Hypertext Webster Gateway: "superfluous"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Superfluous \Su*per"flu*ous\, a. [L. superfluus overflowing;
super over, above + fluere to flow. See {Super-}, and
{Fluent}.]
More than is wanted or is sufficient; rendered unnecessary by
superabundance; unnecessary; useless; excessive; as, a
superfluous price. --Shak.
An authority which makes all further argument or
illustration superfluous. --E. Everett.
{Superfluous interval} (Mus.), an interval that exceeds a
major or perfect interval by a semitone.
Syn: Unnecessary; useless; exuberant; excessive; redundant;
needless. -- {Su*per"flu*ous*ly}, adv. --
{Su*per"flu*ous*ness}, n.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
superfluous
adj 1: serving no useful purpose; having no excuse for being;
"otiose lines in a play"; "advice is wasted words"
[syn: {otiose}, {pointless}, {wasted}]
2: more than is needed, desired, or required; "trying to lose
excess weight"; "found some extra change lying on the
dresser"; "yet another book on heraldry might be thought
redundant"; "skills made redundant by technological
advance"; "sleeping in the spare room"; "supernumerary
ornamentation"; "it was supererogatory of her to gloat";
"delete superfluous (or unnecessary) words"; "extra ribs
as well as other supernumerary internal parts"; "surplus
cheese distributed to the needy" [syn: {excess}, {extra},
{redundant}, {spare}, {supererogatory}, {supernumerary}, {surplus}]
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