Superfluous

Superfluous is an interesting word. This is Merriam-Webster's online definition.

Main Entry: su·per·flu·ous

Pronunciation: \su̇-ˈpər-flü-əs\

Function: adjective

Etymology: Middle English, from Latin superfluus, literally, running over, from superfluere to overflow, from super- + fluere to flow — more at fluid

Date: 15th century

1 a : exceeding what is sufficient or necessary : extra b : not needed : unnecessary 2 obsolete : marked by wastefulness : extravagant

— su·per·flu·ous·ly adverb

— su·per·flu·ous·ness noun

Fluous, by contrast is not a word. I wonder what this says about us. We have a special word made to say "you're not needed" "you're too much" or, basically "go away, we don't want you here." At the same time, we have no word to counteract it, no "you're perfect for what we need" or "you're vital to this" or even a simple "we like you, stick around." That's a rather negative way of going about things. We have overexposed and underexposed, we have inside and outside, hyperglycemic and hypoglycemic. All of these words that cover both sides, and usually a third word for right in the middle. That's one of the reasons we have so many words in the English language. But for this, we say "eh... why bother?" Maybe it's just me and maybe I'm just in a mood, but that doesn't seem right. It also doesn't seem right that I was trying to be half-way humorous and I think I've completely missed my mark but will still post this because I'm stubborn. Ah, well... maybe my blog and I are just superfluous.

By the way, that picture was just to be superfluous.