From Latin supervivere "live beyond, live longer than", from super "over, beyond" + vivere "to live" ; 15th c.
1. to remain alive after the death of someone, the cessation of something, or the occurrence of some event; continue to live
2. to remain or continue in existence or use
3. to get along or remain healthy, happy, and unaffected in spite of some occurrence
'Survival of the fittest':
The idea that species adapt and change by natural selection with the best suited mutations becoming dominant. (Herbert Spencer)