accessory

English

Alternative forms

• accessary

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /əkˈsɛs(ə)ɹi/, /ækˈsɛs(ə)ɹi/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Homophone: accessary

Etymology 1

From Medieval Latin accessōrius, from Latin accessor (“helper, subordinate”), from accessus. Compare access, from same root.

Adjective

accessory (comparative more accessory, superlative most accessory)

1. Having a secondary, supplementary or subordinate function by accompanying as a subordinate; aiding in a secondary way; being additional; contributing or being contributory. [from 1550s]

   accessory garments

   Surprise parties succeed with the help of accessory neighbors or colleagues.

   • 1641 May, John Milton, Of Reformation Touching Church-Discipline in England: And the Cavvses that hitherto have Hindred it; republished as Will Taliaferro Hale, editor, Of Reformation Touching Church-Discipline in England (Yale Studies in English; LIV), New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1916, →OCLC, 2nd book, page 48:

     Amongst many secondary, and accessory causes that support Monarchy, these are not of least reckning, […]

2. (law) Assisting a crime without actually participating in committing the crime itself; being connected as an incident or subordinate to a principal.

   Hypernym: accomplice

   Coordinate term: principal

   Her actions were clearly accessory because they helped him commit and probably also conceal the crime.

3. Present in a minor amount, and not essential.

   accessory mineral

Usage notes

• (secondary, supplementary): Said of things and actions, very rarely of people (and then usually in a humorous version of the legal sense, or due to confusion between the noun and the adjective).

Synonyms

• (having a secondary function): accompanying, contributory, auxiliary, subsidiary, subservient, additional, acceding

Translations

having a supplementary function

• Arabic: كمالي
• Bulgarian: спомагателен (bg) (spomagatelen), допълнителен (bg) (dopǎlnitelen)
• Catalan: accessori
• Dutch: meegeleverd, toegevoegd (nl)
• Esperanto: akcesora
• Finnish: lisä-, apu-, täydentävä, ylimääräinen (fi), liitännäinen (fi); see also asuste (fi) (accessory garment)
• French: accessoire (fr)
• Galician: accesorio (gl) m
• German: nebensächlich (de), zusätzlich (de), begleitend (de)
• Greek: επικουρικός (el) m (epikourikós)
• Icelandic: fylgihlutur m
• Ido: acesora (io)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: delaktig

• Persian: فرعی (fa) (far'i), اضافی (fa) (ezâfi), یدکی (fa) (yadaki)
• Polish: akcesoryczny (pl), akcesoryjny (pl)
• Portuguese: acessório (pt)
• Romanian: accesoriu (ro)
• Russian: вспомога́тельный (ru) (vspomogátelʹnyj), доба́вочный (ru) (dobávočnyj), дополни́тельный (ru) (dopolnítelʹnyj)
• Spanish: accesorio (es), auxiliar (es)

assisting a crime

• Albanian: bashkëfajtor (sq) m, bashkëfajtore f
• Arabic: مساعد (ar)
• Bulgarian: съучастнически (sǎučastničeski)
• Dutch: medeplichtig (nl)
• Esperanto: komplica
• Finnish: avustava (fi)
• Galician: cómplice
• German: beihelfend, Beihilfe leistend
• Greek: συνεργός (el) m or f (synergós)
• Icelandic: vitorðsmaður m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: meddelaktig, medskyldig

• Persian: همدست (fa) (hamdast), شریک‌جرم (šarik-jorm)
• Polish: pomocnictwo (pl) n
• Portuguese: cúmplice (pt)
• Russian: соуча́ствующий (ru) (součástvujuščij)
• Spanish: cómplice (es)

present in a minor amount

• Finnish: aksessorinen (fi) (in mineralogy)

Etymology 2

From Middle English accessorie, from Medieval Latin accessōrius, from Latin accessor (“helper, subordinate”), from accessus. Compare access, from same root.

Noun

accessory (plural accessories)

1. Something that belongs to part of another main thing; something additional and subordinate, an attachment.

   the accessories of a mobile phone

   • 1851, Thomas Carlyle, The Life of John Sterling, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC:

     the aspect and accessories of a den of banditti

2. (fashion) An article that completes one's basic outfit, such as a scarf or gloves. [from 1896]
   • 2018 June 5, Jonah Engel Bromwich, Vanessa Friedman, Matthew Schneier, “Kate Spade, whose handbags carried women into adulthood, is dead at 55”, in The New York Times‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 6 June 2018:

     One of the first of a wave of American women contemporary designers who emerged in the 1990s, she [Kate Spade] built a brand on the appeal of clothes and accessories that made shoppers smile.

3. (law) A person who is not present at a crime, but contributes to it as an assistant or instigator. [from 1414]

   She was an accessory to the murder because she helped him commit and probably also conceal the crime.

   • 2005, Jennifer Worth, Shadows of the Workhouse, Weidenfeld & Nicholson (2009), page 150:

     “You can be an accessory before the fact, or an accessory after the fact. It doesnʼt matter if itʼs before or after; either way youʼd be in for it.”

4. (art) Something in a work of art without being indispensably necessary, for example solely ornamental parts.

