auxiliary English · revision 39837

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1601|origins=la augeō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /ɔːɡˈzɪl.(j)ə.ɹi/, /ɔːɡˈzɪl.i.ə.ɹi/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /ɔɡˈzɪl.((j)ə).ɹi/, /ɔɡˈzɪl.i.ɛɹ.i/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|auxiliārius|t=helping, assisting]] or [[m|la|auxiliāris]],^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024)^(Klein 1966) formed on [[m|la|auxilium|t=help, aid, support]] with the suffix that became [[-ary]].^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)^(Barnhart 1988) The Latin noun is related to [[m|la|augeō|t=to increase]],^(Etymonline)^(Klein 1966)^(MWU 2024)^(Skeat 1911) perhaps through a lost adjective [[m|la|*auxilis|t=serving to strengthen]], according to Barnhart;^(Barnhart 1988) Etymonline and the AHD derive the verb from the Indo-European root [[ine-pro|*aug-|t=to increase]],^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024) the root of [[eke]] and [[augment]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) Barnhart adds that [[m|frm|auxiliaire]] (1512) may also have been borrowed or have influenced the English word.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As a noun, foreign or allied troops serving a nation at war: 1601 in the OED;^(OED 2026) as an adjective, of such troops, 1603, in Philemon Holland's translation of Plutarch's ''Moralia''.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988) Etymonline gives about 1600 for both.^(Etymonline) Merriam-Webster dates the adjective to the 15th century and the noun to 1567,^(MWU 2024) and the Shorter Oxford and Oxford Dictionary of English to late Middle English.^(SOED 2002)^(ODE 2010)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The general sense "helpful, giving aid" is recorded from 1605, in Bacon,^(OED 2026) and Johnson (1755) defined the word as "assistant, helping, confederate".^(Johnson 1755) "Subsidiary, additional" followed in the late 17th century (before 1687),^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) as in ''auxiliary language'', a language such as Esperanto used between speakers of different tongues.^(OED 2026) The grammatical sense began in 1677 for any subordinate element of language,^(OED 2026) and the noun for a verb that forms the tenses and moods of other verbs is recorded from 1762, in Sterne.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) Later senses include an organization subsidiary to a parent body, especially a women's group (1823, chiefly North American), an auxiliary device or engine (1909), and an auxiliary nurse (1939).^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1567 – the noun, in Merriam-Webster.^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1601 – foreign or allied troops.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1603 – the adjective, of such troops.^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1605 – helpful, giving assistance.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1677 – in grammar.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1762 – an auxiliary verb.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1823 – a subsidiary organization.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1909 – an auxiliary device or engine.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Giving extra help or [[support]]; [[supplementary]]: ''an auxiliary power supply''.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # Of a sailing vessel, having an [[engine]] as well as [[sail|alt=sails]].^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # ''(grammar)'' Of a [[verb]], used with another verb to show [[tense]], [[mood]] or [[voice]].^(OED 2026)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person or thing that helps or supplements; an assistant.^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # ''(usually plural)'' A member of foreign or allied troops serving a nation at war.^(MWU 2024)^(OED 2026)

+ # ''(grammar)'' An auxiliary verb, such as ''be'', ''have'' or ''will''.^(OED 2026)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An organization that supports a parent body, such as a hospital.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[auxiliary language]]

+ * [[auxiliary storage]]

+ * [[modal auxiliary]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[auction]]

+ * [[augment]]

+ * [[eke]]

+ * [[author]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}