extraneous

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 25, 2023 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>extraneous</strong> &#149; \ek-STRAY-nee-us\&nbsp; &#149; <em>adjective</em><br /> <p>Something described as <em>extraneous</em> does not form a necessary part of something else, and may also therefore be considered irrelevant or unimportant (as in “extraneous details”). </p> <p>// The woman who reported the robbery kept bringing up <em>extraneous</em> facts, such as what she'd had for lunch. </p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/extraneous">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>“Free of <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/frippery">frippery</a> and <em>extraneous</em> decorative details, the roughly 4,500-square-foot loft is a pure expression of the bold geometries, expert craftsmanship, and premium materials for which Gwathmey is renowned.” — Mark David, <em>Robb Report</em>, 22 Aug. 2023</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>We’d hate to be <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/extra">extra</a>, so we won’t weigh you down with a lot of extraneous information about the word <em>extraneous</em>. Instead, we’ll tell you that it has been a part of the English language since at least the mid-1600s, and that it comes from the Latin word <em>extrāneus</em>, which means “not belonging to one’s family or household; external.” <em>Extrāneus</em>—a combination of the Latin adverb/preposition <em>extrā</em>  (“outside” or “beyond”) and adjective suffix <em>-āneus</em>—is also the root of the English words <em>strange</em> and <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/estrange"><em>estrange</em></a>; its influence is even more obvious in the Spanish adjective <em>extraño</em>, meaning “strange.” The “outside/beyond” senses of <em>extrā</em> are also evident in non-extraneous English words