in order to moderate the preternatural heat of the skin, and to check the increased velocity of the circulation.
** 1882, George Edward Ellis, The Red Man and the White Man in North America, page 152:Doubtless there has been some exaggeration in the picturesque and fanciful relations of the almost preternatural skill and cunning of the Indian […]
** 2014 January 4, Lucy Hughes-Hallett, “The other Charlotte Brontë girl [online version (3 January 2014): Why Villette is better than Jane Eyre: Everybody knows Jane Eyre, but Charlotte Brontë's greatest and most original novel was her last, Villette]”, in The Daily Telegraph‎, London, page R14:"Villette! Villette! wrote George Eliot. "It is a still more wonderful book than Jane Eyre. There is something almost preternatural in its power."
** 2018, “Quintessential Deckerstar”, in Lucifer:D.B. Woodside as Amenadiel: "Something Charlotte said made me think. Maybe celestial beings and humans, Luci maybe they aren't that different." Tom Ellis as Lucifer Morningstar: "What, are we talking in bed? 'Cause we know all know my skills are preternatural. But I suppose you on the other hand..."
* (dated) Having an existence outside of the natural world.
    Synonyms: paranormal, supernatural, unnatural
** 1817, William Hazlitt, “Macbeth”, in Characters of Shakespeare's Plays:Macbeth is like a record of a preternatural and tragical event.
** 1860, George Eliot, The Mill on the Floss, Book 1, Chapter 11:Not Leonore, in that preternatural midnight excursion with her phantom lover, was more terrified than poor Maggie in this entirely natural ride on a short-paced donkey, [...]
** 1925, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Ring of Thoth:Vansittart Smith, fixing his eyes upon the fellow's skin, was conscious of a sudden impression that there was something inhuman and preternatural about its appearance.

#### Usage notes

* In modern secular use, refers to extraordinary but still natural phenomena, as in “preternatural talent”. In religious and occult usage, used similarly to supernatural, meaning “outside of nature”, but usually to a lower level than supernatural – it can be used synonymously (identical to supernatural), as a hyponym (a kind of supernatural), or a coordinate term (similar to supernatural, but a distinct category). For example, in Catholic theology, preternatural refers to properties of creatures like angels, while supernatural refers to properties of God alone.

#### Derived terms

* preternaturalism
* preternaturality
* preternaturally
* preternaturalness

#### Related terms

* preterite
* pretermit
* pretermission

#### Translations
### References

* “preternatural”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

### Further reading

* preternatural on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

## Catalan
### Etymology

Borrowed from Latin praeternaturālis.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: (Central, Balearic) [pɾə.tər.nə.tuˈɾal]
* IPA: (Valencia) [pɾe.teɾ.na.tuˈɾal]

### Adjective

preternatural m or f (masculine and feminine plural preternaturals)
* preternatural

#### Related terms

* sobrenatural

### Further reading

* “preternatural” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.

## Portuguese
### Pronunciation

* (Brazil) IPA: /pɾe.teʁ.na.tuˈɾaw/ [pɾe.teɦ.na.tuˈɾaʊ̯]
* (Brazil) IPA: /pɾe.teʁ.na.tuˈɾaw/ [pɾe.teɦ.na.tuˈɾaʊ̯]
** (São Paulo) IPA: /pɾe.teɾ.na.tuˈɾaw/ [pɾe.teɾ.na.tuˈɾaʊ̯]
** (Rio de Janeiro) IPA: /pɾe.teʁ.na.tuˈɾaw/ [pɾe.teʁ.na.tuˈɾaʊ̯]
** (Southern Brazil) IPA: /pɾe.teɻ.na.tuˈɾaw/ [pɾe.teɻ.na.tuˈɾaʊ̯]
* (Portugal) IPA: /pɾɨ.tɨɾ.nɐ.tuˈɾal/ [pɾɨ.tɨɾ.nɐ.tuˈɾaɫ]
* (Portugal) IPA: /pɾɨ.tɨɾ.nɐ.tuˈɾal/ [pɾɨ.tɨɾ.nɐ.tuˈɾaɫ]
** (Southern Portugal) IPA: /pɾɨ.tɨɾ.nɐ.tuˈɾa.li/
* Hyphenation: pre‧ter‧na‧tu‧ral

### Adjective

preternatural m or f (plural preternaturais)
* preternatural

## Spanish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /pɾeteɾnatuˈɾal/ [pɾe.t̪eɾ.na.t̪uˈɾal]
* Rhymes: -al
* Syllabification: pre‧ter‧na‧tu‧ral

### Adjective

preternatural m or f (masculine and feminine plural preternaturales)
* preternatural

#### Derived terms

* preternaturalmente

### Further reading

* “preternatural”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10