appurtenance

[uh-pur-tn-uh ns]

noun

something subordinate to another, more important thing; adjunct; accessory.
Law. a right, privilege, or improvement belonging to and passing with a principal property.
appurtenances, apparatus; instruments.

Origin of appurtenance

1350–1400; Middle English < Anglo-French, equivalent to ap- ap-¹ + -purtenance a belonging; see purtenance

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

Related Words for appurtenances

apparatus, annex, addition, component, appendix, attachment, appendage

Examples from the Web for appurtenances

Historical Examples of appurtenances

Many of the old-time fittings and appurtenances are still to be seen.
The Underdog
F. Hopkinson Smith
They had no capital, and in fact were in debt for part of their appurtenances.
Benjamin Franklin
Paul Elmer More
The furniture and appurtenances were of the most recherché description.
The International Monthly Magazine, Volume 5, No. 1, January, 1852
Various
The appurtenances of love mean much to me; nearness, warmth, caresses.
A Poor Man's House
Stephen Sydney Reynolds
Is my youth, with all its appurtenances, worth your acceptance?
A Little Union Scout
Joel Chandler Harris

British Dictionary definitions for appurtenances

appurtenance

noun

a secondary or less significant thing or part
(plural) accessories or equipment
property law a minor right, interest, or privilege which passes when the title to the principal property is transferred

Word Origin for appurtenance

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

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 appurtenances

"apparatus, gear," late 14c.; see appurtenance.

appurtenance

c.1300, "right, privilege or possession subsidiary to a principal one," from Anglo-French apurtenance (12c.), Old French apartenance, present participle of apartenir "be related to," from Latin appertinere "to pertain to," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + pertinere "belong to" (see pertain).