redundancy

redundancy
redundancy

• ‘She is lively and vital enough to be a member of a terrorist gang.’ ‘Lively and vital,’ said Harvey, ‘lively and vital —one of these words is redundant.’ —Muriel Spark, 1984.

English idiom is characterized by redundancy, or apparent redundancy, and it is misguidedly pedantic to pick holes in discourse that includes it. Examples of idiomatic or functional repetition of words or ideas include ATM machine (the M in ATM already means ‘machine’), HIV virus (the V in HIV already means ‘virus’), the hoi polloi (hoi = ‘the’), LCD display (the D in LCD already means ‘display’), PIN number (the N in PIN already means ‘number’), safe haven (a haven is by definition safe), and armed gunman (a gunman is by definition armed).

Modern English usage. 2014.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • redundancy — re‧dun‧dan‧cy [rɪˈdʌndənsi] noun redundancies PLURALFORM [countable, uncountable] especially BrE HUMAN RESOURCES when someone loses their job in a company because the job is no longer needed: • Over 2000 car workers now face redundancy. • Sev …   Financial and business terms

  • Redundancy — may refer to: Redundancy (engineering) Redundancy (information theory) Redundancy (language) Redundancy (total quality management) Redundancy (user interfaces) Data redundancy Gene redundancy Logic redundancy Redundant acronym syndrome syndrome… …   Wikipedia

  • redundancy — I noun duplication, excess, excessiveness, immoderation, inordinacy, inordinate amount, needlessness, nimiety, overplus, oversupply, pleonasm, recurrence, redundance, redundantia, reiteration, repetition, restatement, retelling, superabundance,… …   Law dictionary

  • Redundancy — См. Резервирование Термины атомной энергетики. Концерн Росэнергоатом, 2010 …   Термины атомной энергетики

  • redundancy — theory of truth …   Philosophy dictionary

  • redundancy — *verbiage, tautology, pleonasm, circumlocution, periphrasis Analogous words: wordiness, verbosity, prolixity, diffuseness (see corresponding adjectives at WORDY): inflatedness or inflation, turgidity, tumidity, flatulence (see corresponding… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • redundancy — [ri dun′dən sē] n. pl. redundancies [L redundantia] 1. the state or quality of being redundant; superfluity 2. a redundant quantity; overabundance 3. the use of redundant words 4. the part of a redundant statement that is superfluous 5. Brit.… …   English World dictionary

  • redundancy — noun (BrE) ADJECTIVE ▪ large scale, major, mass, massive ▪ The closure of the mine led to large scale redundancies. ▪ possible, threatened ▪ …   Collocations dictionary

  • redundancy */*/ — UK [rɪˈdʌndənsɪ] / US noun Word forms redundancy : singular redundancy plural redundancies 1) [countable/uncountable] British a situation in which someone is told to leave their job because they are no longer needed face redundancy: Over 500… …   English dictionary

  • redundancy — noun /ˈriˌdʌndən̩si,ˈrɪdʌndən̩(t)si/ a) The state of being redundant; a superfluity; something redundant or excessive; a needless repetition in language; excessive wordiness …   Wiktionary

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