appurtenance

[uh-pur-tn-uhns]

noun

1. Usually appurtenances something associated with, accompanying, or belonging to another thing; accessory.

   A retreat to rolling green hills and idyllic lakes, complete with all the appurtenances of luxury we're used to, is a good stress cure.

2. Law.,  Usually appurtenances a right or privilege, outbuilding, or other asset belonging to and passing with a principal property.

   The real estate described herein includes all improvements, fixtures, and appurtenances, if any.

3. appurtenances. apparatus; equipment.

   I dislike those workout programs that insist on tons of specialized appurtenances and instruction.

4. belonging, possession, relationship, or origin, or an affix that expresses this.

   The -i in Israeli is a suffix of appurtenance.

   The ethnic appurtenance of job applicants is private information.

appurtenance

/ əˈpɜːtɪnəns /

noun

1. a secondary or less significant thing or part

2. (plural) accessories or equipment

3. property law a minor right, interest, or privilege which passes when the title to the principal property is transferred

Word History and Origins

Origin of appurtenance¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English apurtenance, apertinaunce, from Anglo-French apurtenance, from Late Latin appertinentia, derivative of appertinēre “to belong to, pertain” equivalent to ap- + -tinēre; ap- ¹, pertain

Word History and Origins

Origin of appurtenance¹

C14: from Anglo-French apurtenance, from Old French apartenance, from apartenir to _appertain

Example Sentences

“This wildfire was started by sparks from high-voltage transmission lines, distribution lines, appurtenances, and other electrical equipment within PacifiCorp’s utility infrastructure that ignited surrounding vegetation.”

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Sometimes the stories work within the territory of the horror genre – they are atmospheric with fear and shock, threat and disorientation – but without the generic appurtenances of the supernatural.

Read more on The Guardian

Technological innovation can make unattractive appurtenances disappear, which could be the solar panel’s eventual fate.

Read more on Washington Post

The Duke of Edenmore has all the appurtenances of upper-crust decay, but as a character he is little more than the sum of his crumbling real estate.

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But it is gendered symbolism, with heritage seen as bearing the seeds of the future, and guardianship depicted with the appurtenances of war.

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