accessory

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   aiding and abetting in a crime

   They were charged with being accessory to the crime.

2. 2
   adj

   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

3. 3
   adj

   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.

4. 4
   adj

   Present in a minor amount, and not essential.

   accessory mineral

5. 5
   adj

   Supernumerary and generally nonfunctional.

   She had an accessory finger on one hand.

6. 6
   noun

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

   the accessories of a mobile phone

7. 7
   noun

   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.

8. 8
   noun

   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.

Etymology

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