auxiliary

²aux·il·ia·ry

noun
\ȯg-ˈzil-yə-rē, -ˈzil-rē, -ˈzi-lə-\

plural aux·il·ia·ries

Definition of AUXILIARY

1

a : an auxiliary person, group, or device (see ¹auxiliary); specifically : a member of a foreign force serving a nation at war b : a Roman Catholic titular bishop assisting a diocesan bishop and not having the right of succession —called also auxiliary bishop

2

: a sailing boat or ship equipped with a supplementary inboard engine

3

: an auxiliary verb

Examples of AUXILIARY

1. In 1944 Forrestal also began a program of sending black enlisted men to serve in a limited number of fleet auxiliaries. These were still not warships, but they were seagoing vessels and closer to the fighting Navy than the small harbor-defense craft and harbor auxiliaries that had initially been open to black crews. —The Golden Thirteen, 1993
2. Roman cavalry was poorly developed; they relied on wings, called alae, of horsemen supplied by their auxiliaries. The favorite Roman battle formation was of a triple line of cohorts with alae sweeping the flanks. —Kenneth P. Czech, MHQ : The Quarterly Journal of Military History, Autumn 1992

Origin of AUXILIARY

(see ¹auxiliary)

First Known Use: 1567