residual meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

residual

adj

US /ɹɪˈzɪd͡ʒ.u.əl/ · /ɹɪˈzɪd͡ʒ.ʊəl/

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”).

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

Yet certain films leave a residual memory—such as Psycho: many people still feel uneasy showering in a motel bathroom.1983, Richard Ellis, The Book of Sharks, Knopf, →ISBN, page 185:
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.2006, Matt Wray, Not Quite White, page 59:

Synonyms: residuary, left, left behind, left over, odd, remaining, residual
Derived terms: coresidual, interresidual, intraresidual, nonresidual, residual air, residual alkalinity, residual-current device, residual haunting, residualise, residuality, residually, residual power, residual risk, residual stress, residual sum of squares, residual volume, residual waste
Related terms: remainder
Hyponyms: net, nett, sedimentaceous, surviving, unconsumed, uneaten, unused

residual

noun

A remainder left over at the end of some process.

In plural Payments made to performers, writers and directors when a recorded broadcast is repeated.

The tentative deal announced this week by the Writers Guild of America includes many industry-specific aspects, such as the size of writers’ rooms and improved residuals for streaming.2023 September 29, Adam Seth Litwin, “Want to Save Your Job From A.I.? Hollywood Screenwriters Just Showed You How.”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
Because, despite his very small role as shark victim Alex Kintner when he was 12, Voorhees is still being paid residuals – royalties – 50 years later. Every time Jaws is on TV, he earns money. […] “It pays to die,” is how he put it in a recent interview with Syfy.2025 August 18, “‘You’re gonna need a bigger bank account’: how a Jaws child actor turned a fleeting appearance into a fortune”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

Mathematics, Sciences, Statistics The difference between the observed value and the estimated value of the quantity of interest.

A spiritual presence left behind in a place as a result of a person's death or some other significant event.

Derived terms: pseudoresidual

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.