repr. L.sub- = the prep.sub under, close to, up to, towards, used in composition (cf.under-) with the various meanings detailed below. (The related Skr.upa-, Gr. ὑπο- have a similar range of meaning.)
Theb of L.sub- remained unchanged when it preceded a radical beginning withs,t, orv; beforem andr it was frequently assimilated (see e.g.summon,surrogate), and beforec,f,g, andp it was almost invariably assimilated (see e.g.succeed,suffer,suggest,suppose). Variation is illustrated by L.subfuscus subfusc beside L.suffuscus,subrogātus subrogate besidesurrogātus surrogate. A by-formsubs- (cf.abs-) was normally reduced tosus- in certain compounds with words having initialc,p,t, e.g.suscipĕre,suspendĕre,sustinēre (seesusception,suspend,sustain); and beforesp- the prefix becomessu-, as insuspicĕre,suspīcio,suspirāre (seesuspect,suspicion,suspire).
The original force of the prefix is either entirely lost sight of or to a great extent obscured in many words derived immediately or ultimately from old Latin compounds, such assubject,suborn,subscription,subserve,subsist,substance. (Where the prefix occurs in an assimilated form and is consequently disguised, as insucceed,suffer,suppose, an analysis of the compound does not readily suggest itself.) As a living prefix in English it bears a full meaning of its own and is freely employed in the majority of the senses defined below. Appropriate originally to composition with words of Latin origin it has become capable of being prefixed to words of native English or any other origin. This extension took place as early as the 15th c., but the beginnings of the wide use of which it is now capable date from the latter half of the 18th c., to which a large number of the earliest examples of scientific terms belong.
The more important and permanent compounds, whether general or technical, are entered in this Dictionary as main words; in the present article are treated such compounds of a general character as have not a permanent status in the language and scientific terms the meaning of which may (for the most part) be gathered from the meaning of the prefix and that of the radical element.
In Romanic,sub- was replaced bysubtus- as a living prefix; e.g.sublevāre was ousted by*subtuslevāre, whence OF.souz-,souslever, mod.F.soulever. (Cf.south-2.) Butsub- appears in OF. (1) from the 12th cent. in learned adoptions of old Latin compounds, e.g.suborner tosuborn,substance,subversion, (2) from the 14th cent. (with variantsoub-) in forms substituted for older compounds withsouz-,sous-; e.g.submayeur (cf.soubzmaire) sub-mayor,subprieur (cf.sousprieur)subprior, (AF.)subtaxour sub-taxer,subvicaire sub-vicar (see 6 below);soubmetre forsousmetre tosubmit.
Pronunciation. The prefix bears the main stress (1) in the following words derived from compounds of the old Latin stock, viz.ˈsubject (n.),ˈsubscript,ˈsubstance,ˈsuburb;ˈsubaltern,ˈsubdolous,ˈsubjugate,ˈsublimate,ˈsubsequent,ˈsubsidize,ˈsubsidy,ˈsubstantive,ˈsubstitute,ˈsubtrahend; also inˈsubmarine; (2) in words in which there is an implicit contrast with the simple word, e.g.ˈsubarch,ˈsubclass,ˈsubflavour,ˈsubgenus,ˈsub-office,ˈsubsection,ˈsubsoil. (As with other prefixes that express contrast, the principal stress is always onsub- when the contrast is explicit, asdeacon and ˈsubdeacon,to let or ˈsublet,epithelial and ˈsubepithelial tissue.) The prefix is stressless and the quality of its vowel is consequently reduced insubˈduce,subˈdue,subˈjective,subˈjoin,subˈjunctive,subˈlime,subˈmerge,subˈmit,subˈordinate,subˈreption,subˈscribe,subˈserve,subˈside,subˈsidiary,subˈsist,subˈstantial,subˈstratum,subˈsume,subˈtend,subˈtract,suˈburban,subˈvene,subˈvert, and their derivatives. In other cases the prefix bears a stress varying from a light secondary to a stress even with that of the second element of the compound (the vowel being consequently unobscured), as inˌsubˈacid,ˌsubˈclavian,ˈsubˈdean,ˌsuboˈpercular,ˌsubteˈrranean. In compounds belonging to branch II, even stress tends to prevail. I. Under, underneath, below, at the bottom (of). 1. Forming adjs. in whichsub- is in prepositional relation to the n. implied in the second element, as in L.subaquāneus = that issub aquā under water,subaquaneous,subdiālis = that issub diō,subdial,subterrāneus = that issub terrā,subterranean,-eous. a. Compounds of a general character (mainly nonce-wds.) and miscellaneous scientific terms.
subarˈboreal, lying under a forest of trees.subˈastral, situated beneath the stars, mundane, terrestrial.subˈcambrian Geol., lying beneath the Cambrian formation.ˌsubcarboˈniferous Geol., designating the mountain-limestone formation of the carboniferous series or that lying beneath the millstone grit, lower carboniferous.†subˈconsulary, being under the government of consuls.subˈcrustal, lying under the crust of the earth.subˈferulary [seeferular], under school discipline.subˈfluvial, extending under a river.subˈglacial, existing or taking place under the ice.sublaˈcustrine, lying or deposited at the bottom of a lake.subˈmundane, existing beneath the world.subˈniveal,-ˈnivean, existing or carried on under the snow.subˈnubilar, situated beneath the clouds.ˌsuboceˈanic, beneath the ocean.ˌsubphotoˈspheric, produced under the photosphere.†subˈrenal, occurring beneath the kidneys or in the region of the loins.subˈruinan, underneath ruins.subscaˈlarian a. used as n. (see quot.).ˌsubsuperˈficial, occurring below the surface.†ˌsubteguˈlaneous [L.subtegulāneus, f.tegula tile], under the roof or eaves.subˈtidal Ecol., situated or occurring below the low tide mark.subˈundane [L.unda wave], growing beneath the waves.sub-ˈWealden, under the Wealden strata in Sussex (or similar strata elsewhere).1886 Guillemard Cruise of Marchesa II. 10 The explorer who penetrates the true primeval forest in a country such as Borneo finds himself at the bottom of a *subarboreal world.1752 Warburton Serm. Ps. cxliv. 3 He compares this *sub~astral œconomy with the systems of the fixed stars.1871 Tyndall Fragm. Sci. (1879) II. ix. 172 The riddle of the rocks has been read from *sub-cambrian depths.1849 Dana Geol. ix. (1850) 485 These *sub-carboniferous beds are well developed in Illawarra.1654 H. L'Estrange Chas. I (1655) 55 In *subconsulary Rome, Athens or Sparta.1898 Geogr. Jrnl. Nov. 545 Volcanic outflow of *subcrustal molten matter.1852 Sir W. Hamilton Discuss. 118 Having in his tender years been *subferulary to some other kind of schooling.1863 Hawthorne Our Old Home, Up the Thames II. 134 Making the *subfluvial avenue [viz. the Thames tunnel] only a little gloomier than a sheet of upper London.1820 W. Scoresby Acc. Arctic Reg. I. 105 Pursuing their course through *subglacial channels to the front of the iceberg. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. viii. 60 Strange subglacial noises were sometimes heard.1859 Thirlwall Rem. (1878) III. 203 The prevailing notion of the *sublacustrine domains is, that they are full of countless treasures.1832 Examiner 115/1 Yet have we our festivals Even in these *submundane halls.1885 Field 12 Dec. 824/1 A favourite resort for these *sub-niveal operations is a steep bank where the heather is old and long.1845 S. Judd Margaret i. xvii, Seizing a shovel he‥commenced his *subnivean work. 1864–5 Wood Homes without H. 38 In a subnivean abode.1877 Dawson Orig. World ii. 63 That there is no *sub-nubilar solid sphere.1858 Rep. Brit. Assoc. i. 22 *Suboceanic and subaerial volcanic ejecta.1903 A. M. Clerke Probl. Astrophysics 66 *Sub-photospheric heat may be of almost any intensity.1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 77 The humors which annoy the body of oxen are many, the first is a moist one called Malis;‥the sixt a *Subrenall, when the hinder legs halte by reason of some paine in the loines.1881 J. P. Briscoe Old Nottinghamshire 140 What is that sound! A subterranean, or *subruinan voice?1790 Cowper Let. to J. Johnson 28 Feb., As to yourself, whom I know to be a*subscalarian, or a man that sleeps under the stairs.1899 Smithsonian Rep. 230 The superficial and *subsuperficial temperatures.1656 Blount Glossogr.,*Subtegulaneous, that is under the eaves or roofs of houses. 1878 N. Amer. Rev. CXXVII. 163 This subtegulaneous solitude.1939 Clements &Shelford Bio-Ecol. x. 313 The *subtidal community reaches up into the tidal area. 1979 R. Brewer Princ. Ecol. v. 231 It is usual to recognize three zones on both sandy and rocky shores. These are the intertidal zone itself, a supratidal zone above it‥, and the subtidal zone.1851 D. Landsborough Brit. Seaweeds (ed. 2) 19 With bright festoons of gayer, gentler algues, *Subundane drapery.1872 inRec. Sub-Wealden Explor. (1878) 6 The thickness of the *Sub-Wealden strata in France and Belgium.
(b) In derived advbs., assubˈglacially adv., under an ice sheet or glacier. 1909 Webster, *Subglacially. 1978 Nature 8 June 456/2 Lava flows which were erupted subglacially in southwestern Iceland.
b. Anat. (Path.,Surg.) andZool. = Situated or occurring under or beneath (occas. behind) the part or organ denoted by the radical element, or lying on the ventral side of it or ventrally with respect to it; as in (late) L.subālāris that issub ālīs under the wings,suboculāris subocular, mod.L.sublinguālis sublingual, etc.
