Word of the Day

: December 24, 2014

extraneous

adjective ek-STRAY-nee-us

What It Means

1 : existing on or coming from the outside

2 a : not forming an essential or vital part

b : having no relevance

3 : being a number obtained in solving an equation that is not a solution of the equation

extraneous in Context

The woman who reported the robbery kept bringing up extraneous facts, such as what she'd had for lunch.

"Considering that the penguins were nearly cut out of the original movie as extraneous extras, we should also celebrate their survival instincts." - Bruce Kirkland, London Free Press, November 25, 2014

Did You Know?

We'll try not to weigh you down with a lot of extraneous information about the word extraneous, but we will tell you that it has been a part of the English language since at least 1638. It derives from the Latin word extraneus, which literally means "external." Extraneus is also the root of the words strange and estrange ("to alienate the affections or confidence of").