corollary

noun
cor·​ol·​lary | \ ˈkȯr-ə-ˌler-ē How to pronounce corollary (audio) , ˈkär-, -le-rē, British kə-ˈrä-lə-rē\
plural corollaries

Definition of corollary

1 : a proposition (see proposition entry 1 sense 1c) inferred immediately from a proved proposition with little or no additional proof
2a : something that naturally follows : result … love was a stormy passion and jealousy its normal corollary.— Ida Treat
b : something that incidentally or naturally accompanies or parallels A corollary to the problem of the number of vessels to be built was that of the types of vessels to be constructed.— Daniel Marx

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Other Words from corollary

corollary adjective

The Origin and Evolution of Corollary

Corollary comes from the Late Latin noun corollarium, which can be translated as "a garland given as a reward." "Corollarium" comes from the Latin corolla, meaning "small crown or garland." If you know that a garland or small crown was sometimes given to actors in addition to their pay, it makes sense that another sense of "corollarium" is "gratuity." Later, "corollarium" developed the philosophical sense of a supplementary proposition that follows directly from one that has been proved. (You can think of a corollary as a "bonus" that follows from the proof of something else.) The broader modern sense, "something that naturally follows," evolved from the philosophical one.

Examples of corollary in a Sentence

one corollary of the rise of television was a massive makeover of radio's programming increased taxes—or expanding deficits—are the inevitable corollary to any new government spending program

Recent Examples on the Web

The report also exposed a troubling corollary: Law enforcement employees in Oregon like Salmestrelli can fall between the cracks of the state’s opaque and relatively patchwork system of social media checks-and-balances. oregonlive, "Portland cop’s past membership in extremist Facebook groups raises questions about how to track offensive social media use," 29 Aug. 2019 These price gains are the obvious corollary to a feature of the bond market that has received a good deal of attention lately: bond yields, which move in the opposite direction of prices, have fallen sharply. Matt Phillips, New York Times, "While Wall St. Talks of Recession, Bond Investors Make a Killing," 28 Aug. 2019 Elitism wasn’t an unfortunate corollary to this project but its animating ethic. Mac Schwerin, Vox, "The case against summer camp," 16 Aug. 2019 Whether corollary or causality, this dip has coincided with the rise in importance of search firms in the hiring sphere. Brandon Lilly, Fortune, "First He Helped Recruit Michael Jordan to UNC, Now He’s the Go-To Scout—For College Basketball Coaches," 19 July 2019 Unfortunately there’s a corollary to that, and that’s that the higher pilots goes, the more people can see them—and fire. Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "A Military Flyboard Doesn’t Make Any Sense," 17 July 2019 So is its corollary: the north-south regional divide. Harish C Menon, Quartz India, "“Autonomous”: Is AR Rahman hinting at what Tamils want in India?," 4 June 2019 As a corollary to the product-first company, founder-market fit speaks to the unique characteristics of this founding team to pursue the instant opportunity. Issie Lapowsky, WIRED, "How Early-Stage VCs Decide Where to Invest," 4 June 2019 There are corollary benefits to this limited loan forgiveness, as well. CNN, "The candidates are wrong. It's a mistake to pay off college graduates' debt," 3 July 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'corollary.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of corollary

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for corollary

Middle English correlary, corolarie, borrowed from Late Latin corōllārium, going back to Latin, "garland (given as a reward), unsolicited payment, gratuity," from corōlla "small wreath of flowers" + -ārium -ary entry 1 — more at corolla

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More Definitions for corollary

corollary

noun

English Language Learners Definition of corollary

formal : something that naturally follows or results from another thing

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