Compounds of this class may coincide in form with compounds having a different analysis. Thus,subabdominal = under the abdomen, f.sub abdōmine +-al1, coincides withsubabdominal = not quite abdominal, f.sub- 21d +abdominal; sosubcartilaginous,subcentral,submucous subspinous. Also, such a form assubumbrellar may be analysed as (1)sub umbrellā +-ar1 = situated beneath the umbrella, or (2) f.subumbrella (see f below) +-ar1 = pertaining to the subumbrella; sosubmental. (In this second case the resultant signification is much the same whichever analysis is taken.)
In some of these compounds the implied regimen of the prep. is not a simple n. but a group consisting of an adj. and a n., the adj. being the element represented in the compound; e.g.subdural.
In the following list explanations of the radical element have been occasionally added in brackets; in most instances the meaning of the compound is readily inferred from that of the prefix and of the second element. Many more words of this class are to be found in the medical dicts. of Billings, Dorland, and others,Sydenham Society's Lex., Allbutt'sSyst. Med., Buck'sHandbk. Med. Sci., etc.
subabˈdominal (= situated or occurring under, below, or beneath the abdomen),subaˈcromial,subˈalar,subˈanal,subaponeuˈrotic,subaˈstragaloid,subauˈricular (an auricle),subˈcæcal,subˈcalcarine (the calcarine fissure),subˈcapsular,ˌsubcereˈbellar,subcoˈllateral (the collateral fissure of the brain),ˌsubconjuncˈtival (the conjunctiva),subˈcoracoid,subˈcranial (the cranium, the cranial axis),subcuˈticular,subˈdeltoid,subˈdermal,-oid,ˌsubdiaphragˈmatic,subˈdiscal (the discal shell),subˈdural (the dura mater),ˌsubectoˈdermal,-ic,ˌsubendoˈcardial,ˌsubendoˈstylar,ˌsubendoˈthelial,ˌsubepiˈdermal,-ic,ˌsubepiˈthelial,subˈfalcial (the falx cerebri),subˈfascial,subˈfrontal (a frontal lobe),subˈgenital,sub-ˈgenual (the knee),sub-ˈgingival (the gums, esp. between the gum-margins and the teeth),subˈglenoid (the glenoid fossa),subˈglottal,subˈglottic (the glottis),subˈgular (the throat),subˈhæmal,subˈhyoid,ˌsubinteˈstinal,subˈlabial,sublaˈryngeal,subˈlobular (a lobule of the liver),subˈloral,subˈmammary,submanˈdibular,subˈmastoid,submeˈningeal,subˈmuscular,subˈnervian,sub-ˈneural (a main neural axis or nervous cord),subˈnodal,ˌsubœsoˈphageal,-an,subˈoral,subˈostracal (the shell, Gr. ὄστρακον),subˈpallial,subpaˈrietal (the parietal bone, lobe, etc.),subpeˈduncular,subˈpelvic,ˌsubperiˈcranial,ˌsubperiˈosteal,ˌsubperitoˈneal,ˌsubperitoˈneo-abˈdominal,-ˈpelvic (the abdominal peritoneum, the peritoneum of the pelvis; applied to forms of extra-uterine pregnancy),subpeˈtrosal (the petrosal bone),subˈphrenic (the diaphragm),subˈpial (the pia mater),subˈpleural,subpreˈputial,subˈpubic,subpyˈloric,subˈradular,subˈretinal,subˈscrotal,subspheˈnoidal,subˈspinal,sub-ˈspinous,subˈsternal,subˈstigmatal,subˈsylvian (the Sylvian fissure),subsyˈnovial (a synovial membrane),subˈtectal (the tectum of the skull),subteguˈmental,subˈtemporal (a temporal gyrus of the brain),subtenˈtacular (the tentacles or tentacular canal),subtraˈpezial,subˈungual,sub-ˈunguial,subvaˈginal,subˈventral.1840 Cuvier's Animal Kingdom 408 These branchiæ are situated‥upon the *subabdominal appendages.1839 Dublin Jrnl. Med. Sci. XV. 260 Symmetrical *Sub-acromial Luxations.1834 G. Bennett Wand. N.S.W. II. 45 The beautiful *sub-alar plumage.1889 Q. Jrnl. Geol. Soc. XLV. 644 The *subanal fasciole.1868 Gay Varicose Dis. 150 The trunk veins, especially the *subaponeurotic.1872 T. Bryant Pract. Surg. 1061 *Subastragaloid amputation.1822 J. Parkinson Outl. Oryctol. 187 *Subauricular tooth in the larger valve.1890 Billings Nat. Med. Dict.,*Subcæcal fossa, pocket sometimes found in the peritoneum behind the cæcum.1889 Buck's Handbk. Med. Sci. VIII. 154 The replacement of lingual lobule and fusiform lobule‥by *sub~calcarine gyre and *subcollateral gyre.1889 Lancet 20 Apr. 787/2 The *subcapsular portion of the cortex.1889 Buck's Handbk. Med. Sci. VIII. 240 The *subcerebellar veins.1839–47 Todd's Cycl. Anat. III. 85/1 The cellular tissue‥is sometimes the seat of‥*subconjunctival ecchymosis. 1878 T. Bryant Pract. Surg. I. 308 Inflammation of the sclerotic or subconjunctival fascia.1839 Dublin Jrnl. Med. Sci. XV. 251 Congenital *Subcoracoid Luxation.1876 Quain's Anat. (ed. 8) II. 738 *Subcranial, Facial, or Pharyngeal Plates or Arches.1855 Hyde Clarke Dict.,*Subcuticular, under the cuticle. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VI. 575 The whitlow is often sub-cuticular.1853 Dublin Quart. Jrnl. Med. Sci. XV. 6 The *subdeltoid bursa.1887 Sollas inEncycl. Brit. XXII. 415/1 These cavities are known as *subdermal chambers.1845 Todd &Bowman Phys. Anat. I. 425 They lie either in the cutis or *sub-dermoid tissue.1844 Hoblyn Dict. Terms Med. (ed. 2) 293*Sub-diaphragmatic, the designation of a plexus, furnished by the solar plexus, and distributed to the diaphragm.1902 Proc. Zool. Soc. II. 272 A *sub-discal series of internervular spots and dashes.1875 W. Turner Hum. Anat. 219 A fine space containing a minute quantity of limpid serum‥named the arachnoid cavity, or,‥the *sub-dural space.1888 Q. Jrnl. Micros. Sci. (N.S.) XXVIII. 381 The cutaneous muscles arise from the *subectodermal fibrous network.1888 Rolleston &Jackson Anim. Life 784 A *sub-ectodermic plexus of ganglion cells in the subumbrella.1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. II. 827 *Sub-endocardial hæmorrhages.1893 Athenæum 2 Dec. 774/1 The *subendostylar cœlom.1875 W. Turner inEncycl. Brit. I. 848/2 The endothelial cells rest upon a *sub-endothelial tissue.1853 Pharmac. Jrnl. XIII. 17 The *sub-epidermal cellular tissue.1877 Huxley &Martin Elem. Biol. 65 The *subepidermic cells.1873 T. H. Green Introd. Pathol. 264 The *sub-epithelial connective tissue.1889 Buck's Handbk. Med. Sci. VIII. 121 The presence of a *subfalcial sinus.1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. IV. 601 Its source, a degenerate gland, is not only subcutaneous, but *subfascial also, that is, under the deep cervical fascia.1877 Huxley Anat. Inv. Anim. vi. 260 The sternal surface presents, anteriorly, a flattened *sub~frontal area.1888 Rolleston &Jackson Anim. Life 785 The membranes come to lie at the bottom of *subgenital cavities or lemnia.1934 Webster, *Subgenual. 1935 R. E. Snodgrass Princ. Insect Morphol. xvii. 527 Proximally, below the ‘knee’, is a large fan-shaped subgenual organ. 1978 H. V. Daly Introd. Insect Biol. & Diversity vi. 109/1 Sub~genual organs are found in many insects but are lacking in Archeognatha, Coleoptera, and Diptera.1898 H. H. Burchard Text-bk. Dental Path. & Therapeutics xxiv. 456 By *subgingival deposits are meant calculi which are first deposited in the annular depression between the gum-margin and a tooth. 1979 Williams &Elliott Basic & Appl. Dental Biochem. xii. 224 Dental plaque covers the tooth (supragingival plaque) and extends over the tooth surface of the gingival pocket (subgingival plaque).1872 Humphry Myology 31 The palmar muscles take their origin from the coracoids, or *subglenoid part of the girdle.1932 W. L. Graff Language & Languages i. 33 Even if we assume that the *subglottal force of expiration is the same‥, on leaving the larynx its strength is‥weakened. 1970 Language XLVI. 313 It would seem difficult to ascertain whether a change in fundamental frequency is due to a change in the tension of the laryngeal muscles or to a change in the subglottal air pressure.1880 A. Flint Princ. Med. 304 Œdema in very rare instances occurs below the vocal cords. This is distinguished as *subglottic œdema.1858 W. Clark tr.Van der Hoeven's Zool. II. 249 *Subgular vocal sac.1872 Humphry Myology 8 The Cryptobranch is continued from the interior of the pelvis beneath the hæmal arches of the tail where it blends with the *subhæmal septum.1876 Quain's Anat. (ed. 8) II. 740 The fourth arch, which has no special name, but might be called *sub-hyoid or cervical.1870 Rolleston Anim. Life 125 Vessels‥which pass round the intestine‥to join a *sub-intestinal vessel.1875 Blake Zool. 196 The nasal sacs are *sublabial.1901 Proc. Zool. Soc. London I. 281 The *sub-laryngeal pouch is essentially a cæcal diverticulum of the ventral wall of the larynx, between the thyroid and cricoid cartilages. 