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definitions

accessory

[ak-ses-uh-ree]
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noun, plural ac·ces·so·ries.
  1. a subordinate or supplementary part, object, or the like, used mainly for convenience, attractiveness, safety, etc., as a spotlight on an automobile or a lens cover on a camera.
  2. an article or set of articles of dress, as gloves, earrings, or a scarf, that adds completeness, convenience, attractiveness, etc., to one's basic outfit.
  3. Law.
    1. Also called accessory before the fact.a person who, though not present during the commission of a felony, is guilty of having aided and abetted another, who committed the felony.
    2. Also called accessory after the fact.a person who knowingly conceals or assists another who has committed a felony.Compare principal(def 9b).
  4. Anatomy. accessory nerve.
adjective
  1. contributing to a general effect; supplementary; subsidiary.
  2. Law. giving aid as an accessory.
  3. Petrography. (of a mineral) being present in small amounts in a rock and having no bearing on the classification of the rock, as zircon in granite.

Origin of accessory

1400–50; late Middle English accessorie (< Middle French) < Medieval Latin accessōrius. See accede, -tory1
Related formsac·ces·so·ri·ly, adverbac·ces·so·ri·ness, nounin·ter·ac·ces·so·ry, adjectivenon·ac·ces·so·ry, adjective, noun, plural non·ac·ces·so·ries.

Synonyms for accessory

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3. accomplice.

Synonym study

1. See addition.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for accessory

decoration, component, adornment, appliance, trim, help, extension, extra, addition, accent, appendix, frill, adjunct, supplement, attachment, appendage, appurtenance, trimming, colleague, plant

Examples from the Web for accessory

Contemporary Examples of accessory

Historical Examples of accessory

  • It censured Mrs. McKee severely for having been, so to speak, and accessory after the fact.

    K

    Mary Roberts Rinehart

  • It is always more or less a question of "an accessory business."

  • The pages of history record its undoing and its accessory to crime.

  • Don't you think your friend might be held an accessory after the fact to the death of the German?

  • If Reid should fall, Mackenzie felt he would be an accessory to the crime.

British Dictionary definitions for accessory

accessory

noun plural -ries
  1. a supplementary part or object, as of a car, appliance, etc
  2. (often plural) a small accompanying item of dress, esp of women's dress
  3. a person who incites someone to commit a crime or assists the perpetrator of a crime, either before or during its commission
adjective
  1. supplementary; additional; subordinate
  2. assisting in or having knowledge of an act, esp a crime
Derived Formsaccessorial (ˌæksɛˈsɔːrɪəl), adjectiveaccessorily, adverbaccessoriness, noun

Word Origin for accessory

C17: from Late Latin accessōrius: see access
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for accessory
n.

also accessary, early 15c. as a legal term in the criminal sense of "one aiding in a crime;" also "that which is subordinate to something else," from Late Latin accessorius, from accessor, agent noun from accedere (see access (n.)). Attested from 1896 as "woman's smaller articles of dress," hence accessorize.

adj.

1550s, "subordinate," from Late Latin accessorius, from accessor, agent noun from accedere (see access (n.)). Meaning "aiding in crime" is from c.1600.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
accessory in Medicine

accessory

[ăk-sĕs′ə-rē]
adj.
  1. Having a secondary, supplementary, or subordinate function.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.