Supervenient

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Arising subsequently as a condition that depends on another event or fact
2. Existing or becoming apparent as a secondary effect based on prior circumstances
3. Manifesting as a consequence that cannot be explained independently of its underlying basis

Etymology: "Supervenient" comes from Latin "superveniens," the present participle of "supervenire," meaning "to come to or in addition to, to overtake." The Latin verb joins "super," "above" or "over," to "venire," "to come," so its core idea is something arriving on top of, or after, something already in place. The English adjective keeps that sense of dependence: something supervenient appears in addition to a base and is determined by it. The notion is most prominent in philosophy, where a supervenient property is one that cannot vary without some change in the properties it rests on. A mental state, for example, may be called supervenient on physical facts: two situations identical in every physical detail cannot differ in their mental states. The word thus turns a simple Latin image of coming over something into a precise claim about dependence.