surplusage

[sur-pluhs-ij]

See more synonyms for surplusage on Thesaurus.com

noun

something that is surplus; an excess amount.
an excess of words.

Origin of surplusage

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at surplus, -age

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for surplusage

residue, oversupply, surfeit, plethora, superabundance, overmuch, glut, fat, overage, superfluity, plus, excess, overflow, balance, remainder, overrun, overkill, overstock

Examples from the Web for surplusage

Historical Examples of surplusage

But it is precisely this surplusage which has not cognitive status.
Essays in Experimental Logic
John Dewey
Well, it is just like I said, it is surplusage to begin with.
Warren Commission (5 of 26): Hearings Vol. V (of 15)
The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy
This was the mere wantonness and surplusage of abundant labour.
The British Expedition to the Crimea
William Howard Russell
This was a surplusage of duty but not cause for impeachment.
Sages and Heroes of the American Revolution
L. Carroll Judson
In so far forth, they express the surplusage of vitality over need, the creative freedom of life at play.
Creative Intelligence
John Dewey, Addison W. Moore, Harold Chapman Brown, George H. Mead, Boyd H. Bode, Henry Waldgrave, Stuart James, Hayden Tufts, Horace M. Kallen

British Dictionary definitions for surplusage

surplusage

noun

law (in pleading, etc) irrelevant matter, such as a superfluous allegation
an excess of words
a less common word for surplus

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012