My nephew mentioned he was watching French films and writing up summaries to submit for extra credit in French class. I started thinking about extra. Where did it come from, what does it mean today? (I think I’ll have to do a whole other entry on how the meanings of words change over time.)
According to the Online Etymology Dictionary it comes from the Latin, “extraordinarius” meaning “out of the common order.” That seems innocuous enough, lots of things could be out of the common order. Today, we use it almost exclusively as a superlative–not just out of but above the common. Extra is better.
Is it better? When we go the extra mile for people, that’s likely a good thing. But are we really getting something for nothing when we see “extra 25% free” on a shampoo bottle? Is watching French films with English subtitles helping my nephew learn French? What if he watches 100 films, can he get above full credit for the course?
Is working extra hard as good as getting extra sleep? Do teachers relish the opportunity to grade extra credit assignments or is it just more work for them? Does doing/going/giving extra lead to success, mitigate failure, have any bearing at all?
I’ve asked a couple of people about the feelings conjured by the word “extra”. One said it depends on the circumstance, another said extra is just a fancy way to say sucking up and nobody likes a suck up.
I would love to hear what you think…I hope you’ll take an extra couple of minutes and share your thoughts.
quietmomentswithdog 
It strikes me that the value of “extra” depends on whether it is a zero-sum situation, or there is a possibility of win-win. The zero-sum is when the extra effort is put in because when “I win you lose” . The win win is where the extra creates a possibility otherwise unrealized.
In the case of “25% extra” shampoo in the container, I think it is a zero-sum. While is true that economies of scale (i.e. the CostCo approach) mean a larger amount might cost less per ounce, still the provider of the product is constrained presuming that they want to make money. I suppose the provider might be willing to risk a loss leader in the hope of creating future profits.
Now to the French films: Probably most such effort is wasted because many students who watch the film for “extra” credit effort are trading their time for a hopefully better grade. (Perhaps the time would be better invested in actually studying French.) But the win-win might come because the possibility exists that the film might be a trigger of interest in the student watcher, and a generate a desire to study more of the genre — perhaps even to start viewing them in French.
I think “going the extra mile” for another person is also a win-win. Think of the benefits: friendship, accomplishment, mutual respect, perhaps love. And these benefits accrue to both people.
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