ancillary
English
Etymology
From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin ancillāris, from ancilla (“maid”), diminutive of ancula, feminine of anculus (“a male servant”), from ambi- (“about”) + (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Indo-European *kwol-o-, from base *kwel- (“move round, turn about, be much about”).[1]
See ambi- for cognate terms of prefix, such as ambulate; cycle is cognate from the Proto-Indo-European root.
Pronunciation
- (deprecated use of
|lang=
parameter) IPA(key): /ˈænsəˌleɹiː/ - (deprecated use of
|lang=
parameter)Audio (US): (file) - (deprecated use of
|lang=
parameter) Rhymes: -iː
Adjective
ancillary (comparative more ancillary, superlative most ancillary)
- 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, Truth and Error, Chapter 7
- [E]very organ of the body, whatever function it may perform, must also perform the other four functions in an ancillary manner.
Translations
subordinate, secondary, auxiliary, accessory
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Noun
ancillary (plural ancillaries)
- Something that serves an ancillary function, such as an easel for a painter.
- (archaic) An auxiliary.
Translations
thing
person
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References
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “ancillary”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- “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.