ancillary

English

WOTD – 31 December 2009

Etymology

From Latin ancillāris (“ancillary; relating to maids”), from ancilla (“maid”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ænˈsɪl.ə.ɹiː/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈæn.səˌlɛɹ.i/, [ˈɛn.səˌlɛɹ.i]

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /ænˈsɪl.ɪ.ɹi/, [ɛːnˈsɪl.ɪ.ɹi]

  • Audio (General Australian):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪləɹi

Adjective

ancillary (comparative more ancillary, superlative most ancillary)

1. Subordinate; secondary; auxiliary.

   Synonym: accessory

   • 1836, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature, Chapter 3:

     […] how easily he took all things along with him,—the persons, the opinions, and the day, and nature became ancillary to a man.

   • 1898, John Wesley Powell, “Chapter 7”, in Truth and Error:

     [E]very organ of the body, whatever function it may perform, must also perform the other four functions in an ancillary manner.

   • 2019, Li Huang, James Lambert, “Another Arrow for the Quiver: A New Methodology for Multilingual Researchers”, in Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, →DOI, page 4:

     The cafeteria is primarily used by students and staff (academic, administrative, and ancillary).

Derived terms

• ancillarily
• ancillariness
• ancillary relief
• nonancillary

 

Translations

subordinate, secondary, auxiliary, accessory

• Bulgarian: помощен (bg) (pomošten), спомагателен (bg) (spomagatelen)
• Catalan: auxiliar (ca)
• Danish: sekundær, underordnet (da)
• Dutch: ondergeschikt (nl), ondersteunend (nl)
• Finnish: avustava (fi), apu- (fi), oheis- (fi); tukeva (fi), tuki- (fi); toissijainen (fi)
• French: subordonné (fr) m, secondaire (fr) m or f, auxiliaire (fr) m or f, ancillaire (fr)
• German: hilfs-, neben- (de), zusatz-
• Italian: subordinato (it) m, secondario (it) m, ausiliare (it)
• Polish: podrzędny (pl), podporządkowany, pomocniczy (pl), akcesoryczny (pl)
• Portuguese: subordinado (pt) m, secundário (pt) m, auxiliar (pt), ancilário m, ancilar (pt), auxiliário (pt) m
• Russian: вспомога́тельный (ru) (vspomogátelʹnyj), подсо́бный (ru) (podsóbnyj), дополни́тельный (ru) (dopolnítelʹnyj), подчинённый (ru) (podčinjónnyj)
• Spanish: secundario (es), auxiliar (es)
• Swedish: underordnad (sv), sekundär (sv)
• Turkish: yardımcı (tr), tali (tr)
• Urdu: مُعاوِن (muawan)

Noun

ancillary (plural ancillaries)

1. Something that serves an ancillary function, such as an easel for a painter.
   • 1950 November, “Mixed-Traffic Diesel-Electric Locomotives for Ireland”, in Railway Magazine, page 781:

     Auxiliaries and ancillaries are comprehensive, and include a Westinghouse motor-driven recriprocating compressor used for locomotive braking and general service air, two rotary exhauster sets for train brakes when hauling passenger or fitted freight trains, and an oil-fired train heating boiler.

2. (archaic) An auxiliary.

Translations

thing

• Finnish: apuväline (fi)
• French: accessoire (fr) m
• Polish: środek (pl) m pomocniczy, pomoce pl
• Russian: вспомогательная (ru) (vspomogatelʹnaja) дета́ль (ru) f (detálʹ)
• Spanish: auxiliar (es) m or f, accesorio (es) m, apoyo (es) m,

person

• Finnish: apulainen (fi); alainen (fi)
• French: domestique (fr), serviteur (fr), boy (fr), aide à la personne, employé de maison
• Italian: domestico (it), servo (it)
• Polish: pomocnik (pl) m
• Russian: подчинённый (ru) (podčinjónnyj)
• Spanish: auxiliar (es) m or f, ayudante (es) m or f, subordinado (es) m, subordinada (es) f, criado (es)

References

• “ancillary”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “ancillary”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “ancillary”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• Carlylian, cranially