aux
|aux|
๐บ๐ธ
/ษks/
๐ฌ๐ง
/ษหks/
supplemental help; auxiliary
Etymology
'aux' originates as an English abbreviation of the adjective and noun 'auxiliary', ultimately from Latin 'auxilium', where 'aux-' (from 'auxilium') meant 'help' or 'aid'.
'aux' developed from the full English word 'auxiliary', which came into English via Old French and Latin (Latin 'auxilium' โ Old French/Medieval forms โ English 'auxiliary'), and was later shortened in technical and informal contexts to the written and spoken abbreviation 'aux' or 'aux.'.
Initially related broadly to 'help' or 'aid' (from Latin 'auxilium'), the term 'aux' has come to be used specifically as an abbreviation for 'auxiliary' in technical contexts โ especially for audio inputs/ports and supplementary devices โ as well as a reserved device name in computing.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
informal abbreviation of 'auxiliary input' or 'aux input': a socket/port on audio equipment for connecting an external audio source (e.g., phone, MP3 player).
Plug your phone into the aux to play music through the speakers.
Synonyms
Noun 2
abbreviation of 'auxiliary' used to refer to a supplementary or backup device, function, or circuit (e.g., aux battery, aux power).
Switch to the aux battery if the main power fails.
Synonyms
Noun 3
in computing (usually written 'AUX'), a reserved device name in DOS/Windows referring to an auxiliary device; historically, filenames like 'AUX' are reserved and cannot be used.
You can't name a file 'AUX.txt' on Windows because 'AUX' is a reserved device name.
Synonyms
Adjective 1
abbreviated form of 'auxiliary', used before nouns to indicate something is supplemental (e.g., aux cable, aux port).
Connect the aux cable to the aux port on the stereo.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/11/29 21:54