Irrelevances

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The details or matters that lack significance or importance in a given context; elements that do not contribute meaningfully to an argument or discussion; distractions or points that are unrelated to the main topic at hand
2. Aspects or subjects that are not pertinent to the issue being considered; information that fails to add value to the dialogue or analysis; items that stray away from the focus or purpose of a conversation
3. Factors or considerations that are extraneous and do not influence the core subject; materials that detract from the central theme of a discussion; irrelevant points that could confuse rather than clarify the matter being discussed

Etymology: The word's core is "relevance," from the Latin "relevare," meaning "to lift up" or "raise again," with a secondary sense of "to alleviate." The meaning "bearing on the matter at hand" grew out of that physical sense of lifting, so a relevant point is one that raises the discussion rather than leaving it low. "Irrelevance" adds the negative prefix "ir-," a form of the Latin "in-" that changes to "ir-" before "r," and the suffix "-ance," which turns the adjective "irrelevant" into a noun for the quality or state of not bearing on a matter. The plural "irrelevances" names individual instances of that quality, such as particular remarks or details that drift off topic.