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I don't think "sur-" necessarily means "more power". Here's a bunch of sur-prefixed words in French: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Category:French_words_prefix

• bohinjc 8y ago
  well, "sur-" in french means a lot of things, alone or as a prefix : on, over, more, about, upon, onto, against, ... So I'm pretty sure there is a pun intended here. About "surbooker", funny thing is that "booker" is literally the english verb converted to french verb (hence the -er suffix). Even if it is well used in modern french, it still is an anglicism.
  • lostgame 8y ago
    >> So I'm pretty sure there is a pun intended here. French, in particular, is full of nuances like this.
  • gugagore 8y ago
    Like a pun when the word first came into usage?
• joshklein 8y ago
  The etymology of surveillance is closer to “watch over”, as if from above. The literal “sur” prefix could be “over” or “on” or “upon” when translated to English, so it implies an above-ness. The “sous” prefix is the logical opposite, usually translating to “below” or “under” or “beneath”, though it can be used to mean “within”.
  • samstave 8y ago
    Yeah, it means within or even permeating or imbued in this context.
  • gugagore 8y ago
    I'm not sure if you're responding to my claim that it doesn't mean power. I agree that it means "watch over". Like physical "above-ness".