ancilla

[ an-sil-uh ]

/ ænˈsɪl ə /

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noun, plural an·cil·las.

an accessory; auxiliary or adjunct.

Archaic. a maidservant.

Nearby words

ancient wisdom, anciently, ancientry, ancile, ancilia, ancilla, ancillary, ancipital, ancohuma, ancon, ancona

Origin of ancilla

1870–75; < Latin: female slave, maid, probably anc- + -illa diminutive suffix, by reanalysis of ancula maid < *anquola, equivalent to an- (see ancile) + *-quola, noun derivative of a v. base *quel- turn about, hence “one who circles around”; cognate with Greek amphípolos attendant

Examples from the Web for ancilla

Hic quiescit ancilla Dei, quæ de suis omnibus possidet domum istam, quam amicæ deflent solaciumque requirunt.
Museum of Antiquity|L. W. Yaggy
I shall have occasion to speak again of Ancilla before her death.
The Memoires of Casanova, Complete|Jacques Casanova de Seingalt
In England, where all agreements are binding, Ancilla would have won her case, but at Venice she lost it.
The Memoires of Casanova, Complete|Jacques Casanova de Seingalt
It may be added that S. phegea, and also Naclia ancilla, have been reported as British.
The Moths of the British Isles, Second Series|Richard South

Or does he go to hers at her father's, climbing a garden wall every night like Romeo, bribing the porter, or trusting Ancilla?
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 67, Number 414, April, 1850|Various