redundancy

[ri-duhn-duh n-see] /rɪˈdʌn dən si/
noun, plural redundancies.
1.
the state of being redundant.
2.
superfluous repetition or overlapping, especially of words.
3.
a redundant thing, part, or amount; superfluity.
4.
the provision of additional or duplicate systems, equipment, etc., that function in case an operating part or system fails, as in a spacecraft.
5.
Linguistics.
  1. the inclusion of more information than is necessary for communication, as in those cars, where both words are marked for plurality.
  2. the additional, predictable information so included.
  3. the degree of predictability thereby created.
6.
Chiefly British.
  1. the condition or fact of being unemployed; unemployment.
  2. a layoff.
Also, redundance.
Origin
1595-1605; < Latin redundantia an overflowing, excess, derivative of redundāns redundant; see -ancy
Can be confused
redundancy, tautology.
Examples from the web for redundancy
  • Each dish is a neat tableau, with little or no redundancy.
  • Of course, the best safety practices involve redundancy.
  • Performance-related pay is the norm, and redundancy commonplace.
  • He points out that the roach escape mechanism has an admirable redundancy.
  • Pioneers should not be penalized for being thorough, cautious and for putting redundancy into any design.
  • Yes, traditional twin engine aircraft are considered safe because the second engine offers redundancy.
  • He is about to open a restaurant where the servers will have novel attributes: triple redundancy and backup batteries.
  • We haven't got that kind of redundancy in our ownership.
  • Downturns certainly help focus managers' minds, especially when the spectre of redundancy haunts the office corridors.
  • If they dont data capture then you have to fall back on transcription and multiple redundancy.
British Dictionary definitions for redundancy

redundancy

/rɪˈdʌndənsɪ/
noun (pl) -cies
1.
  1. the state or condition of being redundant or superfluous, esp superfluous in one's job
  2. (as modifier): a redundancy payment
2.
excessive proliferation or profusion, esp of superfluity
3.
duplication of components in electronic or mechanical equipment so that operations can continue following failure of a part
4.
repetition of information or inclusion of additional information to reduce errors in telecommunication transmissions and computer processing
Word Origin and History for redundancy
n.

c.1600; see redundant + -ancy. Sense in employment is from 1931, chiefly British.

redundancy in Culture

redundancy definition


Unnecessary repetition in speech or writing. The expression freedom and liberty is redundant.

redundancy in Technology


1. The provision of multiple interchangeable components to perform a single function in order to provide resilience (to cope with failures and errors). Redundancy normally applies primarily to hardware. For example, a cluster may contain two or three computers doing the same job. They could all be active all the time thus giving extra performance through parallel processing and load balancing; one could be active and the others simply monitoring its activity so as to be ready to take over if it failed ("warm standby"); the "spares" could be kept turned off and only switched on when needed ("cold standby"). Another common form of hardware redundancy is disk mirroring.
2. data redundancy.
(1995-05-09)