ancilla

[ an-sil-uh ]

See synonyms for ancilla on Thesaurus.com

noun,plural an·cil·las.

an accessory; auxiliary or adjunct.
Archaic. a maidservant.

Origin of ancilla

First recorded in 1870–75; from Latin: literally, “handmaid,” diminutive of ancula “maid,” from unrecorded anquola, equivalent to an-, a variant of ambi- “around” + -quola, noun derivative of the root kwel-, kwol- “turn about,” hence “one who circles around”; cognate with Greek amphípolos “attendant”; see origin at ambi-, amphi-, ancile

Words Nearby ancilla

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ancilla in a sentence

The more data and ancilla qubits that make up each logical qubit, the more errors that can be detected and corrected.
To live up to the hype, quantum computers must repair their error problems | Emily Conover | June 22, 2020 | Science News
The larger is ancilla pyramidalis, the smaller ancilla mucronata.
Beautiful Shells of New Zealand | E. G. B. Moss
Surely those enlightened men mused with spiritual benefit before the Ecce ancilla Domini at Moissac?
How France Built Her Cathedrals | Elizabeth Boyle O'Reilly
Serva means a female slave, with especial reference to her legal condition; ancilla, in ordinary life, as the feminine of servus.
Dderlein's Hand-book of Latin Synonymes | Ludwig Dderlein
There are two other kinds of ancilla found in New Zealand, the one much larger, and the other much smaller, than the one depicted.
Beautiful Shells of New Zealand | E. G. B. Moss

At the age of twenty-two, ancilla turned a dancer and Spina became a singer.
The Memoires of Casanova, Complete | Jacques Casanova de Seingalt

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