auxiliary

/awg zil"yeuh ree, -zil"euh-/, adj., n., pl. auxiliaries.

adj.

1. additional; supplementary; reserve: an auxiliary police force.

2. used as a substitute or reserve in case of need: The hospital has an auxiliary power system in case of a blackout.

3. (of a boat) having an engine that can be used to supplement the sails: an auxiliary yawl.

4. giving support; serving as an aid; helpful: The mind and emotions are auxiliary to each other. Passion is auxiliary to art.

n.

5. a person or thing that gives aid of any kind; helper.

6. an organization allied with, but subsidiary to, a main body of restricted membership, esp. one composed of members' relatives: The men's club and the ladies' auxiliary were merged into one organization.

7. See auxiliary verb.

8. auxiliaries, foreign troops in the service of a nation at war.

9. Navy. a naval vessel designed for other than combat purposes, as a tug, supply ship, or transport.

10. Naut. a sailing vessel carrying an auxiliary propulsion engine or engines.

[1595-1605; < L auxiliarius assisting, aiding, helping, equiv. to auxili(um) aid, help (aux(us) increased, augmented (ptp. of augere: aug- increase + -sus, var. of -tus ptp. suffix) + -ilium n. suffix) + -arius -ARY]

Syn. 2. backup, ancillary, secondary. 5. aide, ally, assistant; help.

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In grammar, a verb that is subordinate to the main lexical verb in a clause.

Auxiliaries can convey distinctions of tense, aspect, mood, person, and number. In Germanic languages such as English and Romance languages such as French, an auxiliary verb occurs with the main verb in the form of an infinitive or participle.

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▪ grammar

      in grammar, a helping element, especially a verb or verbal, that adds meaning to the basic meaning of the main verb or verbal in a sentence or verbal phrase. Auxiliaries can convey information about tense, mood, person, and number. An auxiliary verb occurs with a main verb or verbal that is in the form of an infinitive or a participle.

      English has a rich system of auxiliaries. English auxiliary verbs include the modal verbs, which may express such notions as possibility (“may,” “might,” “can,” “could”) or necessity (“must”). In “Sam should write to his mother,” the modal verb “should” adds the sense of obligation to the main verb “write.” Other English auxiliaries are “will” and “shall,” which often indicate futurity, and “would,” which usually indicates desire or intent. Auxiliaries also form the passive voice.

      Some auxiliary verbs condition an associated change in or addition to the main verb, such as the English expanded form in “Mary is washing her hair now,” in which the auxiliary verb “is” occurs with the present participle “washing.” Another example is the French past indefinite form, as in il a donné and its English equivalent “he has given,” in which there is not only an independent auxiliary verb (French avoir, English “have”) but also a change of the main verb to the past participle.

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