appendix

[ uh-pen-diks ]
/ əˈpɛn dɪks /

noun, plural ap·pen·dix·es, ap·pen·di·ces [uh-pen-duh-seez] /əˈpɛn dəˌsiz/.

supplementary material at the end of a book, article, document, or other text, usually of an explanatory, statistical, or bibliographic nature.
an appendage.
Anatomy.
  1. a process or projection.
  2. vermiform appendix.
Aeronautics. the short tube at the bottom of a balloon bag, by which the intake and release of buoyant gas is controlled.

Origin of appendix

1535–45; < Latin: appendage, equivalent to append(ere) to append + -ix (equivalent to -ic- noun suffix + -s nominative singular ending)

synonym study for appendix

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.

usage note for appendix

Appendices, a plural borrowed directly from Latin, is sometimes used, especially in scholarly writing, to refer to supplementary material at the end of a book.

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH appendix

appendix index supplement (see synonym study at the current entry)

Example sentences from the Web for appendix

British Dictionary definitions for appendix

appendix
/ (əˈpɛndɪks) /

noun plural -dices (-dɪˌsiːz) or -dixes

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

Word Origin for appendix

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

Medical definitions for appendix

appendix
[ ə-pĕndĭks ]

n. pl. ap•pen•dix•es

A supplementary or an accessory part of an organ or a structure of the body.
The vermiform appendix.

Scientific definitions for appendix

appendix
[ ə-pĕndĭks ]

Plural appendixes appendices (ə-pĕn-dĭ-sēz′)

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

Cultural definitions for appendix

appendix

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.