Literary notes about Ancillary (AI summary)
The word "ancillary" is often used to denote something secondary yet supportive to the main element in a text. In literary works, for instance, a subplot or a minor character might be described as ancillary, serving to enrich the central narrative without overwhelming it ([1], [2]). Similarly, legal and scholarly texts employ the term to refer to subordinate legislation or supplementary reasoning that underpins a primary argument ([3], [4]). Whether in the realm of philosophical discourse, where ancillary ideas are used to bolster major premises ([5], [6]), or in the depiction of supportive features within a poetic or narrative framework, "ancillary" consistently signifies a role that, though not essential on its own, contributes importantly to the whole ([7], [8]).
- The subplots and ancillary characters fill out the space requirements of a proper Victorian novel and are generally done well.
— from The Way They Lived ThenSerious Interviews, Strong Women, and Lessons for Life in the Novels of Anthony Trollope by Taylor Prewitt - This ancillary character of Iris is exactly what she would bear, if her origin really lay in the primitive tradition of the rainbow.
— from Studies on Homer and the Homeric Age, Vol. 2 of 3
Olympus; or, the Religion of the Homeric Age by W. E. (William Ewart) Gladstone - It is a mean justified by the end," and "a right ... ancillary to the greater right of capture."
— from The Life of John Marshall, Volume 4: The building of the nation, 1815-1835 by Albert J. (Albert Jeremiah) Beveridge - The power to maintain necessarily implies all ancillary powers of prevention and precaution, so that republican government may be assured.
— from Charles Sumner: his complete works, volume 18 (of 20) by Charles Sumner - This was still the supreme study, and all else, properly viewed, was ancillary to it.
— from The Mediaeval Mind (Volume 1 of 2)
A History of the Development of Thought and Emotion in the Middle Ages by Henry Osborn Taylor - There is a point of view, indeed, from which the economic interest is of weight only as being ancillary to these higher, non-economic interests.
— from The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorstein Veblen - We have here the recognition of the inspiration of the scribe, as ancillary to that of the prophet.
— from Expositor's Bible: The Book of Jeremiah, Chapters XXI.-LII. by W. H. (William Henry) Bennett - Nor is it easy to see how treaties can be consummated without their ancillary help.
— from Charles Sumner: his complete works, volume 08 (of 20) by Charles Sumner