accessory

English

Alternative forms

(noun): accessary

Pronunciation

(General American) IPA^(key): /əkˈsɛsəɹi/, /ækˈsɛsəɹi/
(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /əkˈsɛs(ə)ɹi/, /ækˈsɛs(ə)ɹi/
Audio (US) (file)
Homophone: accessary

Etymology 1

First attested in 1550s. From Middle English accessorie, from Medieval Latin accessōrius, from Latin accessor (“helper, subordinate”), from accessus. Compare access, from same root.

Adjective

accessory (comparative more accessory, superlative most accessory)

Having a secondary, supplementary or subordinate function by accompanying as a subordinate; aiding in a secondary way; being additional; contributing or being contributory. Said of things and actions, very rarely of people (and then usually in a humorous version of the legal sense [or due to confusion between the noun and the adjective]).
accessory garments
Surprise parties succeed with the help of accessory neighbors or colleagues.
(law) Assisting a crime without actually participating in committing the crime itself; being connected as an incident or subordinate to a principal.
Her actions were clearly accessory because they helped him commit and probably also conceal the crime.
Coordinate term: principal
Hypernym: accomplice
Present in a minor amount, and not essential.
accessory mineral

Synonyms

(having a secondary function): accompanying, contributory, auxiliary, subsidiary, subservient, additional, acceding

Derived terms

accessorily
accessoriness
accessory breathing
accessory cloud
accessory equipment
accessory fruit
accessory mineral
accessory nerve
accessory pigment
accessory shoe
vagoaccessory

Translations

having a supplementary function

Arabic: كمالي‎
Bulgarian: спомагателен (bg) (spomagatelen), допълнителен (bg) (dopǎlnitelen)
Catalan: accessori
Dutch: meegeleverd, toegevoegd (nl)
Esperanto: akcesora
Finnish: lisä-, apu-, täydentävä, ylimääräinen (fi), liitännäinen (fi); see also asuste (fi) (accessory garment)
French: accessoire (fr)
Galician: accesorio (gl) m
German: nebensächlich (de), zusätzlich (de), begleitend (de)
Greek: επικουρικός (el) m (epikourikós)
Icelandic: fylgihlutur m
Ido: acesora (io)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: delaktig
Persian: فرعی‎ (fa) (far'ī), اضافی‎ (fa) (ezāfī), یدکی‎ (fa) (yadakī)
Polish: akcesoryczny (pl), akcesoryjny (pl)
Portuguese: acessório (pt)
Romanian: accesoriu (ro)
Russian: вспомога́тельный (ru) (vspomogátelʹnyj), доба́вочный (ru) (dobávočnyj), дополни́тельный (ru) (dopolnítelʹnyj)
Spanish: accesorio (es), auxiliar (es)

assisting a crime

Albanian: bashkëfajtor (sq) m, bashkëfajtore f
Arabic: مساعد‎ (ar)
Bulgarian: съучастнически (sǎučastničeski)
Dutch: medeplichtig (nl)
Esperanto: komplica
Finnish: avustava (fi)
Greek: συνεργός (el) m or f (synergós)
Icelandic: vitorðsmaður m
Norwegian:
Bokmål: meddelaktig, medskyldig
Persian: همدست‎ (fa) (hamdast), شریک‌جرم‎ (šarīk-jorm)
Polish: pomocnictwo (pl) n
Portuguese: cúmplice (pt)
Russian: соуча́ствующий (ru) (součástvujuščij)
Spanish: cómplice (es)

present in a minor amount

Finnish: aksessorinen (fi) (in mineralogy)

Etymology 2

(legal): First attested in 1414.
(fashion): First attested in 1896.

Noun

accessory (plural accessories)

Something that belongs to part of another main thing; something additional and subordinate, an attachment.
the accessories of a mobile phone
- 1851, Thomas Carlyle, The Life of John Sterling, London: Chapman and Hall, […], OCLC 2742477:
  the aspect and accessories of a den of banditti
(fashion) An article that completes one's basic outfit, such as a scarf or gloves.
- 2018 June 5, Jonah Engel Bromwich; Vanessa Friedman; Matthew Schneier, “Kate Spade, whose handbags carried women into adulthood, is dead at 55”, in The New York Times‎, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, ISSN 0362-4331, OCLC 971436363, archived from the original on 6 June 2018, retrieved 6 June 2018:
  One of the first of a wave of American women contemporary designers who emerged in the 1990s, she [Kate Spade] built a brand on the appeal of clothes and accessories that made shoppers smile.
(law) A person who is not present at a crime, but contributes to it as an assistant or instigator.
- 2005, Jennifer Worth, Shadows of the Workhouse, Weidenfeld & Nicholson (2009), page 150:
  “You can be an accessory before the fact, or an accessory after the fact. It doesnʼt matter if itʼs before or after; either way youʼd be in for it.”
She was an accessory to the murder because she helped him commit and probably also conceal the crime.
(art) Something in a work of art without being indispensably necessary, for example solely ornamental parts.

