auxiliary
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\n \n Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 27, 2024 is:\n \n
\n \n\n auxiliary • \\awg-ZILL-yuh-ree\\ • adjective
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In general use, auxiliary describes someone or something available to provide extra help, power, etc., when it is needed. In linguistics, an auxiliary verb (also called a \u201chelping verb\u201d) is used with another verb to do things like show a verb\u2019s tense or form a question. In nautical contexts, auxiliary can describe a sailboat\xa0equipped with a supplementary\xa0inboard\xa0engine, or a vessel that provides supplementary assistance to other ships.
\n\n// The auditorium has an auxiliary cooling system used only on particularly sweltering days.
\n\n// \u201cAre\u201d in \u201cThey are arriving soon\u201d is an auxiliary verb.
\n\n\n \n \n\n Examples:
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\u201cThe popular museum on the National Mall\u2014and its auxiliary Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia\u2014have hundreds of objects on display having to do with flight on Earth, but this will be the first having to do with autonomous flight on another planet.\u201d \u2014 Roger Catlin, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Feb. 2024
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What would we do if you sang out of tune\u2014would we stand up and walk out on you? Not likely! Instead, we would provide auxiliary harmonies, joining our voices with yours in support. And if you need a little help from your friends in understanding the meaning of auxiliary, we\u2019re here for that, too\u2014just lend us your ears. Auxiliary, which comes from the Latin noun auxilium, meaning \u201caid,\u201d \u201cassistance,\u201d or \u201creinforcement,\u201d is used in a wide range of capacities in English to describe a person or thing that assists another. A fire department may bring in auxiliary units, for example, to battle a tough blaze, or a sailboat may be equipped with an auxiliary engine to supply propulsion when the wind disappears. In grammar, an auxiliary verb assists another (main) verb to express person, number, mood, or tense, such as have in \u201cThey have now been informed about the meaning of auxiliary.\u201d Isn\u2019t auxiliary fab?
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