accessary

English

Alternative forms

• accessory

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA^(key): /əkˈsɛs(ə)ɹi/, /ækˈsɛs(ə)ɹi/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Middle English accessarie, axcessary, excercary, from Medieval Latin accessārius.

Noun

accessary (plural accessaries)

1. (law) Someone who accedes to some act, now especially a crime; one who contributes as an assistant or instigator to the commission of an offense.

Derived terms

• accessary after the fact (legal): one who, after an offense, assists or shelters the offender, not being present at the commission of the offense.
• accessary before the fact (legal): one who commands or counsels an offense, not being present at its commission.
• accessaryship

 

Translations

person

• Estonian: kaasosaline

Etymology 2

From Medieval Latin accessārius.

Adjective

accessary (comparative more accessary, superlative most accessary)

1. (law) Accompanying as a subordinate; additional; accessory; especially, uniting in, or contributing to, a crime, but not as chief actor. See accessory.
   • c. 1593 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The Tragedy of King Richard the Third. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Valentine Sims [and Peter Short] for Andrew Wise, […], published 1597, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], signature B2, verso:

     To both their deaths ſhalt thou be acceſſary.

Derived terms

• accessarily
• accessariness

 

Usage notes

• "This word, as used in law, is spelt accessory by Blackstone and many others; but in this sense is spelt accessary by Bouvier, Burrill, Burns, Whishaw, Dane, and the Penny Cyclopedia; while in other senses it is spelt accessory. In recent text-books on criminal law the distinction is not preserved, the spelling being either accessary or accessory." - Webster, 1913. Since that time this trend has accelerated.

References

• “accessary”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.