Which is higher — "hyper-", "ultra-" or "super-"?

According to OED,

• hyper-:

  over, beyond, over much, above measure

• ultra-:

  beyond

• super-:

  over, above, higher than

They all have the meaning "higher than", but what is the order of them? That is, which one is the highest? Which one is modest higher? And which one is middle higher?

Update: Thank you all.

I have searched by myself and spotted that, according to Taxonomy, hyperfamily is larger than superfamily. Moreover, as Kris, Mitch and Robusto pointed out, hyper is higher than super in many other usage such as hypersonic/supersonic and hypermarket/supermarket. In addition super is higher than ultra in Audiology. So it seems

ultra < super < hyper

in common usage. On the other hand, in taxonomic ranks of biological classification, the rank hypoorder is larger than suborder, which is larger than infraorder. So a conclusion seems can be made as infra < sub < hypo.

Overall, does it seem the order is

infra < sub < hypo < ultra < super < hyper

in most usages?

Solution 1:

These are not English words, but Greek (hyper) and Latin (super, ultra) prepositions.

Hyper and super mean exactly the same thing, 'above' -- they're cognates, in fact; Greek initial S went to H, and Y was the Greek letter corresponding to Latin V (or U). Greek is of course more prestigious than Latin, but it's not bigger.

Ultra, on the other hand, means 'beyond', as in ultraviolet or ultra vires 'beyond (the powers of) men'.

So I guess ultra would be the ultimate (same root, btw), at least for English speakers who've studied Latin and Greek.

All of them.

Solution 2:

John Lawler is right that they mean mostly the same thing. But in terms of actual usage, hyper- is often used when something more than super- is needed. For example, an aircraft that flies faster than the speed of sound is called supersonic. But there arose a need to distinguish between mere supersonic speed and something far beyond that. So hypersonic was next in line. From Wikipedia's article on hypersonic speed:

In aerodynamics, a hypersonic speed is one that is highly supersonic (even though the origin of the words is the same—"super" is just the Latin version of the Greek "hyper"). Since the 1970s, the term has generally been assumed to refer to speeds of Mach 5 and above.

This pattern repeats often in engineering and scientific terminology.

Hyper- is also used when super-, due to its extreme overuse, doesn't feel technical or academic enough. Saying that someone exhibits "super-sensitivity" may mean the same thing as exhibiting "hyper-sensitivity," but the latter term is used by psychologists. (Cf. "hyper-vigilance" and other psych terms).

Additionally, where a word using super- already has a distinct and different meaning, hyper- is the go-to substitute. Supercritical already has an established meaning in science, so hypercritical is used to describe someone who is scolding and sarcastic all the time.

I personally would reserve ultra- as the ultimate superlative (if you will allow the pun).

Solution 3:

The terms used for size, especially in promotional materials do not follow strict logical or grammatical rules. While there may be subtle arguments as to which term truly conveys the most of something or a logical order, these are largely ignored in practice.

Consider the sizes of olives. This is part the sequence for International grading by size:

• Superior
• Large
• Extra Large
• Jumbo
• Extra Jumbo
• Giants
• Colossal
• Super Colossal
• Mammoth
• Super Mammoth

This is part of the list for American grading

• Large
• Extra Large
• Mammoth
• Giant
• Jumbo
• Colossal
• Super Colossal

Notice that in the US, Colossal is larger than Mammoth, but the orders are reversed in International standards. In no case is the actual size of olives in one system equivalent in size in the other. Note that these are accepted standards recognized by governments, not just commercial hype.

Sometimes Super is bigger/faster/brighter/tighter than Ultra. Sometimes it's not.