supernal \soo-PUR-nuhl\, adjective:
1. Being in or coming from the heavens or a higher place or region.
2. Relating or belonging to things above; celestial; heavenly.
3. Lofty; of surpassing excellence.
In 1616, a pope and a cardinal inquisitor reprimanded Galileo, warning him to curtail his forays into the supernal realms.
-- Dava Sobel, Galileo's Daughter
Liu Mengmei has more to worry about from earthly authorities who would behead him for plundering tombs than from any supernal force.
-- Edward Rothstein, "Even for Death's Escapees, the Myth Says, There Are Rules", New York Times, July 24, 1999
Then comes what may be the most supernal sequence in all opera -- the Countess' lament in "Dove sono" and the letter duet, with only the tiniest interruption in the middle as the Count and Antonio cross the stage plotting to snare Cherubino.
-- "In Review: From Around the World", Opera News, May 1999
Supernal derives from Latin supernus, "above, upper, top, hence celestial," from super, "over, above."
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