Dictionary:

accessory

  (ăk-sĕs'ə-rē)

1. 1. A subordinate or supplementary item; an adjunct.
   2. Something nonessential but desirable that contributes to an effect or result. See synonyms at appendage.
2. Law.
   1. One who incites, aids, or abets a lawbreaker in the commission of a crime but is not present at the time of the crime. Also called accessory before the fact.
   2. One who aids a criminal after the commission of a crime, but was not present at the time of the crime. Also called accessory after the fact.

1. Having a secondary, supplementary, or subordinate function.
2. Law. Serving to aid or abet a lawbreaker, either before or after the commission of the crime, without being present at the time the crime was committed.

[Middle English accessorie, from Medieval Latin accessōrius, from accessor, helper, from Latin accessus, approach. See access.]

USAGE NOTE   Although the pronunciation (ə-sĕs'ə-rē), with no (k) sound in the first syllable, is commonly heard, it is not accepted by a majority of the Usage Panel. In a recent survey, 87 percent of the Panelists disapproved of it. The 13 percent that accepted the pronunciation were divided on usage: more than half accepted the (k)-less pronunciation for all senses. A few approved of it only in fashion contexts, and a few others approved of it only in legal contexts.

noun

1. A subordinate element added to another entity: adjunct, appendage, appurtenance, attachment, supplement. See increase/decrease.
2. One who assists a lawbreaker in a wrongful or criminal act: accomplice, confederate, conspirator. See crimes, help/harm/harmless.

adjective

Giving or able to give help or support: ancillary, assistant, auxiliary, collateral, contributory, subsidiary, supportive. See help/harm/harmless.

After an actual occurrence, particularly after a crime. For example, I know the brakes should have been repaired, but that doesn't help much after the fact. The use of fact for a crime dates from the first half of the 1500s. The word became standard in British law and is still used in this way today. The idiom was first recorded in 1769 in the phrase accessories after the fact, referring to persons who assist a lawbreaker after a crime has been committed. Now it is also used more loosely, as in the example above.

Definition: person involved in illegal activity by consorting
Antonyms: principal

Providing complementary or supplementary assistance.

Element in a composition inessential (unlike an accompaniment) to the use or character of the building, but which enhances it.

Aiding or contributing in a secondary way or assisting in or contributing to as a subordinate.

In criminal law, contributing to or aiding in the commission of a crime. One who, without being present at the commission of an offense, becomes guilty of such offense, not as a chief actor, but as a participant, as by command, advice, instigation, or concealment; either before or after the fact or commission.

One who aids, abets, commands, or counsels another in the commission of a crime.

In common law, an accessory could not be found guilty unless the actual perpetrator was convicted. In most U.S. jurisdictions today, however, an accessory can be convicted even if the principal actor is not arrested or is acquitted. The prosecution must establish that the accessory in some way instigated, furthered, or concealed the crime. Typically, punishment for a convicted accessory is not as severe as that for the perpetrator.

An accessory must knowingly promote or contribute to the crime. In other words, she or he must aid or encourage the offense deliberately, not accidentally. The accessory may withdraw from the crime by denouncing the plans, refusing to assist with the crime, contacting the police, or trying to stop the crime from occurring.

An accessory before the fact is someone behind the scenes who orders a crime or helps another person commit it. Many jurisdictions now refer to accessories before the fact as parties to the crime or even accomplices. This substitution of terms can be confusing because accessories are fundamentally different from accomplices. Strictly speaking, whereas an accomplice may be present at the crime scene, an accessory may not. Also, an accomplice generally is considered to be as guilty of the crime as the perpetrator, whereas an accessory has traditionally received a lighter punishment.

An accessory after the fact is someone who knows that a crime has occurred but nonetheless helps to conceal it. Today, this action is often termed obstructing justice or harboring a fugitive.

An infamous accessory after the fact was Dr. Samuel A. Mudd, the physician and Confederate sympathizer who set John Wilkes Booth's leg after it was broken when the assassin jumped from President Abraham Lincoln's box at Ford Theater. Despite Mudd's protestation of innocence, he was tried and convicted as an accessory after the fact in Lincoln's murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment at Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas off Key West, Florida. President Andrew Johnson pardoned Mudd in 1869, and the U.S. Congress gave him an official pardon in 1979.

Supplementary or affording aid to another similar and generally more important thing.

• a. nerve
• a. sex glands — any gland, other than the gonad, associated with the genital tract, such as the ampulla of the ductus deferens and the bulbourethral, prostate and vesicular glands of the male.

