Etymograph

English

superfluity

Superfluity comes from Latin superfluus ‘superfluous, unnecessary’, from fluō ‘flow’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰlewH- ‘to overflow’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰlewH-1‘to overflow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰluH-yé-ti1uncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfluō1‘flow’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsuperfluō2‘to be superfluous’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsuperfluus3‘superfluous, unnecessary’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400superfluite3
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1766superfluity3

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin superfluo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, Latin superfluus
  3. 3 Wiktionary, English superfluity
  4. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1766, Oliver Goldsmith, Salisbury: “As they had almost all the conveniencies of life…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰlewH-Wiktionary, Latin superfluo‘to overflow’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰluH-yé-tiWiktionary, Latin superfluouncertain
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfluōWiktionary, Latin superfluo‘flow’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsuperfluōWiktionary, Latin superfluus‘to be superfluous’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEsuperfluusWiktionary, English superfluity‘superfluous, unnecessary’
  6. Old Frenchc. 842–1400superfluiteWiktionary, English superfluity
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1766superfluityWiktionary, English superfluity. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1766, Oliver Goldsmith, Salisbury: “As they had almost all the conveniencies of life…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *bʰluH-yé-ti

fluidity, confluent, 23 more

through Latin fluō ‘flow’

influence, fluid, influx, flux, fluent, confluence, fluctuate, fluency, fluctuation, affluence, flume, fluorine, fluvial, fluorite, fluor, 25 more

Today it means

noun The quality or state of being superfluous; overflowingness.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “superfluity”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Latin superfluo, Latin superfluus. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰlewH- / superfluity

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