Synonyms

• (something that belongs to part of another main thing): accompaniment, addition, attachment, supplement; See also Thesaurus:adjunct
• (one who assists in or instigates an offense): abettor, accomplice, ally, coadjutor, accessary

Derived terms

• accessorial
• accessorily
• accessoriness
• accessorist
• accessorize
• accessory after the fact
• accessory battery
• accessory before the fact
• accessory breathing
• accessory cloud
• accessory equipment
• accessory fruit
• accessoryless
• accessory mineral
• accessory nerve
• accessory pigment
• accessoryship
• accessory shoe
• Cambodian accessory
• nonaccessory
• sexcessory
• unaccessory
• vagoaccessory

 

Descendants

• → Hebrew: אַקְסֵסוֹרִי (aksésori)
• → Japanese: アクセサリー (akusesarī)
• → Korean: 액세서리 (aekseseori)

Translations

that which belongs to something else deemed the principal, attachment

• Armenian: պիտույք (hy) (pituykʻ), պարագա (hy) (paraga)
• Bulgarian: допълне́ние (bg) n (dopǎlnénie), принадле́жност (bg) f (prinadléžnost), аксесоа́р (bg) m (aksesoár)
• Catalan: accessori m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 附屬品／附属品 (zh) (fùshǔpǐn)

• Dutch: accessoire (nl) n, aanhangsel (nl) n, toebehoren (nl) n
• Esperanto: akcesoro
• Finnish: lisävaruste (fi), varuste (fi), tarvike (fi), oheistarvike
• French: accessoire (fr) m
• German: Zubehör (de) n
• Greek: παρελκόμενο (el) n (parelkómeno), αξεσουάρ (el) n (axesouár), εξάρτημα (el) n (exártima), συμπλήρωμα (el) n (symplíroma)
• Hungarian: tartozék (hu)
• Icelandic: fylgihlutir
• Indonesian: aksesori (id), kelengkapan (id)
• Italian: accessorio (it) m
• Malay: aksesori
• Maori: apatoko
• Persian: آکسسوار (âksesuâr)
• Polish: akcesorium (pl) n, akcesoria pl
• Portuguese: acessório (pt) m
• Romanian: accesoriu (ro) n
• Russian: принадле́жность (ru) f (prinadléžnostʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: дода́так m, при́бор m

  Roman: dodátak (sh) m, príbor (sh) m

• Spanish: accesorio (es) m, complemento (es) m
• Swedish: tillbehör (sv) n, accessoar (sv) c
• Turkish: aksesuar (tr)
• Vietnamese: phụ kiện đính kèm

clothing accessory

• Bulgarian: аксесоа́р (bg) m (aksesoár)
• Catalan: accessori m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 服飾品／服饰品 (zh) (fúshìpǐn)

• Czech: doplněk (cs) m
• Dutch: accessoire (nl) n, aanhangsel (nl) n, toebehoren (nl) n
• Finnish: asuste (fi)
• French: accessoire (fr) m
• Galician: accesorio (gl), complemento (gl)
• German: Accessoire (de) n, modisches Zubehör n
• Greek: αξεσουάρ (el) n (axesouár)
• Hebrew: אקססורי m (aksésori)
• Hungarian: kiegészítő (hu)
• Indonesian: aksesori (id)
• Japanese: アクセサリー (ja) (akusesarii), 持ち物 (ja) (もちもの, mochimono)
• Korean: 액세서리 (ko) (aekseseori)
• Malay: aksesori
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: accessoir m or n, aksessoar m or n, tilbehør n

• Polish: dodatek (pl) m inan, dodatki pl
• Portuguese: acessório (pt) m
• Russian: аксессуа́р (ru) m (aksɛssuár)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: модни детаљ

  Roman: modni detalj

• Spanish: accesorio (es) m
• Swedish: accessoar (sv) c
• Turkish: aksesuar (tr)

contributor to an offense

• Bulgarian: съуча́стник (bg) m (sǎučástnik)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 幫兇／帮凶 (zh) (bāngxiōng)

• Dutch: medeplichtige (nl) m or f, handlanger (nl) m, handlangster (nl) f
• Esperanto: fihelpanto, kunkulpulo
• Finnish: avunantaja
• Galician: cómplice
• German: Komplize (de) m, Handlanger (de) m, Beihilfeleistender m, Beihilfeleister m, Gehilfe (de) m
• Greek: συνεργός (el) m or f (synergós)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: medhjelper m

• Polish: współsprawca (pl) m pers
• Portuguese: cúmplice (pt) m or f
• Romanian: complice (ro) m
• Russian: соуча́стник (ru) m (součástnik), соуча́стница (ru) f (součástnica)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: саучесник m, суучесник m

  Roman: saučesnik m, suučesnik (sh) m

• Spanish: cómplice (es) m or f
• Swedish: medbrottsling (sv) c, medhjälpare (sv) c

unessential part in a work of art

• Finnish: koriste (fi)
• French: accessoire (fr) m
• Galician: accesorio (gl), secundario (gl)
• German: Accessoire (de) n
• Hungarian: bűntárs (hu)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Interlingua: ^{(please verify)} accessorio
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} accessorio (it) m
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} accesoriu (ro) n
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} tillbehör (sv)

References

• “accessory”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.