Auxiliary
/ɔːɡˈzɪljəri/noun
A person or thing that provides help or support; in grammar, a helping verb.
Did you know?Its Latin ancestor, *auxilium*, meant “help” or “aid,” and the same root also gave English words like “auxiliate” and “auxiliary” in military and grammatical senses.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*aug-
“to increase, strengthen, or make greater”
Latin
Latin
augēre
“to increase, strengthen, enlarge”
Latin
Latin
auxilium
“help, aid, support”
Old French
Old French
auxiliaire
“helping, aiding; a helper”
Middle English
English
auxiliarie
“serving as an aid or helper”
Modern English
English
auxiliary
“serving as a helper or support, especially a helping verb”