Appendix
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: /əˈpɛn.dɪks/
Origin
Borrowing from la appendix.
Full definition of appendix
Noun
- (obsolete in general sense) Something attached to something else; an attachment or accompaniment.
- 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, vol. I, New York 2001, p. 244:idleness is an appendix to nobility; they count it a disgrace to work, and spend all their days in sports, recreations, and pastimes ....
- Specifically, a text added to the end of a book or an article, containing information that is important to but is not the main idea of the main text
- (anatomy) The vermiform appendix, an inner organ without known use that can become inflamed.
Usage notes
The correct plural of appendix depends on the circumstances. When referring to the text at the end of a book or article, the plural is usually stated as appendices, although often as appendixes. Either is correct in standard usage. In the sense of the organ, appendixes is the only plural. Compare vacuum, which can pluralize to vacua or vacuums depending on the meaning.