Accessory may refer to:

• Accessory (legal term), a person who assists a criminal but is not present at the crime
• Accessory (band), with members Dirk Steyer and Ivo Lottig
• Fashion accessory, i.e. an item used to complement a fashion or style
• Video game accessory, a piece of hardware used for playing video games
• Accessory nucleus, in anatomy, a cranial nerve nucleus
• Accessory nerve
• Accessory suite, a secondary dwelling on a parcel of land.

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
n. - ekstratilbehør, tilbehør
adj. - ekstra, ekstra-

idioms:

• accessory after the fact    medskyldig inden forbrydelsen
• accessory before the fact    medskyldig efter forbrydelsen
• be accessory to    være medskyldig i, være meddelagtig person

Nederlands (Dutch)
medeplichtige, accessoire, bijkomstig, medeplichtig, ,

Français (French)
n. - accessoire, accessoires, complice
adj. - accessoire, complice, additionnel, auxiliaire, (Jur) complice de, (Comm, Tech) accessoire, (Jur) complice

idioms:

• accessory after the fact    (Jur) (être) complice par assistance
• accessory before the fact    (être) complice par instigation
• be accessory to    être complice de

Deutsch (German)
n. - Zubehör, Hilfsmittel, Mitschuldiger
adj. - hinzukommend, zusätzlich, Neben-, nebensächlich, zweitrangig, mitschuldig

idioms:

• accessory after the fact    Anstifter zu einem Hehler
• accessory before the fact    Anstifter zu einem Verbrechen
• be accessory to    mitschuldig sein an

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - συμπλήρωμα, (βοηθητικό) εξάρτημα, "αξεσουάρ", συμπλήρωμα αμφίεσης, (νομ.) συνεργός, συναυτουργός, συνένοχος
adj. - συμπληρωματικός, πρόσθετος, δευτερεύων, επικουρικός, βοηθητικός

idioms:

• accessory after the fact    συνεργός εκ των υστέρων
• accessory before the fact    ηθικός αυτουργός
• be accessory to    συνεργώ σε

Italiano (Italian)
accessorio, accessori, complice, correo, connivente

idioms:

• accessory before/after the fact    istigatore/favoreggiatore
• be accessory to    essere complice di

Português (Portuguese)
n. - acessório (m), acompanhamento (m)
adj. - acessório, secundário, suplementar

idioms:

• accessory before/after the fact    assistente (m) (f) de comissão de investigação (Jur.), testemunha (f) (Jur.)
• be accessory to    suplementar a

Русский (Russian)
аксессуары, принадлежности (туалета), сообщник, соучастник, укрыватель, дополнительный, вспомогательный

idioms:

• accessory before/after the fact    лицо, не участвовавшее в преступлении, но оказавшее помощь до/после
• be accessory to    быть соучастником в преступлении

Español (Spanish)
n. - cómplice, instigador, encubridor, accesorio
adj. - adicional, suplementario

idioms:

• accessory after the fact    cómplice después del hecho
• accessory before the fact    cómplice antes del hecho
• be accessory to    ser cómplice de

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - tillbehör, medhjälpare
adj. - åtföljande, bidragande

中文（简体） (Chinese (Simplified))
配件, 附件, 妇女饰品, 房间陈设, 零件, 附加的, 附属的, 帮凶的, 同谋的, 辅助的, 非主要的

idioms:

• accessory after the fact    事后从犯, 藏匿或协助主犯知情不报等的事后从犯
• accessory before the fact    事前从犯, 怂恿主犯参与预谋等的事前从犯
• be accessory to    同谋

中文（繁體） (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 配件, 附件, 婦女飾品, 房間陳設, 零件
adj. - 附加的, 附屬的, 幫兇的, 同謀的, 輔助的, 非主要的

idioms:

• accessory after the fact    事後從犯, 藏匿或協助主犯知情不報等的事後從犯
• accessory before the fact    事前從犯, 慫恿主犯參與預謀等的事前從犯
• be accessory to    同謀

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 액세서리, 종범자
adj. - 보조적인, 종범의

idioms:

• be accessory to    종범으로 몰리다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - アクセサリー, 従犯者, 付属物, 幇助者
adj. - 付属の, 従犯の

idioms:

• accessory before/after the fact    事前従犯者
• be accessory to    副次的な, 共犯で

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) كمالي, ثانوي, ملحق (صفه) مساعد, ثانوي, إضافي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮אביזר, דבר נוסף, אדם המסייע (לעבירה), אדם המכיר פרטי מעשה לא חוקי בלי שנטל בו חלק‬
adj. - ‮נוסף, שניתן לוותר עליו, מסייע או תורם במידה קטנה‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.