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Webster 1913 Edition

Auxiliary

Aux-il′ia-ry

(?; 106)
,
Adj.
[L.
auxiliarius
, fr.
auxilium
help, aid, fr.
augere
to increase.]
Conferring aid or help; helping; aiding; assisting; subsidiary; as auxiliary troops.
Auxiliary scales
(Mus.)
,
the scales of relative or attendant keys. See under
Attendant
,
Adj.
–
Auxiliary verbs
(Gram.)
.
See
Auxiliary
,
Noun.
, 3.

Aux-il′ia-ry

,
Noun.
;
pl.
Auxiliaries
.
1.
A helper; an assistant; a confederate in some action or enterprise.
2.
(Mil.)
pl.
Foreign troops in the service of a nation at war; (rarely in
s
ing.
), a member of the allied or subsidiary force.
3.
(Gram.)
A verb which helps to form the voices, modes, and tenses of other verbs; – called, also, an
auxiliary verb
;
as,
have
,
be
,
may
,
can
,
do
,
must
,
shall
, and
will
, in English;
être
and
avoir
, in French;
avere
and
essere
, in Italian;
estar
and
haber
, in Spanish.
4.
(Math.)
A quantity introduced for the purpose of simplifying or facilitating some operation, as in equations or trigonometrical formulæ.
Math. Dict.

Webster 1828 Edition

Auxiliary

AUXIL'IARY

,
Adj.
[L. auxiliaris, from auxilium, aid, uuxilior, to aid.]
Helping; aiding; assisting; subsidiary; conferring aid or support by joint exertion, influence or use; as auxiliary troops.

Definition 2024

auxiliary

auxiliary

English

Adjective

auxiliary ‎(not comparable)

  1. Helping; giving assistance or support.
    auxiliary troops
  2. Supplementary or subsidiary.
  3. Held in reserve for exceptional circumstances.
  4. (nautical) Of a ship, having both sails and an engine.
  5. (grammar) Relating to an auxiliary verb.

Synonyms

Translations

Noun

auxiliary ‎(plural auxiliaries)

  1. A person or group that acts in an auxiliary manner.
  2. A sailing vessel equipped with an engine.
  3. (grammar) An auxiliary verb.
    • 1988, Andrew Radford, Transformational grammar: a first course, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, page 151:
      The three traditionally recognized Non-modal Auxiliaries are the per-
      fective Auxiliary have, the progressive Auxiliary be, and the passive Auxiliary
      be. Perfective have is so-called because it marks the completion (hence, perfec-
      tion      ) of an action; it is followed by a VP headed by a perfective -n participle, as
      in:
      (121)    The referee has [VPshown him the red card]
  4. A marching band colorguard.

Translations

Related terms

See also

Etymology

From Latin auxiliārius ‎(“assistant, ally”), equiv. to auxiliāris ‎(“helping, aiding”), from auxilium ‎(“help, aid”), from augēre ‎(“to increase”).

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ɔːkˈsɪljəɹi/, IPA(key): /ɔːkˈsɪli.əɹi/, IPA(key): /ɔːkˈsɪləɹi/
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ɔɡˈzɪljəɹi/, IPA(key): /ɔɡˈzɪliɛɹi/, IPA(key): /ɔɡˈzɪləɹi/
  • (cot-caught merged) IPA(key): /ɑɡˈzɪljəɹi/, IPA(key): /ɑɡˈzɪliɛɹi/, IPA(key): /ɑɡˈzɪləɹi/

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