ancillary

ancillary

English

WOTD – 31 December 2009

Etymology

From Latin ancillāris, from ancilla (“maid”), diminutive of ancula, feminine of anculus (“a male servant”), from ambi- (“about”) + 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

• IPA^(key): /ˈænsəˌleɹiː/

• Audio (US)

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• Audio (AU)

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• Rhymes: -iː

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, 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

Bulgarian: помощен (bg) (pomošten), спомагателен (bg) (spomagatelen) Catalan: auxiliar (ca) Danish: sekundær, underordnet 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- Interlingue: auxiliari, suplementari Italian: subordinato (it) m, secondario (it) m, ausiliare (it)

Polish: podrzędny (pl), podporządkowany, pomocniczy (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.
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

1. “ancillary” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001–2019.

• ancillary in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• ancillary in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• ancillary at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• Carlylian, cranially