'Superfluous' is Latin for 'overflowing' — from 'fluere' (to flow). More than the vessel can hold.
Unnecessary, especially through being more than enough; exceeding what is needed.
From Latin superfluus (overflowing, unnecessary), from superfluere (to overflow), from super- (over, above) + fluere (to flow), from PIE *bhleu- (to swell, to overflow, to flow). Something superfluous has literally flowed over the rim — there is more than the container can hold, and the excess is therefore unnecessary. The same root *bhleu- gave English flood, flow, fleet (ships
The German cognate 'überflüssig' (unnecessary) is a calque — a loan translation — of Latin 'superfluus,' with 'über' translating 'super' (over) and 'flüssig' (flowing, liquid) translating 'fluus' (flowing). This shows how Germanic languages sometimes translated Latin compounds piece by piece rather than borrowing them whole. German speakers can literally hear
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