Supernumerary is an additional member of an organization. A supernumerary is also a non-regular member of a staff, a member of the staff or an employee who works in a public office who is not part of the manpower complement. Thus, a supernumerary could be an extra member or a temporary employee in addition to the permanent staff, or permanent members of a society.
There are supernumerary actors, knights, ladies, professors, police, ministers, judges, military personnel, and writers.
This use of the word supernumerary and its counterpart, numerary, is in common use in Spanish and Latin American academy and government, and it is now also used in countries all over the world, like Britain, France, Italy, the US, etc.
