Word of the Day

: September 27, 2006

corollary

noun KOR-uh-lair-ee

What It Means

1 : a deduction from a proposition already proved true

2 : something that naturally follows : result

3 : something that incidentally or naturally accompanies or parallels

corollary in Context

As a corollary of the factory shutdown, a number of people are struggling financially.

Did You Know?

"Corollary" comes from the Late Latin noun "corollarium," which can be translated as "a garland given as a reward." "Corollarium" comes from the Latin "corolla," meaning "small crown or garland." If you know that a garland or small crown was sometimes given to actors in addition to their pay, it makes sense that another sense of "corollarium" is "gratuity." Later, "corollarium" developed the philosophical sense of a supplementary proposition that follows directly from one that has been proved. (You can think of a corollary as a "bonus" that follows from the proof of something else.) The broader modern sense, "something that naturally follows," evolved from the philosophical one.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.