Pleonasm
Etymology
From Greek "pleonasmos" (excess), from "pleonazein" (to be more than enough), from "pleon" (more). A long-standing term in rhetoric and grammar.
noun · /PLEE-uh-naz-um/
The use of more words than necessary, where some simply repeat meaning already present.
What it names
The quiet redundancy in "free gift," "PIN number," and "advance planning" — a precise tool for catching phrases that say the same thing twice.
Example
Editors bristle at pleonasm like "close proximity" and "past history," where one word already contains the other.
Related idea
Distinct from tautology, which restates the same idea in a full circular statement; pleonasm is the smaller redundancy of piling up words that overlap in meaning.