difference in meaning

Superfluous is "more than is needed"
Redundant is "repetitive"

Sometimes there's overlap of the meaning but they are a bit different.

Superfluous is "more than is needed"
Redundant is "repetitive"

Sometimes there's overlap of the meaning but they are a bit different.

Redundant can also have the sense of obsolete.

I understood redundant meant in reserve. It was originally, I read somewhere, a term in electrical engineering for circuits that kicked in if anything goes wrong. The emergency generators in palaces for example kick in as soon as the juice goes off. When the juice is on they are redundant. So a person without a job who wants a job is redundant.

I could have used hospitals rather than palaces but I'm not one to miss a chance to have a dig at our feudal masters.

Next time you're sat in the dark shivering with the freezer dripping just remember that a portion of your taxes goes to equiping and maintaining redundant electrical circuits in palaces so that those banqueting inside need not have their conversations interrupted.