appendix

/əˈpɛndɪks/

/əˈpɛndɪks/

Other forms: appendices; appendixes

No, it's not just a tiny organ pouch that requires surgery when it begins to hurt; an appendix is also additional material at the end of a book or paper.

You would think that the appendix at the end of a book came after appendix the body part, wouldn't you? After all, our bodies have been around a lot longer than books have. But you'd be wrong. The name for the organ, also known as vermiform appendix, came into use later, no doubt because it is something attached — as its Latin root is translated — to the intestines just as an appendix is attached to the end of a book.

Definitions of appendix

1. noun

   a vestigial process that extends from the lower end of the cecum and that resembles a small pouch
   synonyms: cecal appendage, vermiform appendix, vermiform process

   type of:

   appendage, outgrowth, process

   a natural prolongation or projection from a part of an organism either animal or plant
2. noun

   supplementary material that is collected and appended at the back of a book
   types:

   shirttail

   a brief addendum at the end of a newspaper article

   codicil

   a supplement to a will; a testamentary instrument intended to alter an already executed will

   type of:

   addendum, postscript, supplement

   textual matter that is added onto a publication; usually at the end