Ancillary Definition

ănsə-lĕrē
ancillaries
adjective
Of secondary importance; subordinate.
American Heritage
Subordinate.
Webster's New World
Auxiliary or accessory.
An ancillary pump.
American Heritage
That serves as an aid; auxiliary.
Webster's New World
Auxiliary; collateral; dependant; supplemental; subordinate.
Webster's New World Law
Antonyms:
noun
ancillaries
Something that is subordinate or accessory to something else.
A tripod, battery charger, and other camera ancillaries.
American Heritage
A person working in a supportive or subordinate role.
School ancillaries who look after children who become sick.
American Heritage

Something that serves an ancillary function, such as an easel for a painter.

Wiktionary

(archaic) An auxiliary; a subordinate.

Wiktionary

Other Word Forms of Ancillary

Noun

Singular:
ancillary
Plural:
ancillaries

Origin of Ancillary

  • From Latin ancillāris, from ancilla (“maid”), diminutive of ancula, feminine of anculus (“a male servant”), from *ancus (“a servant”), from ambi- (“about”) + Proto-Indo-European *kwol-o-, from base *kwel- (“move round, turn about, be much about”).

    From Wiktionary

  • From Latin ancilla maidservant feminine diminutive of anculus servant kwel-1 in Indo-European roots

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • See ambi- for cognate terms of prefix, such as ambulate; cycle is cognate from the Proto-Indo-European root.

    From Wiktionary

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