residual

Definition

Of, relating to, or remaining as a residue; left over.

Etymology

Recorded since 1570. From residue, itself borrowed during the Middle English period from Old French residu (Modern French résidu), from Latin residuum (“a remainder”), the neuter inflection of residuus (“remaining, left over”), perfect participle of resideō (“to remain behind”), from re- (“back, again”) + sedeō (“to sit, to reside”).

Example Sentences

• "Yet certain films leave a residual memory—such as Psycho: many people still feel uneasy showering in a motel bathroom."
• "Abolitionists argued that race had no place in a free and democratic society as a dividing line. Economic and social policies and practices, they argued, should be race-neutral and egalitarian. Yet despite these racially egalitarian values, much abolitionist rhetoric exhibited a strong residual commitment to racialist thinking and a palpable devotion to white supremacy."

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