1949 Koestler Insight & Outlook 391 A continuous flow of physiological processes, involving‥sublaryngeal movements (inner speech).1839–47 Todd's Cycl. Anat. III. 173/1 The *sublobular veins are named from their position at the base of the lobules.1896 Brit. Birds, Their Nests & Eggs I. 185 The superciliary and *sub~loral white streaks.1857 Dunglison Med. Lex. s.v., ‘*Sub~mammary inflammation’, inflammation of the areolar tissue beneath the mamma.1875 Buckland Log-Bk. 118 The *submandibular‥tissues.1844 Hoblyn Dict. Terms Med. (ed. 2) 293*Sub-mastoïd, the name of a branch given off by the seventh pair of nerves, as it passes out from the stylo~mastoïd foramen.1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VII. 569 Some injury during birth, such as usually results in *submeningeal hæmorrhage.1855 Dunglison Med. Lex.,*Submuscular, seated beneath muscles or a muscular layer.1888 Encycl. Brit. XXIV. 679 InLumbricus there are three longitudinal trunks which run from end to end of the body—(1) dorsal, (2) supranervian, (3) *subnervian.1878 Bell tr.Gegenbaur's Comp. Anatomy 279 A *subneural cavity [in insects].1900 Lucas Brit. Dragonflies 53 The ultra-nodal sector is found between the principal and the *sub-nodal.1835–6 Todd's Cycl. Anat. I. 547/2 A second [ganglion], which is *subœsophageal and anterior, supplies the buccal apparatus.1858 W. Clark tr.Van der Hoeven's Zool. II. 59 Branchiæ open internally in a *subœsophagean tube.1836–9 Todd's Cycl. Anat. II. 393/2 The *sub-oral ganglion is particularly subservient to mastication.1883 Encycl. Brit. XVI. 675/2 A thin plate-like ‘*sub-ostracal’ or (so-called) dorsal cartilage.1854 Woodward Mollusca ii. 195 A *sub-pallial expansion on the sides of the back.1889 Buck's Handbk. Med. Sci. VIII. 152 *Subparietal [gyre].1815 J. Gordon Syst. Hum. Anat. I. 211 The *sub-peduncular Lobule of the Cerebellum.1864 Reader No. 103. 771/1 The acute *subpelvic arch.1872 T. Bryant Pract. Surg. 41 In the *subpericranial form [of contusions] the indurated base may organise.1847–9 Todd's Cycl. Anat. IV. i. 713/2 In syphilis‥there is frequently *subperiosteal effusion of lymph.1835–6 Ibid. I. 13/1 The *subperitoneal cellular tissue.1896 Nomencl. Dis. 209 Affections connected with pregnancy.‥ β. *Subperitoneo-abdominal.1857 Bullock tr.Cazeaux' Midwifery 245 *Sub-peritoneo-pelvic Pregnancy‥a species of extra-uterine pregnancy.1889 Buck's Handbk. Med. Sci. VIII. 242 The oblique super- and *sub-petrosal sinuses.1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. III. 570 By *subphrenic abscess is understood a collection of pus in the hollow of the diaphragm.1877 tr.von Ziemssen's Cycl. Med. XII. 465 Meshes or spaces in the tissue of the pia (*subpial space).1862 H. W. Fuller Dis. Lungs 173 The *sub-pleural cellular tissue is injected and œdematous.1872 T. Bryant Pract. Surg. 496 From retained *sub-preputial secretion or from adhesion between the glans and prepuce.1831 R. Knox Cloquet's Anat. 198 *Sub-Pubic or Triangular Ligament. 1866 Huxley Laing's Preh. Rem. Caithn. 94 The sub-pubic arch.1911 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 11) XVII. 166/2 The gastric glands, draining the stomach (these are divided into coronary, *sub-pyloric and retropyloric groups).1877 Huxley Anat. Inv. Anim. viii. 488 The *subradular membrane is continued into a longer or shorter sac.1847–9 Todd's Cycl. Anat. IV. i. 134/2 The submucous tissue of the gall-bladder; the subserous of the pleura‥; the *subretinal.1861 Bumstead Ven. Dis. 119 The *sub-scrotal cellular tissue.1889 Buck's Handbk. Med. Sci. VIII. 241 The *subsphenoidal sinus.1733 tr.Winslow's Anat. (1756) I. 259 The *Sub-Spinal‥Fossa.1878 Walsham Handbk. Surg. Pathol. 153 *Subspinous [dislocation]. The head of the bone is displaced on to the posterior margin of the glenoid cavity.1831 R. Knox Cloquet's Anat. 772 The *substernal and pulmonary lymphatics. 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. III. 785 Dysphagia and substernal burning.1896 Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad. 30 The marginal cell‥may have the portion below the stigma (*substigmatal) longer than that beyond (poststigmatal).1889 Buck's Handbk. Med. Sci. VIII. 152 Fissural connections‥of the Sylvian with the basisylvian, presylvian, and *subsylvian.1835–6 Todd's Cycl. Anat. I. 254/1 The *subsynovial cellular tissue.1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 818/2 *Subtectal, lying beneath the roof, as the roof of the skull. 1975 Nature 30 Oct. 738/1 In the vertebrates below mammals, the tectal and subtectal areas are the main centres of termination of sensory pathways.1883 Encycl. Brit. XVI. 679/1 A pair of such spores [sc. tegumental] leading into *sub-tegumental spaces of considerable area.1889 Buck's Handbk. Med. Sci. VIII. 153 The callosal,‥precuneal, and *subtemporal fissures.1877 Huxley Anat. Inv. Anim. ix. 586 The *subtentacular and cœliac canals.1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 28 The *sub-trapezial plexus on the under surface of the trapezius muscle.1855 Hyde Clarke Dict.,*Subungual, under the nails. 1879 St. George's Hosp. Rep. IX. 755 The subungual wart.1855 Dunglison Med. Lex.,*Subunguial, belonging to parts under the nail; as subunguial exostosis.1876 tr.Wagner's Gen. Pathol. 159 Coloring matter is‥found‥in the *sub-vaginal space.1835 Kirby Hab. & Inst. Anim. I. ix. 267 No *subventral‥foot.
(b) in derived advs.; e.g.subconjuncˈtivally,sub-ˈdurally,sub-ˈglottically,sub-periˈosteally,sub-ˈpially; sosubcortically.1907 Ophthalmoscope V. 383 The conjunctival cicatrice had been divided *subconjunctivally. 1974 Nature 11 Oct. 553/2 Grafts‥placed on Fischer hosts that had been inoculated subconjunctivally‥were rejected abruptly.1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. II. 700 Injected *subdurally the results were not so constant.1975 Year Bk. Ear, Nose & Throat 317 Direct laryngoscopy showed adducted cords with an absent lumen *subglottically.1898 Syd. Soc. Lex.,*Subperiosteally, in a subperiosteal manner.1950 Jrnl. Neurophysiol. XIII. 192 A fine steel needle electrode thrust *subpially into the substance of the acoustic tubercle.
c. Bot. in the same sense as b; e.g.ˌsubarcheˈsporial,subhyˈmenial. Alsosubpetiolar.1900 B. D. Jackson Gloss. Bot. Terms,*Subarchesporial Pad, Bower's term for a cushion-like group of cells below the archesporium inLycopodium.1874 Cooke Fungi 57 The receptacle proper comprehends the *sub-hymenial tissue, the parenchyma, and the external membrane. 1882 Bennett Text-bk. Bot. (ed. 4) 288 The ascophorous hyphæ or subhymenial layer.
d. Anat. In adj. compounds in Latin form, of the type defined in b above, designating parts of the body, used absol. by ellipsis of n. (e.g.musculus muscle,membrāna membrane): e.g.subanconeus,subcrureus,submucosa. (b) Adjs. of Eng. form are similarly used, esp. pl.; e.g.subcostal,suborbital. e. With ns. forming attrib. compounds; e.g.ˈsub-ice;sub-ˈcuticle =subcutaneous;subˈsolidus Geol., existing or occurring in conditions corresponding to a point in a phase diagram below a solidus, i.e. when the system is wholly solid;sub-ˈturbary found under turf-ground.1889 Microcosm Dec., His *subcuticle injections.1959 Times 9 Jan. 11/6 Apart from the exposed mountains near the coast, *sub-ice hill and dale occur. 1973 Nature 20 Apr. 539/3 New chapters in the history of the continent will be based on the results of continued palaeomagnetic studies, much deep-sea drilling and to a lesser extent sub-ice drilling.1900 Pop. Sci. Monthly Feb. 440 There would necessarily be a *submountain mass.1895 Westm. Gaz. 7 Sept. 4/4 The whole of the *sub-river section of the line.1952 B. Mason Princ. Geochem. x. 232 We must‥consider the phase changes that may take place in solid solutions in the *subsolidus region. 1979 Nature 15 Mar. 220/1 This mineral assemblage could be produced by hot-pressing the above composition in subsolidus conditions.1846 Owen Brit. Fossil Mammals 512 The *sub-turbary shell-marl in various localities in Ireland.1893 Times 24 June 7/6 The [latest] ships are practically the same with regard to the *sub-water structure.
