appendix

[ uh-pen-diks ]

noun

, plural ap·pen·di·ces [uh, -, pen, -d, uh, -seez], ap·pen·dix·es.

1. supplementary material at the end of a book, article, document, or other text, usually of an explanatory, statistical, or bibliographic nature.

   Synonyms: addition, appurtenance, addendum, supplement, adjunct

2. an appendage.
3. Anatomy.
   1. a process or projection.
   2. the vermiform appendix.
4. Aeronautics. the short tube at the bottom of a balloon bag, by which the intake and release of buoyant gas is controlled.

appendix

/ əˈpɛndɪks /

noun

1. a body of separate additional material at the end of a book, magazine, etc, esp one that is documentary or explanatory
2. any part that is dependent or supplementary in nature or function; appendage
3. anatomy See vermiform appendix

appendix

/ ə-pĕn′dĭks /

, Plural appendixes ə-pĕn′-dĭ-sēz′

1. A tubular projection attached to the cecum of the large intestine and located on the lower right side of the abdomen.
2. Also called vermiform appendix

appendix

1. A small saclike organ located at the upper end of the large intestine . The appendix has no known function in present-day humans, but it may have played a role in the digestive system in humans of earlier times. The appendix is also called the vermiform appendix because of its wormlike (“vermiform”) shape.

Spelling Note

Appendices, a plural borrowed directly from Latin, is the usual plural, especially in scholarly writing, when referring to supplementary material at the end of a book. Appendixes is the usual plural in the anatomical meaning.

Word History and Origins

Origin of appendix¹

First recorded in 1535–45; from Latin: literally, “appendage,” equivalent to append(ere) “to add on” + -ix (equivalent to -ic- noun suffix + -s nominative singular ending); append

Word History and Origins

Origin of appendix¹

C16: from Latin: an appendage, from appendere to append

Synonym Study

Appendix, supplement both mean material added at the end of a book. An appendix gives useful additional information, but even without it the rest of the book is complete: In the appendix are forty detailed charts. A supplement, bound in the book or published separately, is given for comparison, as an enhancement, to provide corrections, to present later information, and the like: A yearly supplement is issued.

Example Sentences

Volume II This section of Smith’s appendix consisted almost entirely of Trump’s old tweets, most of which were publicly available.

From Slate

Volume IV The final section of Smith’s appendix includes a slew of internal communications between former Trump campaign officials and attorneys, including memos that detailed potential scenarios that could play out during the Senate’s electoral vote certification on Jan. 6.

From Slate

Now the appendix for that brief is available, and all told it’s nearly 1,900 pages long, broken into four sections.

From Slate

Trump’s defense attorneys tried to stop this appendix from becoming public, arguing that releasing it would amount to election interference.

From Slate

Volume I The first part of Smith’s appendix, which clocks in at 723 pages, mostly covers testimony given to the House Jan. 6 committee, the investigative body established in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 insurrection.

From Slate

Related Words

• addendum
• postscript