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ex·tra·ne·ous

(ĭk-strānē-əs)

adj.

1. Not constituting an essential or vital element or part: school rules forbidding extraneous clothing like hats.

2. Unrelated to the topic or matter at hand. See Synonyms at irrelevant.

3. Coming from the outside: extraneous noise.

[From Latin extrāneus, from extrā, outside; see EXTRA-.]

ex·trane·ous·ly adv.

ex·trane·ous·ness n.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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