f. With ns. forming ns. designating a part, organ, or substance lying under the part denoted by the radical element; e.g.subcosta,subenˈcephalon,subhyˈmenium,submentum,subplaˈcenta,sub-ˈradius,subˈtesta (see quots.),subumbrella.1890 Billings Nat. Med. Dict.,*Subencephalon, Krause's name for combined medulla oblongata, pons Varolii, and corpora quadrigemina.1900 Jackson Gloss. Bot. Terms,Sub~hymenial Layer or*Subhymenium, = Hypothecium.1855 Dunglison Med. Lex.,*Subplacenta, decidua membrana.1897 Parker &Haswell Zool. I. 129 Half way between any ad-radius and the adjacent per- or inter-radius, a radius of the fourth order, of *sub-radius.1816 P. Keith Syst. Physiol. Bot. II. 374 The*Subtesta, which is the inner coat of the seed and lies immediately under thetesta.
g. Forming vbs., in L.subhastāre = ‘hastæ subicĕre’ (seesubhastation),subjugāre tosubjugate. 2. a. With adverbial force (= underneath, below, down, low, lower), prefixed to adjs., vbs., and pples. (and, less freq., ns.), as in L.subærātus having copper underneath,subjacens underlying,subjacent,subscrībĕre to write underneath, write down,subscribe,subsīdĕre to sit down,subside,substernĕre to strew or spread underneath,subtendĕre to stretch under,subtend, late L.subcavāre to hollow out underneath; e.g.subaˈdjacent,sub-ˈrepent adjs.;subæˈrated,sub-conˈcealed,sub-conˈtained,sub-ˈdented,sub-ˈtwined pples.;subˈcavate vb.ˌsublineˈation, underlining.ˌsubpunctuˈation, marking letters or words with dots underneath.†subˈumbrage v., to overshadow.†subunˈdation, the action of waves underneath. (Formations of this class are uncommon.)1722 Quincy Lex. Physico-Med. (ed. 2) 2 The superior Parts of the *subadjacentOs Metacarpi. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 653 He‥gained retarded access to the kitchen through the subadjacent scullery.1771 Phil. Trans. LXII. 60 A *subærated‥denarius of the Plætorian family.1799 W. Tooke View Russ. Emp. I. 115 A piece of mountain,‥entirely bare of soil,‥in conjunction with that mineral [viz. talc] *subcavating the trapp-stone.a1734 North Exam. iii. vi. (1740) 430 To do it with Address, and *subconcealed Artifice.1768 Cheselden Anat. Hum. Body 133 For the better understanding of the *sub-contained parts.1836 Smart Dict.,*Subdented, indented beneath.1898 I. C. Russell River Developm. 246 If a name were desired for this minor feature of the drainage of certain regions, it might be termed *subimposed.1651 A. Boate inUssher's Lett. (1686) 564 He hath made use of‥*Sublineation in lieu of Asterisks. 1908 Times 14 Mar. 14/1 The following whip‥was marked with the sublineation of a thick black line.1908 H. Hall Stud. Eng. Off. Hist. Doc. 384 Confession of a blunder by the process of *subpunctuation must have been particularly distasteful to a mediaeval scribe.1650 Bulwer Anthropomet. ii. 53 That they [hairs] should imbibe the afflux of *subrepent humours.1908 Daily Chron. 25 July 1/4 A push-button *subtwined in a bower of red roses.1581 Satir. Poems Reform. xliii. 82 Xerxes, quhose‥schippis *subumbragit all the seyis on breid.1552 Huloet s.v.Banckes, Banckes defensyue againste *subundation called Seabanckes.
b. Hence = in or into subjection, as insubdĕre to bring under, subdue,subicĕre tosubject. 3. Prefixed to ns. with adjectival force (partly on the analogy of L.sublāmina under-plate,substrāmen litter) = lying, existing, occurring below or underneath, under-, (hence, by implication) underground; e.g.sub-armour,sub-trousers,sub-vestment;subcrust,sub-current,sub-deposit,sub-flush,sub-mind;sub-note;sub-crossing,sub-railway; in designations of architectural features, indicating a secondary member, feature, chamber, etc. placed under one of the same kind, e.g.sub-basement,sub-cellar,sub-hall,sub-member,sub-pier-arch,sub-plinth,sub-shaft,sub-sill,sub-store-room,sub-tower; sosub-shelf,subtrench (whencesubtrenched adj.);ˈsub-floor, a floor serving as a base for another floor;ˈsub-frame, a secondary frame;spec. (a) in carpentry and building, the frame for the attachment or support of a window or door-frame, or of panelling; (b) in a vehicle, the frame on which the coachwork is built, as distinct from the chassis;subˈstratosphere, the upper part of the troposphere, immediately below the stratosphere. Alsosub-arch, etc. (Stress even, or on the prefix.)1860 Hewitt Anc. Armour II. 132 The Hauberk of chain~mail is worn‥not‥as the principal defence‥but as a *sub~armour.1904 Westm. Gaz. 26 Apr. 5/1 Underneath, in the basement and *sub-basement, were many thousands of gallons of wines and spirits.1894 Outing XXIV. 379/2 Gentlemen, I see I didn't examine your *sub-cellar.1864 Athenæum 22 Oct. 530/3 If it be not found convenient to have *sub-crossings, surely light iron bridges would answer the purpose.1886 Ibid. 4 Sept. 297/3 The intervening zone, or *sub-crust, which we should probably regard as being‥in a state of hydro-thermal plasticity.1902 Westm. Gaz. 14 Oct. 3/2 The *sub-current of American life.a1828 Schoolcraft (Webster),*Subdeposit. a1846 Lyell (Worc.).1893 J. P. Allen Pract. Building Construction viii. 122 Double floors may sometimes mean that the flooring or floor-boards are laid on the joists in two thicknesses‥the bottom thickness being straight-jointed‥; while the other‥is laid in the ordinary way above the *sub-floor, as the bottom one is called. 1929 W. C. Huntington Building Construction vi. 264 This type of construction is greatly superior to that which rests the studs on a sole plate placed on top of the sub-floor. 1973 Building Materials (MTP Construction) 186 Any sub-floor can be levelled and smoothed.1899 Atlantic Monthly LXXXIII. 759/1 A certain *subflush of overripe color beneath the dusky skin.1929 Motor 1 Oct. 33 (Advt.), A *sub-frame, on which the body is built, isolates the coachwork from the chassis and prevents distortion; the sub-frame being mounted on the chassis by supports having a certain degree of flexibility. 1944 N. W. Kay Pract. Carpenter & Joiner vi. 138 Care must be taken to prevent any damage by shrinkage. One method‥is to form a sub-frame within the main frame. D shows a sub-frame, to carry the glazing, tongued into the frame of the door. 1968 D. Braithwaite Fairground Archit. v. 88 At least two further wagons were required for ‘loose stuff’ —— sub-frames, gates and shutters, roundings and so on. 1979 Daily Tel. 1 Dec. 18 (Advt.), For Sale. Mini 850, 1969, 47,000 miles.‥ New sub-frame, reconditioned gear-box.1887 Dict. Archit.,*Sub-hall, the place in the lower story under the hall or chief entrance, which last was usually on the first floor.1875 Brash Eccl. Archit. Irel. 133 These arches have each a chamfered *Sub-member.1856 Emerson Eng. Traits, Lit. Wks. (Bohn) II. 112 They exert every variety of talent on a lower ground, and may be said to live and act in a *sub~mind.1824 Dibdin Libr. Comp. 699 The *sub-note will shew that he possessed a few of his choicer works.1835 R. Willis Archit. Mid. Ages vii. 94 Sometimes the *sub-pier-arch rests on a pilaster instead of a half shaft.1836 Parker Gloss. Archit. I. 61 A second or *sub-plinth under the Norman base.1845 J. Williams (title), *Sub-Railways in London.1835 R. Willis Archit. Mid. Ages iv. 34 *Sub-shafts sustain arches of which the upper side is united to the soffit of the next arch or wall.1889 Anthony's Photogr. Bull. II. 415 Ten inches below the *sub-shelf is a sink.1833 Loudon Encycl. Archit. §867 The oak gate-posts are kept firm in their places, by the underground braces, to the *subsills.1889 Scribner's Mag. Aug. 216/1 Distributions are made daily among the *substore-rooms.1937 Popular Sci. Monthly Nov. 68/2 Aerial Battles miles above the earth‥are foreshadowed by a *sub~stratosphere plane placed under test by the U.S. Army Air Corps. 1952 Chambers's Jrnl. Feb. 84/2 Another day Byrd flew over a never-ending succession of mountain-ranges, which looked as if they were suspended in the substratosphere.1884 Contemp. Rev. July 104 A still better effect‥was gained by placing an octagonal super~tower, or ‘lantern’, on a square *sub-tower.1669 Staynred Fortif. 7 EFGH is the *Subtrench.Ibid., Section of a Fort with a‥Counterscarp; also *Subtrenched.1890 Columbus (Ohio)Disp. 11 July, Four inches of white canvass *subtrousers was exposed between his pantaloons, spring-bottoms and shoe-tops.1802 Coleridge Lett. (1895) 394 The diaper *subvestment of the young jacobin.
b. Anat. (a) Designating the lowest or basal part of the organ denoted by the second element (cf. med.L.subjuga lowest part of a yoke); e.g.subcutis,subface,subfacies,subilium.1879 tr.Haeckel's Evol. Man (1905) 648 The corium is much thicker than the epidermis. In its deeper strata (the*subcutis) there are clusters of fat-cells.1826 Kirby &Sp. Entomol. III. 366 *Subfacies (the *Subface). The lower surface or underside of the head.1898 Syd. Soc. Lex.,*Subilium, the lowest portion of the ilium.
