Advertisement

subsidiary (adj.)

1540s, from Latin subsidiarius "belonging to a reserve, of a reserve, reserved; serving to assist or supplement," from subsidium "a help, aid, relief, troops in reserve" (see subsidy). As a noun, c. 1600, "subsidiary thing." In Latin the word was used as a noun meaning "the reserve."

Others are reading

Advertisement
Definitions of subsidiary from WordNet
1
subsidiary (n.)
an assistant subject to the authority or control of another;
Synonyms: subordinate / underling / foot soldier
subsidiary (n.)
a company that is completely controlled by another company;
Synonyms: subsidiary company
2
subsidiary (adj.)
functioning in a supporting capacity;
From wordnet.princeton.edu