Appurtenant

adjective; also noun (countable, legal)

/əˈpɜːtɪnənt/

Belonging or relating to something larger or more important; attached as an accessory right or power. In constitutional law, an appurtenant power is one that, though not expressly granted, is necessarily attached to and flows from an express power—akin to the doctrine of incidental powers. The concept underpins several Supreme Court rulings on Union and State legislative competence.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

The right to draw water from a neighbouring well was held appurtenant to the ownership of the dominant tenement, and therefore passed automatically to any successor in title without separate conveyance.

Synonyms

accessoryancillaryattendantannexedincidentalconnected

Antonyms

independentseparateextraneousunrelated

🌱 Word Family

appurtenance (noun), appurtenances (noun plural), pertain (verb), pertinent (adjective)

🔡 Root

Anglo-French apertenant ← Old French apartenir ← Latin appertinere ← ad- (to) + pertinere (to belong)

📜 Etymology

From Anglo-French apertenant, the present participle of apartenir (to belong to), derived from Latin appertinere. The legal sense of an accessory right attached to a principal right crystallised in common law property jurisprudence by the 14th century.

🧠 Memory Hook

APPURTENANT sounds like 'a-PERTINENT': something pertinent to the main right — it pertains to and tags along with it. If land is sold, its appurtenant rights follow like a shadow.

⚖️ Polity & Constitution 📖 Seen in: Preamble of the Indian Constitution

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