extraneous

WOTD - 22 November 2007    

English

Etymology

From Latin extrāneus (“from without, strange”)

Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /ɛkˈstreɪ.ni.əs/, SAMPA: /Ek"streI.ni.@s/
• (Australia) IPA: /ekˈstræɪ.ni.əs/, SAMPA: /ek"str{I.ni.@s/
• (US) IPA: /ɪkˈstreɪ.ni.əs/, /ɛkˈstreɪ.ni.əs/, SAMPA: /Ik"streI.ni.@s/, /Ek"streI.ni.@s/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪniəs

Adjective

extraneous (not comparable)

1. Not belonging to, or dependent upon, a thing; without or beyond a thing; foreign

   to separate gold from extraneous matter

   Extraneous substances were found on my cup of water.

2. Not essential or intrinsic

Synonyms

• (not belonging to): additional, alien, foreign, intrusive
• (not essential): superfluous, extra

Derived terms

• extraneously
• extraneousness

Translations

Translations

Arabic: خارجي (ar) (Kharegi) Finnish: asiaankuulumaton (fi) French: étranger (fr) German: fremd (de)

Hungarian: idegen (hu) Portuguese: estranho (pt) Serbo-Croatian: stran (sh), nepripadajući (sh) Spanish: extraño (es) Swedish: främmande (sv), ovidkommande (sv), yttre (sv)