- superstitious (adj.)
- late 14c., from Old French superstitieux, from Latin superstitiosus, from superstitionem (nominative superstitio) "prophecy, soothsaying, excessive fear of the gods," perhaps originally "state of religious exaltation," related to superstes (genitive superstitis) "standing over or above," also "standing by, surviving," from superstare "stand on or over, survive," from super "above" (see super-) + stare "to stand," from PIE root *sta- "to stand" (see stet). There are many theories for the Latin sense development, but none has yet triumphed.