Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of secondary importance; subordinate.
  • adjective Auxiliary or accessory.
  • noun Something that is subordinate or accessory to something else.
  • noun A person working in a supportive or subordinate role.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Serving as an aid, adjunct, or accessory; subservient; auxiliary; supplementary.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Subservient or subordinate, like a handmaid; auxiliary.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Subordinate; secondary; auxiliary; accessory.
  • noun Something that serves an ancillary function, such as an easel for a painter.
  • noun archaic An auxiliary; a subordinate.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective furnishing added support

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From Latin ancilla, maidservant, feminine diminutive of anculus, servant; see kwel- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin ancillāris, from ancilla ("maid"), diminutive of ancula, feminine of anculus ("a male servant"), from *ancus ("a servant"), from ambi- ("about") + Proto-Indo-European *kwol-o-, from base *kwel- (“move round, turn about, be much about”).

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word ancillary.

Examples

  • US Airways for example is set to earn ancillary revenues of $400 million to $500 million from its ­ancillary revenue programme in 2009.

    m-Travel.com and Travel Distribution News 2009

  • US Airways for example is set to earn ancillary revenues of $400 million to $500 million from its ­ancillary revenue programme in 2009.

    m-Travel.com and Travel Distribution News 2009

  • However, we have, in California and other state, what we call ancillary probate.

    CNN Transcript Feb 16, 2007 2007

  • But there's still a lot of what we call ancillary action around.

    Trunk Music Connelly, Michael, 1956- 1997

  • Beyond the salary cap system issues that divide the sides, union executive director Billy Hunter said there were six pages of what he called ancillary items, such as the draft age and the commissioner's disciplinary rights, that still must be addressed before a deal.

    CNN.com 2011

  • The trend toward à la carte pricing - once the hallmark of no-frills, low-cost carriers - has in recent years been adopted by the legacy airlines, and will likely continue in 2009, as carriers try to boost what they call ancillary revenue.

    Latest News 2009

  • American Airlines, which last year pocketed an extra billion in "ancillary revenue," calls them "a pretty big success story."

    The Consumerist: March 2009 Archives 2009

  • American Airlines, which last year pocketed an extra billion in "ancillary revenue," calls them "a pretty big success story."

    Have Airlines Run Out Of Annoying Fees? - The Consumerist 2009

  • Why have tax payers pay twice for this program ... federal tax dollars and state tax dollars, plus we'd save money in ancillary costs ie salaries, retirement and other overhead costs.

    Sound Politics: "Sales tax bill could make your online purchases cost more" 2007

  • Revealed truth, given through the tra - dition to which one is committed, must be the ruling mistress; philosophy, through which the metaphors of scripture are harmonized with each other and with other systematic knowledge, must be ancillary (from ancilla, the Latin word for serving girl).

    Dictionary of the History of Ideas FREDERICK FERR 1968

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • –adjective

    1. subordinate; subsidiary.

    May 16, 2009

  • Most often used to describe benefits, I would say.

    May 17, 2009

  • I absolutely hate the sound of this word. It sounds like it should be "ancillIary" and it actually makes the hair stand up on my nape, reading it.

    March 13, 2010