Accessory vs accessary

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Grammarist

An accessory is a supplementary item to a main item that enhances the main item in some way. Also, an item worn or carried in order to enhance an outfit such as a purse or scarf is an accessory. The plural form of accessory is accessories, the verb form is accessorize.

Accessary is a legal term which means someone who aids another in committing a crime. Interestingly, the term accessary is increasingly spelled as accessory, the trend seems to have begun in the United States and is slowly spreading across the world. Accessary and accessory are derived from the Late Latin word accessorius, which means to approach.

Examples

A Bold New Apple Accessory Could Be Coming This Year (TIME Magazine)

The right key chain can save time by wrangling assorted keys and serve as a stylish accessory to boot. (The Lexington Herald-Leader)

Here we feature 11 of Ireland’s brightest and best fashion and accessories designers who, as part of Irish Design 2015, were selected to show their spring/summer 2016 collections at London Fashion Week last September. (The Independent)

The Panthers quarterback appears to wear his new accessory whenever he gets a chance. (Business Insider)

Vapes, chosen by many as a healthier alternative to smoking cigarettes, appear to be the accessory of choice for most hip young things standing outside bars and cafes and photographer Louis Amore snapped a crowd of them when he visited the bar in Hoxton, east London. (The Daily Mail)

Carson City Sheriff’s deputies arrested a fourth suspect on accessory to murder and robbery-related charges in the fatal shooting that killed an 18-year-old man. (The Reno Gazette-Journal)

It was Jeremy Bentham who in 1795 wrote in his Protest Against Law-Taxes that: “The statesman who contributes to put justice out of reach … is an accessary after the fact to every crime.” (The Guardian)

A man has pleaded guilty to being an accessary to murder regarding the Swanbourne shooting death of David Liam Johnson earlier this year. (The West Australian)