Extraneous
/ɪkˈstreɪ.ni.əs/noun
Not essential or relevant; outside what is needed or proper.
Did you know?Extraneous comes from Latin extraneus, meaning “external” or “foreign,” from extra (“outside”), a root that also gave English words like extraordinary and extraterrestrial.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*eǵʰs
“outside; beyond”
Latin
Latin
extra
“outside; beyond”
Latin
Latin
extraneus
“foreign; from outside; not belonging”
Old French
Old French
estrangier
“foreign; strange; alien”
Middle English
English
extraneous
“foreign; external; not belonging to the matter”
Modern English
English
extraneous
“irrelevant; unnecessary”