| 释义 |
ancillary, a. and n.|ˈænsɪlərɪ, ænˈsɪlərɪ|
[ad. L. ancillāri-us (more correctly ancillār-is) of or pertaining to a handmaid, f. ancilla: see prec.]
A. adj.
1. Subservient, subordinate, ministering (to).
1667Waterhouse Fire of Lond. 60 God makes every thing ancillary hereunto. 1768Blackstone Comm. iii. vii. (R.) It is beneath the dignity of the king's courts to be merely ancillary to other inferior jurisdictions. 1836H. Taylor Statesm. viii. 49 It will be rather ancillary than essential. 1848Arnould Mar. Insur. II. ii. v. 652 Warlike stores..directly ancillary to warlike purposes. 1869Rawlinson Anc. Hist. 8 Geography, the other ancillary science to History.
2. lit. (after L.) Of or pertaining to maid-servants. rare and affected.
1852Thackeray Esmond iii. ix. (1876) 404 The ancillary beauty was the one whom the Prince had selected. 1854Badham Halieut. 399 Ancillary reformation has not yet begun to be thought of; cats are not more detrimental to mice..than these smashing wenches to..Sèvres teacups.
3. Designating activities and services that provide essential support to the functioning of a central service or industry; also, of staff employed in these supporting roles. Now used esp. of non-medical staff and services in hospitals.
1948B. Newman Baltic Background vi. 139 Sixty-five per cent of the Estonians are directly engaged in agriculture, and many more in its ancillary occupations. 1955Times 10 May 9/2 There were inadequate ancillary services such as laundries, kitchens, bathrooms, and lavatory accommodation. 1957Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 948/1 The Transport act..nationalized the railways, together with their ancillary services—docks, steamers, road vehicles, hotels and canals. 1962Lancet 26 May 1114/1 Ancillary workers.—An ample complement of ancillaries is essential. We would suggest one psychiatric social worker for each consultant team. 1976Daily Tel. 20 July 2/4 Ancillary and other staff from five trade unions are to stage a 24-hour strike from midnight tonight. 1982Financial Times 7 July 12/6 The Government was not prepared to improve on its latest offer of 7.5 per cent for nurses and 6 per cent for ancillary staff and other grades.
B. n.
1.
†a. One who acts as an assistant or servant. Obs.—1
1867G. Meredith in Fortn. Rev. 1 Sept. 294 They were yoked before the glad youth by his sister-ancillaries.
b. An ancillary worker. See sense 3 of the adj.
1962[see sense A. 3 above]. 1982Financial Times 17 Aug. 12/1 Bank staff can hardly expect..the kind of public support enjoyed by the low-paid hospital ancillaries. 1985Ibid. 15 Nov. 24/8 Local authority manual workers have settled..; health service ancillaries are expected to secure a similar deal.
2. Something which is ancillary; an auxiliary or accessory.
1929Morning Post 2 Oct. 10/4 Aircraft must be regarded only as a very useful and necessary ancillary to the main fleet. 1942W. S. Churchill Secret Session Speeches (1946) 63 He had expected to meet the three Kongos and perhaps two aircraft carriers together with ancillaries. 1972Proc. Inst. Electr. Engineers CXIX 189 A design of great simplicity has been developed in which the vacuum-interrupter circuit-breakers and all ancillaries are housed in one modular enclosure. 1980Daily Tel. 23 Apr. 3 (Advt.), Cave Tab are the specialists in ancillaries, equipment and supplies for all DP and WP operations. 1986New Yorker 27 Jan. 47/1, I thought I might as well do some air tests. That involves two stages: first the airframe and its ancillaries, then the engine. |