(b) Designating a part concealed or encroached upon; e.g.subfissure,subgyre.1889 Buck's Handbk. Med. Sci. VIII. 160 Superfissures and *subfissures.—These terms are employed herein to designate the fissures which result from the formation of supergyres and *subgyres. 1903 Amer. Anthropologist (N.S.) V. 623 The occipital fissure‥shows a number of well-marked subgyres in its depths.1898 Syd. Soc. Lex.,*Sub~gyrus, a gyrus that is encroached on or covered.
c. Agric. Short forsubsoil-.1778 W. H. Marshall Minutes Agric. 16 Aug. 1775, Put old Nimrod to the *sub-plow.1778 Ibid., Nothing can equal *sub-plowing for clearing the surface from running weeds. Ibid., Observ. 97 After the Beans were drawn, the Soil was subplowed.1866 C. W. Hoskyns Occas. Essays 111 The well-known results of drainage and *subpulveration.1856 Morton Encycl. Agric. II. 647/2 Subsoil ploughs‥are merely stirrers of the under soil, and might more properly be termed *sub-pulverizers.
4. Mus. With adj. force combining with ns. to form terms designating: (a) an interval of so much below a given note; e.g.subdiapente,subdiatessaron; (b) a note or an organ-stop an octave below that denoted by the original n.; e.g.suboctave,subcontra octave;sub-bass,sub-bourdon,sub-diapason; cf.contra- 4; (c) a note lying the same distance below the tonic as the note designated by the radical n. is above it; e.g.subdominant,submediant. (Cf. 13.) 1852 J. J. Seidel Organ 25 The organ at St. Elizabeth's at Breslau‥contains a sub-diapason. 1869 Engl. Mech. 31 Dec. 385/3 Sub-bass is a 32 ft. tone stop. 1878 Stainer &Barrett Dict. Mus.,Subdiapente, Subdominant, the fifth below or the fourth above any key note. 1879 Organ Voicing 18 All stops speaking at any interval other than the octave,super orsub. 1880 Encycl. Brit. XI. 483/2 The ‘subbass’‥an octave of 16 feet pitch. 1881 C. A. Edwards Organs 155 Sub-bourdon‥is a rare manual stop of 32 ft. 1883 Grove Dict. Mus. III. 747/2 A ‘Canon in Subdiapente’ was a canon in which the answer was a fifth below the lead. Similarly ‘Subdiatessaron is a fourth below. 1901 Titchener Exper. Psychol. I. 32 Subcontra octave.
II. Subordinate, subsidiary, secondary; subordinately, subsidiarily, secondarily. 5. Having a subordinate or inferior position; of inferior or minor importance or size; subsidiary; secondary. a. of persons; as in late L.subadjuva assistant,subhēres next or second heir; e.g.sub-advocate,sub-deity,sub-god,sub-hero,sub-substitute, etc.1645 Milton Colast. Wks. 1851 IV. 351 The Laws of England, wherof you have intruded to bee an opiniastrous *Sub~advocate.1641 —— Ch. Govt. i. vi, These two main reasons of the prelates‥are the very wombe for a new *subantichrist to breed in. 1818 Bentham Ch. Eng., Catech. Exam. 161 This newly commissioned Antichrist with his three Sub-Antichrists.a1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew,*Sub-beau, orDemibeau, a wou'd-be-fine.a1629 T. G[offe] Careless Sheph. i. i, It awes Not mortalls only; but makes other powers *Sub-Deities to thine. 1820 T. Mitchell Com. Aristoph. I. 44 Some of the epithets applied to this sub~deity [Phales].1809 W. Irving Knickerb. iii. ii, Five schepens, who officiated as scrubs, *subdevils, or bottle-holders to the burger-meesters.1680 Shadwell Woman-Capt. i, Scarce any one is such a Fool, but he has a *sub-Fool that he can laugh at.1679 Dryden Limberham v, Happily arriv'd, i'faith, my old *Sub-fornicator.1726 De Foe Hist. Devil ii. i. 203 [Satan] had his *Sub-Gods, who under his several Dispositions receiv'd the Homage of Mankind.1846 Lady Eastlake Jrnls. (1895) I. 189 Sir E. L. Bulwer‥a man‥reminding me of some of the *sub~heroes in his own books.1649 T. Wodenote Hermes Theol. 68 Saucy *Sub-Jacks possessed of the preferments of the Learned and Ancient.1697 J. Dennis Plot & no Plot v, They are my *Sub-pimps, and pick up a penny under me.1899 Spencer &Gillen Tribes Centr. Austral. title-p., Special magistrate and *sub-protector of the aborigines, Alice Springs, South Australia.1817 Bentham Parl. Reform Introd. 170 Dependance on an essentially insatiable shark with his *sub-sharks.1788 Holcroft Baron Trenck (1886) II. vi. 99 The substitute of Kempf was Frauenberger, who‥appointed one Krebs as a *sub-substitute. 1818 Bentham Ch. Eng. Introd. 17 Another body of divinity‥to co-operate with the Catechism, and act under it, in the character of a sub-substitute to every thing that came from Jesus.a1734 North Life Ld. Keeper North (1742) 271 The Earl of Sunderland, Jeffries, and their *Sub-Sycophants.1589 Cooper Admon. 93 Antichristian Prelates, Petie Antichrists, *Subvice-Antichrists, &c. as some‥do terme them.c1675 Dryden Pref. to Notes Empr. Morocco Wks. 1808 XV. 404 His king, his two empresses, his villain, and his *sub-villain, nay his hero, have all a certain natural cast of the father. 1840 Macaulay Ess., Clive (1854) 535/1 The villain or sub-villain of the story.1692 South Serm. (1697) I. 204 The Repairer of a decayed Intellect, and a *Sub-worker to Grace, in freeing it from some of the inconveniences of Original Sin.
b. of material objects; e.g.sub-affluent,sub-constellation,sub-leader [leader1 12],sub-network,sub-piston,sub-totem, etc.;submuˈnition chieflyU.S., (usu.pl.) small, short-range guided missiles; alsosing.;ˈsubstorm Meteorol., a disturbance of the earth's magnetic field restricted to certain, usu. polar, latitudes and typically manifested as an aurora and other upper atmospheric phenomena.1873 tr.Jules Verne's Meridiana v, [The Kuruman] increased by the waters of a *sub-affluent, the Moschoria.1744 Phil. Trans. XLIII. May 14 The cardinal and *subcardinal Points of the Compass.1827 G. Higgins Celtic Druids 59 One of the very first *subcasts from the Asiatic hive.1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. v. xix. 262 If thereby be meant the Pleiades, or *subconstellation upon the back of Taurus.1834–47 J. S. Macaulay Field Fortif. (1851) 297 Keep their *sub-crests in the same plane as the sub-crests of the faces.1859 Murchison Siluria vi. (ed. 3) 122 The whole of the calcareous courses of this *subformation.1913 S. O'Casey Let. 8 Mar. (1975) I. 23 The Editor recently, in a *sub-leader, advised all his readers to go and see pictures exhibited in the Central Branch of the Gaelic League.1862 Catal. Internat. Exhib. II. xxxi. 20 The following *sub-master keys.1975 Aviation Week & Space Technol. 6 Oct. 15/2 Improvement of the BLU-63 *submunition bomblet with two basic sizes of fragments. 1983 Financial Times 2 Dec. 2/3 Clusters of anti-armour submunitions which would be fired from stand-off positions.1956 J. Klein Study of Groups iv. 50 This will be useful when we wish to analyse *sub-networks. 1978 Sci. Amer. June 95/1 Clos's design is based on the idea of building a large network out of smaller networks called subnetworks.1895 Outing XXVI. 55/2 The serried ranks of *sub~pagodas in this strange, holy city.1900 Hiscox Horseless Vehicles 66 When the ports in the *sub-piston close.1879 G. B. Prescott Sp. Telephone 434 M. Gaudoin also utilizes these different *subproducts in the manufacture of his carbons.1961 Akasofu &Chapman inJrnl. Geophysical Res. LXVI. 1339/2 Each such event, which Birkeland‥called a polar elementary storm, is here called aDP *substorm. 1969 New Scientist 25 Sept. 669/3 These are the ‘substorms’ which manifest themselves as aurorae and associated magnetic disturbances. 1979 Nature 22 Feb. 649/1 Measurements were made during a magnetic substorm which appeared together with the polar light on 25–26 February, 1978.1883 Howitt inSmithsonian Rep. 818 A larger or smaller group of what I have called *subtotems, but which might be appropriately termed pseudo-totems.
