Sub*sid"i*a*ry (?), a. [L.
subsidiarius: cf. F. subsidiaire. See Subsidy.]
1. Furnishing aid; assisting; auxiliary; helping;
tributary; especially, aiding in an inferior position or capacity; as,
a subsidiary stream.
Chief ruler and principal head everywhere, not
suffragant and subsidiary.
Florio.
They constituted a useful subsidiary testimony
of another state of existence.
Coleridge.
2. Of or pertaining to a subsidy; constituting
a subsidy; being a part of, or of the nature of, a subsidy; as,
subsidiary payments to an ally.
George the Second relied on his subsidiary
treaties.
Ld. Mahon.Sub*sid"i*a*ry, n.; pl.
Subsidiaries (?). One who, or that which,
contributes aid or additional supplies; an assistant; an
auxiliary. Hammond.