Help me choose the best word for this

[Clariman]

I am trying to come up with a term for something in my research and would appreciate your thoughts on which word sounds/suits best. The artefacts I am researching have symbols on them which are almost always paired. However, there is a small group of symbols that only ever appear as a third (or fourth) symbol. When they appear they are always in a subordinate position to the main pair.

I am calling the main symbols "Pairing Symbols". What is a good word to call the group of symbols that only ever appear in the third position? I don't want to use a term that implies language or grammar and I don't want to call it subordinate because that implies they are less important. They are probably just as important as the pairing ones. I want something that suggests they are not always there - hence my current use of "Additive", but that sounds clunky. I want the best word for it, but if it began with A that would be all the better so that I don't have to edit all the entries in my database (but that's not the end of the world).

You can vote for up to 3.

Many thanks
Clariman

[richfool]

Annexed, ancillary or additional.

[UncleEbenezer]

Just to add further confusion ...

Would either "suffix" or "prefix" fit the bill?

[Clariman]

Just to add further confusion ...

Would either "suffix" or "prefix" fit the bill?

"Suffix" would make perfect sense, except it implies language or grammar. There are various theories of what the symbols represent - one of which is language. If I were to use a language related term then readers would assume I was supporting the language theory, whereas I am being agnostic on their meaning.

Thanks
C

[sunnyjoe]

digraph and triplet

[BobbyD]

Supplementary

Occasional

Sporadic

[csearle]

I'd go for Additional too.

[TedSwippet]

Modifier?

[Clariman]

Modifier?

Thanks. That wouldn't be a bad one except that has another potential use in this context. Some of the symbols have a variations (e.g. notches) which are often referred to as modifiers!

[AsleepInYorkshire]

I am trying to come up with a term for something in my research and would appreciate your thoughts on which word sounds/suits best. The artefacts I am researching have symbols on them which are almost always paired. However, there is a small group of symbols that only ever appear as a third (or fourth) symbol. When they appear they are always in a subordinate position to the main pair.

I am calling the main symbols "Pairing Symbols". What is a good word to call the group of symbols that only ever appear in the third position? I don't want to use a term that implies language or grammar and I don't want to call it subordinate because that implies they are less important. They are probably just as important as the pairing ones. I want something that suggests they are not always there - hence my current use of "Additive", but that sounds clunky. I want the best word for it, but if it began with A that would be all the better so that I don't have to edit all the entries in my database (but that's not the end of the world).

You can vote for up to 3.

Many thanks
Clariman

Augmentative?

AiY

[88V8]

Appended?

The research sounds interesting.

V8

[midgesgalore]

Tertiary or tertiaries?

midgesgalore

[redsturgeon]

Additional hits the spot for me.

John

[TedSwippet]

Omissive, elective, evitable?

[Clariman]

Appended?

The research sounds interesting.

V8

Thanks for humouring me

[Clariman]

Thanks everyone. I will leave this open and read any additional comments/votes later. In the meantime here are my thoughts ...

Digrapth/Triplet and Prefix/Suffix both have grammar implications which I want to avoid. As I mentioned above, some people believe that the symbols are language, so if I use language related terms there is an implication that I believe them to be language. I am remaining agnostic on their meaning or purpose.

Additional makes sense but it is too general a word. If I write there is an "additional" symbol on this artefact I need people to know that it is one of THE special case ones that appear in the third position, not any old additional symbol that might be anywhere.

Supplementary is a contender but I'd have to edit the entries in my database from A to S.

Tertiary or Tertiaries work, although sometimes there are 2 tertiaries accompanying a Pair, so that means there would be one tertiary in a fourth position. Is that confusing?

Auxiliary is a strong contender because it implies some sense of purpose (as opposed to 'additional' for example) but conveys that it is not a fundamental one that has to be there.

Augmenting or Appending Symbols both make sense

Decisions, decisions.

C

[malkymoo]

Unpaired symbols?

[Gaggsy]

'Added' symbols.
Short and to the point. Applies to both third and fourth symbols. Begins with A.

[stewamax]

In Marketing, apart from promotional 'specials', one typically has:
- options (which may or may not be present)
- variants (one of which must be apply)
Neither of these terms indicate that one term is better or subordinate to the other.

[BrummieDave]

Cornflakes

(my 'go to' word for anything when I get stuck, as it was for Rik back in the 80s...)