-ary

DEFINITION of -ary

The suffix -ary is a productive adjectival and nominal ending used extensively in medical terminology to form words that indicate a relationship, connection, or association with the root word it modifies. When attached to anatomical structures, organs, or body systems, it creates adjectives that describe something as belonging to, located in, or associated with that particular structure. In medical contexts, -ary typically transforms a noun into an adjective that denotes “of or relating to” the base term, allowing precise description of anatomical locations, physiological processes, or pathological conditions. The suffix is versatile and appears in words describing body parts (pulmonary, urinary), functional systems (circulatory, alimentary), and medical specialties (tertiary care). It can also form nouns when referring to places or things connected to the root concept (apothecary, aviary).

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ETYMOLOGY of -ary

latin

• Origin: Latin suffix -ārius (masculine), -āria (feminine), -ārium (neuter)
• Meaning: The Latin forms indicated “pertaining to,” “connected with,” or “a place for”
• Evolution: Entered English through Old French -aire and directly from Latin, maintaining its associative function
• Linguistic pattern: Part of the larger family of Latin -arius derivatives that create relational adjectives and nouns

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RELATED TERMS to -ary

-ary	pertaining to	place for	-	-
-arium	-	YES	-	-
-ar	YES	-	located in	-
-an	YES	-	located in	-
-al	YES	-	located in	-
-ac	YES	-	located in	-
-eal	YES	-	located in	-
-ean	YES	-	located in	-
-etic	YES	-	-	-
-ic	YES	-	drug	agent
-id	YES	-	condition (of)	state (of)
-ile	YES	-	capable of (being)	like
-ine	YES	-	located in	-
-itic	(to inflammation)	-	drug	agent
-ive	YES	-	-	-
-orium	-	YES	-	-
-ory	-	YES	-	-
-otic	YES	-	-	-
-ous	YES	-	characterized by	full of
-tic	YES	-	drug	agent/person

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Related Suffixes with Similar Functions:

• -al: “Pertaining to” (renal, neural, spinal)
• -ic: “Pertaining to” (gastric, hepatic, optic - relevant to ophthalmology)
• -ous: “Pertaining to” or “full of” (venous, mucous)
• -ine: “Pertaining to” (uterine, intestine)
• -ory: “Pertaining to” or “place for” (auditory - relevant to otolaryngology, sensory)

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Specialty-Specific Examples for Your Coding Work:

Urology:

• Urinary (system, tract, bladder)
• Vesicary (pertaining to the bladder, though less common than “vesical”)
• Glomerulary (pertaining to kidney glomeruli, though “glomerular” is more common)

Ophthalmology:

• Ciliary (body, muscle)
• Lacrimary/Lacrimal (gland, duct)
• Ocular (using -ar variant)

Otolaryngology:

• Salivary (glands - parotid, submandibular, sublingual)
• Capillary (as in capillary hemangiomas of the head and neck)
• Ancillary (procedures often coded alongside primary ENT procedures)

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DERIVATIONS of -ary

TABLE definition AS Definition 
WHERE length(filter(roots, (word) => econtains([[]].roots, word))) > 0 AND file.name != [[]].file.name
SORT file.name ASC

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Query functionality

TABLE definition AS Definition
FROM #medroot
WHERE length(filter(definition, (word) => econtains([[]].definition, word))) > 0 AND file.name != [[]].file.name

Med roots dictionary Appendix A Prefixes Appendix B Combining Forms Appendix C Suffixes Appendix D Suffix forms