I. kəˈlad.ərəl, -latərəl, -la.trəl adjective
Etymology: Middle English, probably from Middle French, from Medieval Latin collateralis, from Latin com- + lateralis lateral
1.
a. : accompanying as a secondary fact, activity, or agency but usually extrinsic to a main consideration : similar but subordinate : concomitant , subsidiary
wrong on the main question and on all the collateral questions springing out of it — T.B.Macaulay
digress into collateral matters
b. : indirect
no direct objection, but several collateral ones
c. : serving to support or reinforce : ancillary
sometimes literature will provide the historian of art with a pretty piece of collateral evidence — Clive Bell
2. : belonging to the same ancestral stock but not in a direct line of descent
brothers, cousins, uncles, and nephews are collateral kinsmen
— distinguished from lineal ; compare consanguinity
3. : placed or regarded as side by side : parallel, coordinate, or corresponding in position, order, time, or significance
collateral mountain ranges
collateral states like Athens and Sparta
4.
a. : being or belonging to an obligation or security attached to another to secure its performance
a collateral assurance to a deed
collateral funds
b. : secured or guaranteed by additional security, especially by personal as opposed to real property
a collateral loan secured by stocks and bonds deposited with the lender
a collateral loan from a finance company on one's promissory note
5. botany , of a vascular bundle : having phloem only external to the xylem — compare bicollateral
II. noun
( -s )
1. : one that is collateral: as
a. : a collateral relative
a greedy collateral who inherited the estate — J.G.Lockhart
b. : collateral subject
2. : something used as collateral security
3.
a. : a branch especially of a blood vessel, nerve, or the axon of a nerve cell
b. : a bodily part that is lateral in position (as a ligament)
4. chiefly New England
a. : a miscellaneous clutter of personal belongings
got your collateral packed
b. : odds and ends of trash : rubbish
a woodshed full of collateral