ancillary

[an-suh-ler-ee or, esp. British, an-sil-uh-ree]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ancillary ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

subordinate; subsidiary.

auxiliary; assisting.

noun, plural an·cil·lar·ies.

something that serves in an ancillary capacity: Slides, records, and other ancillaries can be used with the basic textbook.

Origin of ancillary

1660–70; < Latin ancill(a) (see ancilla) + -ary; compare Latin ancillāris having the status of a female slave, with -āris -ar¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for ancillaries

adjunct, rocket, moon, spacecraft, luna, sputnik, asteroid, supplement, projection, annex, extremity, protuberance, member, addition, appendix, attachment, addendum, appurtenance, auxiliary, ancillary

British Dictionary definitions for ancillaries

ancillary

adjective

subsidiary

auxiliary; supplementaryancillary services

noun plural -laries

a subsidiary or auxiliary thing or personthe company has an ancillary abroad

Word Origin for ancillary

C17: from Latin ancillāris concerning maidservants, from ancilla, diminutive of ancūla female servant

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 ancillaries

ancillary

adj.

1660s, "subservient, subordinate," from Latin ancillaris "relating to maidservants," diminutive of ancilla "handmaid," fem. diminutive of anculus "servant," literally "he who bustles about," from root of ambi- "about" (see ambi-) + PIE *kwol-o-, from root *kwel- "move round, turn about, be much about" (see cycle (n.)).

ancillaries in Medicine

ancillary

[ăn′sə-lĕr′ē]

adj.

Relating to or being auxiliary or secondary.