Synonyms

(something that belongs to part of another main thing): accompaniment, addition, attachment, supplement; See also Thesaurus:adjunct
(one who assists in or instigates an offense): abettor, accomplice, ally, coadjutor, accessary

Derived terms

accessory before the fact
accessory after the fact
accessoryship
Cambodian accessory

Descendants

→ Hebrew: אַקְסֵסוֹרִי‎ (aksésori)
→ Japanese: アクセサリー (akusesarī)
→ Korean: 액세서리 (aekseseori)

Translations

that which belongs to something else deemed the principal, attachment

Armenian: պիտույք (hy) (pituykʿ), պարագա (hy) (paraga)
Bulgarian: допълне́ние (bg) n (dopǎlnénie), принадле́жност (bg) f (prinadléžnost)
Catalan: accessori m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 附屬品／附属品 (zh) (fùshǔpǐn)
Dutch: accessoire (nl) n, aanhangsel (nl) n, toebehoren (nl) n
Esperanto: akcesoro
Finnish: lisävaruste (fi), varuste (fi), tarvike (fi), oheistarvike
French: accessoire (fr) m
German: Zubehör (de) n
Greek: παρελκόμενο (el) n (parelkómeno), αξεσουάρ (el) n (axesouár), εξάρτημα (el) n (exártima), συμπλήρωμα (el) n (symplíroma)
Hungarian: tartozék (hu)
Icelandic: fylgihlutir
Indonesian: aksesori (id)
Italian: accessorio (it) m
Malay: aksesori
Maori: apatoko
Persian: آکسسوار‎ (âksesuâr)
Polish: akcesorium (pl) n, akcesoria pl
Portuguese: acessório (pt) m
Romanian: accesoriu (ro) n
Russian: принадле́жность (ru) f (prinadléžnostʹ)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: дода́так m, при́бор m
Roman: dodátak (sh) m, príbor (sh) m
Spanish: accesorio (es) m, complemento (es) m
Swedish: tillbehör (sv) n, accessoar (sv) c
Turkish: aksesuar (tr)
Vietnamese: phụ kiện đính kèm

clothing accessory

Bulgarian: аксесоа́р (bg) m (aksesoár)
Catalan: accessori m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 服飾品／服饰品 (zh) (fúshìpǐn)
Czech: doplněk (cs) m
Dutch: accessoire (nl) n, aanhangsel (nl) n, toebehoren (nl) n
Finnish: asuste (fi)
French: accessoire (fr) m
German: Accessoire (de) n
Greek: αξεσουάρ (el) n (axesouár)
Hebrew: אקססורי‎ m (aksésori)
Hungarian: kiegészítő (hu)
Indonesian: aksesori (id)
Japanese: アクセサリー (ja) (akusesarii), 持ち物 (ja) (もちもの, mochimono)
Korean: 액세서리 (ko) (aekseseori)
Malay: aksesori
Norwegian:
Bokmål: accessoir m or n, aksessoar m or n, tilbehør n
Polish: dodatek (pl) m inan, dodatki pl
Portuguese: acessório (pt) m
Russian: аксессуа́р (ru) m (aksɛssuár)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: модни детаљ
Roman: modni detalj
Spanish: accesorio (es) m
Swedish: accessoar (sv) c
Turkish: aksesuar (tr)

contributor to an offense

Bulgarian: съуча́стник (bg) m (sǎučástnik)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 幫兇／帮凶 (zh) (bāngxiōng)
Dutch: medeplichtige (nl) m or f, handlanger (nl) m, handlangster (nl) f
Esperanto: fihelpanto, kunkulpulo
Finnish: avunantaja
German: Komplize (de) m, Handlanger (de) m
Greek: συνεργός (el) m or f (synergós)
Norwegian:
Bokmål: medhjelper m
Polish: współsprawca m pers
Portuguese: cúmplice (pt) m or f
Romanian: complice (ro) m
Russian: соуча́стник (ru) m (součástnik), соуча́стница (ru) f (součástnica)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: саучесник m, суучесник m
Roman: saučesnik m, suučesnik (sh) m
Spanish: cómplice (es) m or f
Swedish: medbrottsling (sv) c, medhjälpare (sv) c

unessential part in a work of art

Finnish: koriste (fi)
French: accessoire (fr) m
German: Accessoire (de) n
Hungarian: bűntárs (hu)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} accessorio
Italian: ^{(please verify)} accessorio (it) m
Romanian: ^{(please verify)} accesoriu (ro) n
Swedish: ^{(please verify)} tillbehör (sv)

References

accessory in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913