Etymology From Medieval Latin accessōrius, from Latin accessor (“helper, subordinate”), from accessus. Compare access, from same root.
1
Having a secondary, supplementary or subordinate function by accompanying as a subordinate; aiding in a secondary way; being additional; contributing or being contributory.
accessory garments
Surprise parties succeed with the help of accessory neighbors or colleagues.
1 more example
Amongst many secondary, and accessory causes that support Monarchy, these are not of least reckning, […]1641 May, John Milton, “The Second Book”, in Of Reformation Touching Church-Discipline in England: And the Causes that hitherto have Hindred it. […], [London]: […] Thomas Vnderhill, →OCLC; republished in Will Taliaferro Hale, editor, Of Reformation Touching Church-Discipline in England (Yale Studies in English; LIV), New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1916, →OCLC, page 48:
2
Law Assisting a crime without actually participating in committing the crime itself; being connected as an incident or subordinate to a 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
4
Biology, Medicine, Natural sciences, Sciences Supernumerary and generally nonfunctional.
She had an accessory finger on one hand.
Dichotomy may, not infrequently, affect other digits; thus in fig. 61 a chick is represented with two bifid toes and partial duplicity of the left leg. Birds with these accessory parts may live and attain the adult condition.1895, Sir John Bland-Sutton, Evolution and disease, page 113:
2 more examples
There was an accessory finger present on the ulnar side of each hand.1958, Acta Pædiatrica:
Duplications and accessory toes can sometimes be simply reduced or removed, but occasionally the skeletal architecture is very complex and careful planning and meticulous surgery are necessary.2010 March 10, Michael Benson, John Fixsen, Malcolm Macnicol, Klausdieter Parsch, Children’s Orthopaedics and Fractures, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 537:
Etymology From Middle English accessorie, from Medieval Latin accessōrius, from Latin accessor (“helper, subordinate”), from accessus. Compare access, from same root.
1
Something that belongs to part of another main thing; something additional and subordinate, an attachment.
the accessories of a mobile phone
the aspect and accessories of a den of banditti1851, Thomas Carlyle, The Life of John Sterling, London: Chapman and Hall, […], →OCLC:
2
Fashion, Lifestyle An article that completes one's basic outfit, such as a scarf or gloves.
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.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, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 06 Jun 2018:
3
Law A person who is not present at a crime, but contributes to it as an assistant or instigator.
She was an accessory to the murder because she helped him commit and probably also conceal the crime.
“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.”2005, Jennifer Worth, Shadows of the Workhouse, Weidenfeld & Nicholson (2009), page 150:
4
Art, Arts Something in a work of art without being indispensably necessary, for example solely ornamental parts.