redundant
Definitions
General Science
- adjective able to be removed without losing any information
Aviation
- adjective referring to a system which provides extra component parts to enable the system to function even if one component fails
Computing
- adjective used to describe data that can be removed without losing any information
- adjective used to describe an extra piece of equipment kept ready for a task in case of faults
Electronics
- That which is duplicated or otherwise present as a precaution against failures, malfunctions, errors, or the like.
- That which exceeds what is necessary or required.
Information & Library Science
- adjective no longer needed because it has been replaced by a more up to date version
Origin & History of “redundant”
Etymologically, something that is redundant ‘overflows’ because there is too much of it. The word comes from the present participle of Latin redundāre ‘flow back, overflow’ (source also of English redound (14th c.)). this was a compound verb formed from the prefix re- ‘back, again’ and undāre ‘rise in waves, surge’, a derivative of unda ‘wave’ (source of English undulate).
