/euh pen"diks/ , n. , pl. appendixes, appendices /-deuh seez'/ .
1. supplementary material at the end of a book, article, document, or other text, usually of an explanatory, statistical, or bibliographic nature.
2. an appendage.
3. Anat.
a. a process or projection.
b. See vermiform appendix .
4. Aeron. the short tube at the bottom of a balloon bag, by which the intake and release of buoyant gas is controlled.
[ 1535-45; append ( ere ) to APPEND + -ix (equiv. to -ic- n. suffix + -s nom. sing. ending) ]
Syn. 1. addendum, adjunct. 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 . 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.