auxiliary

Etymology

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

adj

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.

noun

1. A person or group that acts in an auxiliary manner.
   A drive to exploit the Highlands as a winter sports area, with all the necessary auxiliaries, such as chair lifts in the Cairngorms, shows increasing promise, …. 1962 September, G. Freeman Allen, “The New Look in Scotland's Northern Division—1”, in Modern Railways, page 163
2. A sailing vessel equipped with an engine.
3. (grammar) An auxiliary verb.
   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 [_(VP) shown him the red card] 1988, Andrew Radford, Transformational grammar: a first course, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, page 151
4. A marching band colorguard.