Superscript

A superscript is a number, figure or indicator, that appears above the normal line of type. Superscripts are often used in formulas, mathematical expressions, or descriptions of chemical compounds. Superscripts can also be used to indicate the presence of a footnote in a document. Sometimes, ordinal endings for numbers (e.g. the suffixes -st, -nd, -rd, and -th in 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th) are also rendered in superscript.

Probably the most famous superscript is the number 2 in Einstein's theory of relativity, E = mc².

See Also: subscript, font, typesetting, mathematical notation.