[snipped selective measurements of word usage]

On Fri, 27 Sep 2019, Alan Stern wrote:

> 
> So I guess this was never defined precisely.
> 

The O.E.D. defines these terms:

        residual
        a. [...]
        n. 1. a quantity remaining after other things have been subtracted 
              or allowed for. [...]
           2. [...]
           3. [...]

and

        residue
        n. a small amount of something that remains after the main part 
           has gone or been taken or used.


So, writing "residue" could be misleading as the connotation is that the 
remaining part is the lesser part.

I think that's probably why the term "residual" gets used in finance (and 
in SCSI transfers).

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