c. of something immaterial, a quality, state, etc.; e.g.sub-cause,sub-code [code n.1 3d],sub-cycle,sub-entry,sub-flavour,sub-function,sub-genre,sub-hierarchy,sub-idea,sub-item,sub-literature,sub-part,sub-plot [plot n. 6],sub-problem,sub-question,sub-sense,sub-society,sub-substantiality,sub-system,sub-theme,sub-theory,sub-topic,sub-war,sub-world, etc.;sub-goal Psychol., something that must be achieved on the path to the main objective.1898 Engineering Mag. XVI. 38 In all there are 149 *sub~accounts, under 24 general voucher titles.1818 Bentham Ch. Eng., Catech. Exam. 331 In the principal article, they are stated as residing in the neighbourhood; whereas, in the *sub-articles, no statement to that effect is contained.1825 Coleridge Aids Refl. (1848) I. 184 The cause of this, and of all its lamentable effects and *sub-causes.1960 R. Jakobson in T. A. SebeokStyle in Lang. 352 For any speech community‥there exists a unity of language, but this over-all code represents a system of interconnected *subcodes. 1967 Language XLIII. 752 Variants of one and the same code, realized by means of different information channels, are called ‘subcodes’. 1973 S. Heath inScreen Spring/Summer 215 The distinction between cinematic codes and sub-codes is initially made inLangage et Cinéma as that between general and particular cinematic codes.a1631 Donne Serm. xxxiv. (1640) 338 This part hath also two branches‥in the first branch, there will bee two twiggs, two *sub-considerations.1953 A. K. C. Ottaway Educ. & Society 45 A *sub-cycle was here set up within the whole economic setting. 1974 Sci. Amer. June 78/2, I have omitted the important subcycles of nitrogen and phosphorus, two elements that are strongly related to the origin of life and to biological processes in general.1892 Field 18 June 942/1 [In whist] the *sub-echo is the showing of three trumps when a partner has led and called for them. This is accomplished by echoing in the usual manner.1876 C. A. Cutter Rules for Dictionary Catalog 13 Class entry with specific or class *subentry. 1979 G. N. Knight Indexing vi. 106 If it is a sub-entry itself that errs with excessive references, then the remedy is to turn it into a cross-reference to a separate heading having its own sub-entries.1895 Daily News 30 Nov. 6/3 Their manifest *sub-flavour of earnestness.1949 Koestler Insight & Outlook x. 153 Like all means towards an end (or *subfunctions in non-teleological language) [etc.]. 1969 H. R. F. Keating Inspector Ghote plays Joker iii. 35, I regard it as a sub~function of my post to make person-to-person contact with as many people in your department as possible.1976 N.Y. Times 13 Jan. 40/5 This was because she belonged to, if in fact she hadn't pretty much created a *subgenre of the mystery novel. 1980 Times Lit. Suppl. 7 Nov. 1262/2 One of the major subgenres of science fiction (works dealing with robots and computers).1932 E. C. Tolman Purposive Behav. 459/1 (Index) Sign-objects‥become *sub-goal-objects. 1967 M. Argyle Psychol. Interpersonal Behaviour v. 91 Driving a car from A to B involves the sub-goals of getting the engine started, getting the car moving in top gear, and getting to the intermediate points X, Y and Z. 1977 Dædalus Fall 121 The theory includes the representation of the task environment, the definition of goals and subgoals,‥and the order in which alternative courses of action will be explored.1962 H. C. Conklin in Householder & SaportaProbl. Lexicogr. 128 *Subhierarchies of varying ‘depths’ are often discernible within larger hierarchic structures.1878 Grosart G. Daniel's Poems I. 217 ‘Antike’ = ancient, with the *sub~idea of grotesqueness.1855 Browning Men & Women II. 17 Sage provisos, *sub-intents, and saving-clauses.1888 Pall Mall Gaz. 31 July 3/2 Whether the author is to be suspected of a satiric *sub-intention.1928 in W. K. HancockAustralia (1930) v. 90 In the existing Customs tariff there are 259 items or *sub-items which providead valorem duties of 40 per cent. or over.1781 St. Trials XI. 220/2 Upon this he makes many limitations; upon all of which he adds‥this *sublimitation. 1840–1 De Quincey Style Wks. 1862 X. 191 Where‥the limitations and the sublimitations, descend,seriatim, by a vast scale of dependencies.1961 Webster, *Subliterature,‥inferior literature that does not survive the test of time. 1974 Times Lit. Suppl. 1 Feb. 105/1 Though it is important to acquaint oneself with best-sellers and sub-literature‥, the chief stress should be on literature of enduring aesthetic worth.1891 Scrivener Fields & Cities 150 Both these scourges [scrofula and dyspepsia], with the groups of families of *sub-maladies which grow in their wake.1883 Harper's Mag. Jan. 179/2 Some subtle *sub-meaning [is] also conveyed.1770 Luckombe Hist. Printing 234 Prefaces, Introductions, Annotations‥all which *sub-parts of a Work were formerly‥put in Italic. 1949 Koestler Insight & Outlook x. 135 A sub-whole composed of sub-parts, which in themselves are sub-wholes, and so on. 1976 Lieberman &Rhodes Compl. CB Handbk. xi. 233 Each applicant‥must follow the procedure prescribed by Subpart 1 of Part 1 of this chapter.1916 C. Hugon tr.Creizenach's Eng. Drama in Age of Shakespeare v. 255 In those cases where a comic *sub-plot runs side by side with the main plot. 1962 G. K. Hunter John Lyly iv. 237 The sub-plot episode of the pages and Grim the Collier of Croydon in Edwardes' Damon and Pithias.1879 Roby Lat. Gram. ii. 8 Such a secondary predicate might‥be called a *subpredicate. It is often called an apposition.1907 W. James Mem. & Stud. (1911) x. 236 So the great problem splits into two *sub-problems. 1980 Sci. Amer. Feb. 30/3, I shall treat such issues as special subproblems of allocation.1899 F. J. Mather Chaucer's Prol. p. xlii, The most serious passages of his poetry are seldom without a *sub-quality of humor.1675 Tullie Let. to Baxter 27 There remaines yet one small *sub-question.1619 R. Jones Recant. Serm. inPhenix (1708) II. 493 The reason of this Conjecture is [etc.]‥The *sub-reason is [etc.].1856 Emerson Eng. Traits, Aristocracy Wks. (Bohn) II. 83 Loyalty is in the English a *sub-religion.1856 Olmsted Slave States 292 The Second Auditor's General Report on Education‥contains abstracts of *sub-reports.1885 Law Times Rep. (N.S.) LIII. 566/2 If there was any doubt‥it is entirely removed by the appropriate language used in *sub-rule 30.1802–12 Bentham Ration. Judic. Evid. (1827) II. 150 These were mentioned as so many *sub-securities for correctness and completeness.1890 Academy XXXVII. 218/1 A *subsensation of how, in Rossetti's weird phrase, his death was ‘growing up from his birth’.1947 E. Partridge Usage & Abusage 134/2Titanic‥is frequently employed with the *sub-sense of ‘extraordinarily powerful’. 1981 Dictionaries II.–III. 168 Brockhaus lists it as an example illustrating a sub-sense ofBlut.1951 E. E. Evans-Pritchard Soc. Anthropol. i. 13 Its boundaries include‥peoples of near and further Asia, north Africa, and parts of Europe—an almost limitless number of‥societies and *sub-societies.1888 Spectator 30 June 910/2 There is a *sub-story dealing mainly with the amours of a disreputable young woman.1922 Joyce Ulysses 385Entweder transsubstantialityoder consubstantiality but in no case *subsubstantiality.1881 Smithsonian Rep. 203 Turning to the several *subsystems it appears that although it is possible that the orbits of the satellites of Mars, Jupiter [etc.]. 1957 V. W. Turner Schism & Continuity in African Society i. 1 This book is‥an attempt to analyse‥the form and functioning of a sub-system, the village, within a wider system, the totality of Ndembu society. 1972 W. Labov Language in Inner City ii. 64 BEV‥is best seen as a distinct subsystem within the larger grammar of English.1949 M. Mead Male & Female xvii. 345 In this story there is a *sub-theme of the girl's mother's flirtation with a younger man. 1981 A. Paton Towards Mountain xxxiv. 307 The birth and rise of Afrikaner nationalism is one of the most powerful subthemes of my life story.1951 Parsons &Shils Toward Gen. Theory of Action i. 28 Economic theory‥only becomes a distinctive *subtheory of the general theory.1897 O. J. Nave Topical Bible 4 Under the *subtopic,Instances of, are grouped all the illustrative facts that occur in the Scriptures relating to each subject.1923 Notes from Ireland Nov. 120/2 All this time a *sub-war rages. 1949 Koestler Promise & Fulfilment i. x. 114 The year‥ended with the first encounters in the sub-war between the British Foreign Office and the future State of Israel.1890 W. James Princ. Psychol. ii. xxi. 291 The popular mind conceives of all these *sub-worlds more or less disconnectedly. 1983 Times 10 Jan. 22/7 A sort of sub-world of smacked bottoms and scrawny mothers-in-law.
(b) With derived adjs., assub-intentional,sub-intentioned,sub-systemic.1957 P. Lafitte Person in Psychol. ix. 121 A projective test‥is designed to elicit what might be called sub-intentional behaviour, including the whole range of covert behaviour that the person cannot report directly. 1968 Internat. Encycl. Soc. Sci. XV. 387/2 Subintentioned deaths are those in which the deceased played an important indirect, covert,‥or unconscious role in his own demise.1961 Webster, Subsystemic. 1966 S. Beer Decision & Control xvi. 428 The prefrontal lobe of the cortex‥has no specific sub-systemic control responsibilities. 1977 Dædalus Summer 81 The functionings of their subsystemic parts‥and of the whole are to be understood with the aid of general systems theory.
d. of actions; e.g.sub-appearance,sub-quarrel,sub-smile;sub-optimiˈzation (see quot. 1967).1820 Lamb Elia i. Christ's Hosp., You never met the one by chance in the street without a wonder, which was quickly dissipated by the almost immediate *subappearance of the other.1964 T. W. McRae Impact Computers on Accounting iii. 93 Cyberneticists are for ever emphasizing the dangers of *sub-optimization. 1967 E. Duckworth in Wills & YearsleyHandbk. Management Technol. 119Sub-optimization—the achievement of optimum working of, say, one department of a company without regard to the effect this may have on the rest of the organization.1574 tr.Josselin's Life 70 Abp. Pref. to Rdr. D2b, A petye brawle and *subquarell betwen Yorke and duresme.1799 S. Turner Hist. Anglo-Saxons I. i. viii. 112 Amid this complexity of rebellion and *sub-rebellion.1825 Lamb Elia ii. Stage Illusion, The skilful actor, by a sort of *sub~reference, rather than direct appeal to us, disarms the character of a great deal of its odiousness.1852 C. M. Yonge Two Guardians viii. 140 A certain *sub-smile about the corners of his mouth. 1882 ‘F. Anstey’ Vice Versâ iv, His cheeks were creased with a dimpling subsmile.1879 Howells Lady of Aroostook (1883) II. 158 With a knowing little look at Lydia, which included a *sub~wink for her husband.
