Talk:Ancilla bit

Talk

The link does not work: "Authorization Required" — Preceding unsigned comment added by 77.188.30.137 (talk) 17:02, 14 July 2013 (UTC)

Does "ancilla" [here] mean "ancillary"? What about [the spelling] "ancilliary"?

Possible TYPO -- or something

I recently saw a link from the latest most recent version of a certain Wikipedia article to this article. That link is displayed as "ancilliary bits" (note the unusual spelling of the word "ancilliary").

That link is the last hyperlink in the second paragraph of this specific version of the Wikipedia article [about] Quantum gate.

Questions

• That spelling ("ancilliary bits") is probably a TYPO or some other mistake -- (right?) According to [the Wiktionary entry for] "ancilliary", that is a misspelling of "ancillary"; So... it probably should have been spelled as "ancillary bits" -- [!] (right?) (...or maybe even "ancilla bits").

...and, finally:

• Is the meaning of the word "ancilla" (in the phrase "ancilla bit") the same as (or at least, in some way "related to") the meaning of the word "ancillary"?

Misplaced comment / question?

Thanks for your patience if this comment /slash question should have been inserted somewhere else ... such as, in "Talk:Quantum gate" (the "Talk:" page for the Wikipedia article [about] Quantum gate). --Mike Schwartz (talk) 21:57, 25 October 2017 (UTC)

"Ancilla" is the noun form of "ancillary" and vice versa; both are from the latin meaning "slave girl". The textbook I am currently using (Mermin) seems to use "ancillary" exclusively but notes "ancilla" in the index. I have come across "ancilla" in a couple of other places though, so it seems both are used. I agree that "ancilliary" is probably a typo. --82.9.224.242 (talk) 01:50, 17 November 2017 (UTC)