superfluous en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- (California) audio
- /suːˈpɜːflu.əs/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /suˈpɝflu.əs/ (Canada, General-American)
- (UK) audio
- /sjʊˈpɜːflu.əs/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- audio Queensland
- /səˈpɜːflu.əs/ (Australia)
Etymology
From Middle English superfluous, from Latin superfluus (“superfluous”) + -ous, from superfluō (“overflow”), from super (“above, more than, over”) + fluō (“flow”). Compare mellifluous and fluid, also from Latin. Literally corresponds to overflow, which is from Germanic, rather than Latin.
Meanings
-
In excess of what is required or sufficient.
This did not mean that the party was superfluous, however. The concept of an advance guard of the proletariat was a sound one; but it should be a group of active members, not a sovereign body.
1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume II: The Golden Age, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: rozwój (in Polish), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 84:Then I began to play in timid fashion, venturing only twenty or thirty gulden at a time. Meanwhile, I observed and took notes. It seemed to me that calculation was superfluous, and by no means possessed of the importance which certain other players attached to it, even though they sat with ruled papers in their hands, whereon they set down the coups, calculated the chances, reckoned, staked, and—lost exactly as we more simple mortals did who played without any reckoning at all.
1867, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, chapter IV, in The Gambler, translated by C. J. Hogarth^(https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Gambler_(1867)/IV):With a full rain suit, carrying an umbrella may be superfluous.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| most superfluous | Degree=Sup | lexicographic | |
| more superfluous | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic |
Coordinates
Deriveds
superfluous man · unsuperfluous · superfluousity · superfluously · superfluousness · nonsuperfluous · superfluous interval · superfluity
Relateds
Synonyms
surplus · dispensible · supernumerary · needless · de trop · pleonastic · extra · excrescent · redundant · unnecessary · extravagant · excessive · extraneous
Translations (55)
hy ավելորդ (excess of what is sufficient) · io superflua (excess of what is sufficient) · gl superfluo (excess of what is sufficient) · cs nadbytečný (excess of what is sufficient) · ast superfluu (excess of what is sufficient) · ru изли́шний (excess of what is sufficient) · ca superflu (excess of what is sufficient) · th เกินความจำเป็น (excess of what is sufficient) · ga iomarcach (excess of what is sufficient) · de überflüssig (excess of what is sufficient) · ro superfluu (excess of what is sufficient) · la supervacuus (excess of what is sufficient) · la supervacāneus (excess of what is sufficient) · la superforāneus (excess of what is sufficient) · eo superflua (excess of what is sufficient) · is ofaukinn (excess of what is sufficient) · grc περισσός (excess of what is sufficient) · la superfluus (excess of what is sufficient) · nb overflødig (excess of what is sufficient) · fr superflu (excess of what is sufficient) · ru ли́шний (excess of what is sufficient) · pl niepotrzebny (excess of what is sufficient) · bg излишен (excess of what is sufficient) · is ónauðsynlegur (excess of what is sufficient) · fi ylenpalttinen (excess of what is sufficient) · sh су̏вӣшан (excess of what is sufficient) · da overflødig (excess of what is sufficient) · nn overflødig (excess of what is sufficient) · es superfluo (excess of what is sufficient) · cmn 多餘 /多余 (excess of what is sufficient) · ja 冗長な (excess of what is sufficient) · nl overtollig (excess of what is sufficient) · bg ненужен (excess of what is sufficient) · it superfluo (excess of what is sufficient) · cs zbytečný (excess of what is sufficient) · nl overvloedig (excess of what is sufficient) · pl zbyteczny (excess of what is sufficient) · el περιττός (excess of what is sufficient) · fa زیادی (excess of what is sufficient) · hu felesleges (excess of what is sufficient) · sv överflödig (excess of what is sufficient) · vi dư thừa (excess of what is sufficient) · hu túlzott (excess of what is sufficient) · ro de prisos (excess of what is sufficient) · pt supérfluo (excess of what is sufficient) · fi tarpeeton (excess of what is sufficient) · fi liiallinen (excess of what is sufficient) · nl overdadig (excess of what is sufficient) · hu fölösleges (excess of what is sufficient) · fi ylitsevuotavainen (excess of what is sufficient) · ota آرتق (excess of what is sufficient) · pl nadmierny (excess of what is sufficient) · uk за́йвий (excess of what is sufficient) · lv lieks (excess of what is sufficient) · sh sȕvīšan (excess of what is sufficient)