6. a. With names of officials or persons occupying positions of authority, forming titles designating one immediately subordinate to the chief official, as in L.subcenturio (var. ofsuccenturio) centurion's lieutenant, late L.subdoctor assistant teacher,subscrībendārius assistant secretary, eccl.L.subdiāconus subdeacon, med.L.subballīvus sub-bailiff,subbedellus under-beadle,submagister submaster,subprior subprior,subsēcrētārius under-secretary; e.g.sub-abbot,sub-captain,sub-conductor,sub-king,sub-vicar, etc.1767 Burn Eccles. Law (ed. 2) IV. 456marg., *Subabbat and subprior.1818 Bentham Ch. Eng. 91 His Right Reverend Co-adjutors and Reverend *Sub-adjutors.1729 Foxton tr.Burnet's App. St. Dead 28 He commemorates their Deliverance out of Egypt,‥Moses being the *Sub-administrator, with mighty Miracles and Prodigies.1726 Ayliffe Parergon 68 They ought not to execute these Precepts by simple Messengers or *Sub-Beadles.1716 M. Davies Athen. Brit. II. 182 Schelstrat the Pope's *Subbibliothecarian.1884 Cyclist 13 Feb. 242/1 The captain and *sub-captain‥represent the club on the N.C.U.1519 Churchw. Acc. St. Giles', Reading 3 Of the *Subchamberer of the Mon[astery] of Redyng.1688 Holme Armoury iii. iii. 49/2 Officers‥belonging to the Earl of Chester…Vice Chamberlain, or *Sub Chamberlain.1858 Gladstone Homer III. 11 The subordination of the *sub-chief to his local sovereign.1710 J. Chamberlayne M. Brit. Notitia ii. 689 Mr. John Dundass, first Clerk of the Assembly…Nicol Spence, *Sub-Clerk. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. iii. ii. ii, Amid head-clerks and sub-clerks.1688 Lond. Gaz. No. 2331/3 One of the King's Family shall succeed to the Bishoprick, as having been already designed by the Chapter for their *Sub-Coadjutor.1947 H. G. Farmer Royal Artillery Concerts v. 15 For many years Zavertal would rehearse the orchestra for months without giving the slightest heed to the military band, which was left to the *sub-conductor (the Serjeant Major) and his subordinates. 1976 D. Steele in H. Procter-GreggBeecham Remembered i. 109 He came across the orchestra bridge to start untangling the confusion caused by Weingartner's being quite out of touch‥with his sub-conductors.1691 T. H[ale] Account New Invent. p. cv, *Sub-Conservators for the River of Thames.1670 Cotton Espernon i. ii. 96 To importune the *Sub-Consul to conclude the Treaty.1642–3 Canterb. Marr. Licences, Thomas Graunt, clerk, *subcurate of S. Mary's in Dover.1580 in PictonL'pool Munic. Rec. (1883) I. 63 The same customer and *sub-customer shall yield and give their several accompts. 1672 Ibid. 284 William Galley Sub-customer.1737 E. Chamberlayne Angl. Notitia ii. 117 *Sub-director [of Ordnance]. 1896 Hilprecht Recent Res. Bible Lands 87 Halil Bey, sub-director of the Museum in Constantinople.1612 Brinsley Lud. Lit. 273 The particular help where either an Vsher is wanting, or else is not sufficient, is by a *Subdoctor.1786 J. C. Walker Irish Bards 83 This instrument was used‥to assemble congregations [etc.].‥ Nor is it unlikely, that this office was performed by the *Sub-Druids.1703 in J. ChamberlayneM. Brit. Notitia (1710) ii. 561 The Office of Her Majesty's‥Ordnance.‥ Six Engineers‥Four *Sub-Engineers.1671 F. Phillips Reg. Necess. 522 By fraud and collusion betwixt him and the said *Sub-Escheator.1796 C. Smith Marchmont IV. 433 Every fee, which the *sub-executors of our‥laws are suffered to extort.1809 W. Taylor in RobberdMem. (1843) II. 277 Charon and his *subferrymen.1883 Harper's Mag. Jan. 206/2 These Maine men are likely to become foremen, or *sub-foremen.1774 Mrs. Delany Life & Corr. Ser. ii. (1861) II. 70 Miss Goldsworthy is made *sub-governess to the young Royals at St. James's.1876 E. Jenkins Queen's Head 4 The head waiter, and a lot of *sub-head-waiters.1863 Trevelyan Compet. Wallah (1866) 232 The *sub-inspector of police.1684 Baxter Par. Congreg. 38 [The Bishop] to be the *subintercessor, or the mouth of the Church in publick prayer.1823 Bentham Not Paul 46 The *Sub-king of the Jews, Agrippa. 1848 Lytton Harold iii. iii, The lesser sub-kings of Wales.1837 W. Irving Capt. Bonneville I. 179 Mr. Walker, one of the *subleaders, who had gone with a band of twenty hunters.1722 Hearne Collect. (O.H.S.) VII. 385 The Fees being‥1s. to the Head Librarian, 3s. 6d. to the *Sublibrarian, & 1s. 6d. to the Janitor. 1800 Southey Lett. (1856) I. 134 The sub-librarian is an intelligent man.1733–4 Mrs. Delany Let. to Mrs. A. Granville 2 Mar., In what character is Miss Beal to go with the Orange family? A *sub-maid, I guess.1883 Manch. Exam. 30 Oct. 5/2 Being *sub~manager for the last twenty-one years.a1774 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) II. 207 In order to gain favour with these inferior ministers or *sub-mediators.1673 Baxter Let. inAnsw. Dodwell 82 Doth it follow that your Church Monarch can over-see them all himself without any *sub-overseers?1685 —— Paraphr. N.T. John x. 3 To the Messiah God will open the door, and to *Sub-Pastors, they that by office are door-keepers to the Church, must open it. 1700 inCath. Rec. Soc. Publ. (1909) VII. 69 The Pastor Tegers, and sub Pastor of St. Amand.1617 Moryson Itin. i. 210 The Patron‥made a solemne Oration to the *sub-Patron and the Marriners.1671 E. Chamberlayne Angl. Notitia ii. 228 Upon this Grand Office depends One hundred eighty two Deputy Post-Masters‥and *Sub Post-Masters in their Branches. 1896 Hansard's Parl. Debates 18 Feb. 546/2 A number of messengers‥employed by Sub-Postmasters.1721 Amherst Terræ Fil. No. 22. 112 Mr. Holt of Maudlin college, *sub-proctor at that time.1688 Holme Armoury iii. iv. 181/2 The *Sub-Provincial, is to act the same things‥as the Provincial.1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey),*Sub-Reader, an Under Reader in one of the Inns of Court, who reads the Text of the Law the Reader is to Discourse upon.1605 Answ. Supposed Discov. Romish Doctr. 20 They‥ openly moued the greatest *Subregents in England to take armes against her. a1711 Ken Preparatives Poet. Wks. III. 13 Neglect to thy Sub-regent's Throne Affronts thy own.1673 Baxter Let. inAnsw. Dodwell 82 Doth it follow that your Church Monarch can‥rule them without any *sub-rulers?1860 W. L. Collins Luck of Ladysmede x, It was the *sub~sacrist approaching in the discharge of some of his duties.1843 Carlyle Past & Pr. ii. vi, Our Lord Abbot‥made him *Subsacristan.1642 Docq. Lett. Patent (1837) 326 The Office of *Subsearcher wth: in the Porte of London.1632 B. Jonson Magn. Lady Dram. Pers., Mr. Bias, A Vi-politique, or *Sub-secretary. 1678 Trial of Coleman 42 A Sub-Secretary, that did write very many things for him. 1826 Scott Diary 16 Nov. inLockhart, Five Cabinet Ministers‥with sub-secretaries by the bushel.1745 Season. Adv. Prot. 37 No Person shall be capable of acting as *Subsherriff‥who shall not have been a Protestant for five Years immediately before such his acting.1737 J. Chamberlayne M. Brit. Notitia ii. 80 The Chief Office‥Head Sorter‥*Sub-Sorters.1876 Gladstone Homeric Synchr. 124 Under the supremacy of Troy and of Priam, Anchises their king, seems to have been a *sub-sovereign.a1715 Burnet Own Time (1766) I. 315 He had been his *subtutor and had followed him in all his exile. 1744 T. Birch R. Boyle 69 Mr. Tallents‥had been‥sub-tutor to several sons of the earl of Suffolk.1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey),*Sub-Vicar, an Under-Vicar.1600 W. Watson Decacordon (1602) 105 Maister George Blackwell the new Archpriest of England: nay, the *Sub-uiceroy rather of all the Isles of Albion.
