Ancillary

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈænsəˌleriː/
• Rhymes: -iː

Origin

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").

Online Etymology Dictionary

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

Full definition of ancillary

Adjective

1. Subordinate; secondary; auxiliary; accessory.
• 1836, Ralph Waldo Emerson, , :... 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,Every organ of the body, whatever function it may perform, must also perform the other four functions in an ancillary manner.

Noun

1. Something that serves an ancillary function, such as an easel for a painter.
2. (archaic) An auxiliary; a subordinate.

Anagrams

• cranially