Adminiculary

/ˌædmɪˈnjuːkjuləri/ adjective

Definition

Serving as a support or aid; having a subsidiary or supplementary function.

Etymology

From Latin adminicularius (supporting), variant of adminicularis, from adminiculum. The -ary suffix variant creates a similar adjectival meaning. Both -ar and -ary forms appear in English technical language with minimal difference.

Kelly Says

This is a fascinating example of how English allows us to form word variants—adminicular and adminiculary mean almost the same thing, but adminiculary sounds slightly more formal and archaic, which is why you'd see it in very old legal documents.

Related Words

Explore More Words

Get the Word Orb API

Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.