Auxiliarys

Auxiliarys is a nonstandard plural form of auxiliary. In standard usage, the plural is auxiliaries. The term auxiliary derives from the Latin auxilium, meaning help or aid, and it is used across disciplines to denote something that supports or supplements a main system, function, or component.

In linguistics, auxiliary refers to auxiliary verbs, which are combined with main verbs to indicate tense, aspect, mood, voice, or modality. Common auxiliary verbs include forms of be, have, do, and modal verbs such as can, may, and will. These words help express grammatical information without changing the main verb’s lexical meaning. The plural for such items is auxiliaries, not auxiliarys.

In technology and engineering, an auxiliary device or system provides support to the primary equipment. Examples include an auxiliary power unit, auxiliary input/output systems, and backup generators. Such components are designed to enhance reliability, redundancy, or functionality without being the primary operational core.

In other domains, auxiliary can describe roles or units that assist a principal organization. Historical or military contexts may refer to auxiliary forces or services that support combat or civil operations without being frontline components. In mathematics and optimization, auxiliary variables or functions are introduced to transform problems, simplify constraints, or facilitate solution methods.

Usage guidance: avoid the nonstandard form auxiliarys in written English. Use auxiliary when referring to a supporting item, and auxiliaries when discussing multiple supporting units or verbs (as in auxiliary verbs) or when pluralizing the term in general discussions.