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superfluous

[soo-pur-floo-uhs]

Origin

adjective

being more than is sufficient or required; excessive.

unnecessary or needless.

Obsolete. possessing or spending more than enough or necessary; extravagant.

Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin superfluus, equivalent to super- super- + flu- (stem of fluere to flow) + -us -ous

Related forms

su·per·flu·ous·ly, adverb

su·per·flu·ous·ness, noun

un·su·per·flu·ous, adjective

un·su·per·flu·ous·ly, adverb

un·su·per·flu·ous·ness, noun

Synonyms
1. extra; redundant.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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to renounce or relinquish power or responsibility

wise or judicious in practical affairs; sagacious; discreet or circumspect; careful in providing for the future

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Collins

World English Dictionary

superfluous (suːˈpɜːflʊəs)

—*adj*
1.	exceeding what is sufficient or required
2.	not necessary or relevant; uncalled-for
3.	obsolete extravagant in expenditure or oversupplied with possessions

[C15: from Latin superfluus overflowing, from super- + fluere to flow]

su'perfluously

—*adv*

su'perfluousness

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon

Main Entry:	superfluous¹
Part of Speech:	adj
Definition:	more than enough; overabundant; extra
Etymology:	Latin super- + fluere 'to flow'

Main Entry:	superfluous²
Part of Speech:	adj
Definition:	unnecessary; uncalled-for; wasteful
Etymology:	Latin super- + fluere 'to flow'

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

superfluous

c.1380 (superflue), from L. superfluus "unnecessary," lit. "overflowing," from superfluere "to overflow," from super "over" (see super-) + fluere "to flow" (see fluent).

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"The white American man makes the white American woman maybe not superfluous but just a little kind of decoration. Not really important to turning around the wheels of the state. Well the black American woman has never been able to feel that way. No black American man at any time in our history in the United States has been able to feel that he didn't need that black woman right against him, shoulder to shoulder—in that cotton field, on the auction block, in the ghetto, wherever."

-Maya Angelou

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