(b) in derived adjs.; e.g.subsecretarial pertaining to a sub-secretary. 1898 B. Gregory Side Lights 499 From his sub-secretarial desk he spoke on a case.
b. In the designation of corresponding offices or functions; e.g.sub-administration,sub-commissaryship,sub-inspectorship, etc.1710 Steele Tatler No. 193 ⁋3 The *Sub-Administration of Stage Affairs.1748 in Temple & SheldonHist. Northfield (1875) 273, I will‥throw up my *sub-commissaryship.1876 Smiles Sc. Nat. xiii. 268 The *subcuratorship could not be obtained.1884 Century Mag. XXVIII. 134 One *sub-inspectorship of factories.1839 J. Rogers Antipapopr. x. §3. 253 We read nothing in Holy Scripture about the *submediation or the under-mediators.1887 Daily News 1 Mar. 6/2 All the smaller *sub-postmasterships still continue to be in the gift of the Treasury.1591 Acts Privy Council (1900) XXI. 105 The fee of the *Subproctorship for one whole yeare.1881 Athenæum 15 Jan. 95/3 A *sub~professoriate of twenty readers.1764 Scott's Bailey,*Sub~vicarship, the office of an under vicar.
7. Compounded with ns., to express division into parts, sections, or branches. a. of material objects or of immaterial or abstract entities; e.g.substring (string n. 15c),sub-tree (tree n. 6b (e)),sub-unit, etc.;sub-areolet, a division of an areolet;sub-cavity, one of the smaller cavities into which a cavity is divided;ˈsub-channel Radio, a distinct division of a channel or frequency band;sub-folium, a small or secondary folium;ˈsubgrain, a small grain contained within another grain in a metal;sub-hoˈrizon, a layer within an existing archæological or soil horizon;ˈsublattice Physics, a coextensive part of a fuller lattice, obtained by considering all the members having some property not possessed by the other members;ˈsub-shell Physics, in an electron shell, the complete set of orbitals capable of being occupied by electrons of identical azimuthal quantum numberl.1852 Dana Crust. i. 192 From each lateral segment a small *subareolet is separated anteriorly.1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VII. 647 The cavity of the cranium is divided into two *subcavities by the tentorium cerebelli.1847–9 Todd's Cycl. Anat. IV. i. 99/1 The cells‥containing no *sub-cells in their interiors.1875 Brash Eccl. Archit. Irel. 92 The chancel has a deep recess or *sub-chancel at the east end.1959 Wall St. Jrnl. 30 June 1/4 Multiplexing…is a technique by which a radio station can divide its regular channels into *subchannels and transmit two or more sound signals at the same time. 1970 J. Earl Tuners & Amplifiers i. 24 Other features found in tuner-amplifiers‥are automatic mono/stereo switching‥, a low-pass filter for reducing the stereo sub-channel noise when the aerial signal is not quite strong enough for noise-free stereo reception, [etc.].1889 Buck's Handbk. Med. Sci. VIII. 127 The exact number and form of the cerebellar folia and *subfolia at birth.1955 Phil. Mag. XLVI. 1343 Recent work‥has shown that many of the dislocations left inside a metal after deformation are arranged along surfaces forming low angle boundaries between neighbouring regions of crystal, these latter being called *subgrains, cells, or particles. 1975 Nature 10 Apr. 489/1 Granular xenoliths‥show various strain effects, including undulose extinction‥, slip-planes, and subgrain development.1928 Bull. Amer. Soil Survey Assoc. IX. 36 Other *sub~horizons are designated as A1, A2, etc. 1973 P. A. Colinvaux Introd. Ecol. iii. 45 (caption) There may be several subhorizons in each of the main horizons and roots may penetrate them all.1883 Pall Mall Gaz. 25 Sept. 10/1 What he might call *sub~houses, or a house within a house.1641 Milton Animadv. Wks. 1851 III. 226 An individuall cannot branch itselfe into *subindividuals.1959 W. F. de Jong Gen. Crystallogr. ii. 101 Either the direct lattice‥is congruent (similar) with the elementary Bravais lattice, or one is a *sub-lattice of the other. 1973 H. D. Megaw Crystal Structures viii. 174 Physicists who are less used to describing any but very simple periodic structures,‥use the very misleading term ‘sublattice’ for a Bravais array. 1976 Physics Bull. July 294/2 In a crystal the atomic lattice can divide into two interpenetrating sublattices so that most, if not all, of the neighbours of an atom on one sublattice belong to the other.1885 Watson &Burbury Math. The. Electr. I. 237 The motions of the *submolecules.1898 Syd. Soc. Lex.,*Subnucleus, any one of the subdivisions into which a group of nerve-cells is divided by the passage through it of intersecting bundles.1880 C. &F. Darwin Movem. Pl. 223 The peduncle‥bears three or four *sub~peduncles.1836–9 Todd's Cycl. Anat. II. 910/1 The pro~thorax‥is composed of four *sub-segments.1930 Ruark &Urey Atoms, Molecules & Quanta ix. 272 Then, l, ands quantum numbers can still be assigned to individual electrons, and, therefore, the shells and *subshells can be designated in terms of these numbers. 1959 G. Troup Masers 161 We take as an example Cr+++ which has 3 electrons in the unfilled outermost sub-shell. 1980 H. H. Sisler et al. Chem. viii. 209 For electrons ins subshells, we find that the probability distribution‥is independent of direction in space and varies only with distance from the nucleus.1955 N. Chomsky Logical Struct. Linguistic Theory (microfilm, Mass. Inst. Technol.) vi. 202bZʹ differs fromZ only in that it contains a *substringY replacing the substringX ofZ. 1966 D. G. Hass inAutomatic Transl. of Lang. (NATO Summer School, Venice, 1962) 145 In natural languages, texts can be segmented into recurrent substrings. 1972 Computer Jrnl. XV. 232/2 Each co~ordinate ofT specifies a set to which a substring ofA belongs.1947 Proc. Cambr. Philos. Soc. XLIII. 26 We callS a *subtree ofL ifp0(S) = 1 andp1(S) = 0. 1972 R. J. Wilson Introd. to Graph Theory iv. 51 LetT1, …,Tk be the subtrees obtained fromB by removing the vertexv and every edge incident tov. 1976 J. S. Gruber Lexical Structures in Syntax & Semantics ii. i. 219 Instead of writing the lexical attachment rules as transformations, we will write them as terminal subtrees.1936 Economist 7 Mar. 530/1 The promoters buy specified blocks of securities and deposit them with named trustees, who issue an agreed number of ‘*sub-unit certificates’ against them. 1950 Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quantitative Biol. XIV. 69/1 The phenomenon that the asymmetric unit in the crystal is a submultiple‥of the molecular weights found in the ultracentrifuge, and‥that excelsin‥splits into 3n subunits. 1980 Times 15 Jan. 14 DNA is a long chain-like molecule composed of four different chemical subunits.
b. of a body or assembly of people, as insubcommittee, or of a division of animals or plants, as insubgenus; e.g.sub-caste,sub-clan,sub-clone (also as vb. trans.),sub-flight [flight n.1 1h],sub-nation (alsosub-nationalism),sub-unit;sub-band, a division of a band;sub-breed, a breed of animals constituting a marked division of a principal breed.1808 Pike Sources Mississ. (1810) i. App. 60 A young man, Wyaganage, has recently taken the lead in all the councils and affairs of state of this *sub-band.1859 Darwin Orig. Spec. iv. (1878) 87 The *sub breeds of the tumbler pigeon.1896 Daily News 7 Apr. 3/3 The east *sub-brigade‥supported by the west sub-brigade.1892 H. H. Risley Tribes & Castes Bengal I. 78 The Bauris are divided into the following nine *sub-castes. 1974 tr.Wertheim's Evolution & Revolution iii. 240 Even if a sub-group within a caste‥has constituted itself as a separate sub-caste, such a collective step will generally imply a disruption of recognized family ties.1954 *Subclan [seeparamount a. 1c].1961 Virology XIII. 160/2 *Subclones showing the morphology characteristic of the superinfecting virus were plated for virus release. Ibid., Clones showing the morphology characteristic of the original virus were subcloned. 1977 Jrnl. Protozool. XXIV. 28/1 The plausible inference can be drawn that doublet and singlet subclones from a single source do not differ in the kinds of genes or of other molecules they contain. 1978 Nature 7 Dec. 579/2 We subcloned the mixed progeny of the cross.1894 Educ. Rev. VII. 278 Every one of the *sub-conferences claims for its group of subjects an educational value equal to that of every other.1908 Westm. Gaz. 8 Aug. 2/1 One Council, with *sub~councils corresponding roughly to the postal areas.1877 Le Conte Elem. Geol. (1879) 160 The fauna and flora of the United States are divided‥into three *sub-faunæ and *sub-floræ.1941 Hutchinson's Pictorial Hist. War 14 May–8 July 216/2 Dive-bombers usually approach at about eight thousand feet or so, and on arriving over the target break up into *sub-flights of three.1833 Chalmers inMem. (1851) III. 381 The discussions of the separate or *sub-meetings.1935 A. M. Carr-Saunders in Huxley & HaddonWe Europeans viii. 256 We might‥contrast America with Europe, regarding the European nations as *sub-nations, that is as communities with a lower degree of distinction. 1967 M. Ayub Khan Friends not Masters x. 183 We will remain ‘sub-nations’ if we do not join together to offer united resistance to power pressures.1957 Economist 7 Sept. 739/2 This theoretically sensible policy ran up against the *sub-nationalism of the local peoples. 1974 G. W. Choudhury Last Days United Pakistan i. 1 Emerging Bengali regionalism or sub-nationalism.1860 Mill Repr. Gov. (1865) 115/2 Besides the controlling Council, or local *sub-Parliament, local business has its executive department.1888 Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 473/1 Each of these phratries is subdivided into two *subphratries; and these subphratries are subdivided into an indefinite number of totem clans.1888 Ibid. XXIV. 810/1 The main branchings [of a genealogical tree] were termed ‘phyla’, their branchings ‘*subphyla’.1846 Grote Greece ii. ii. II. 324 Twelve *sub-races, out of the number which made up entire Hellas.1894 W. Walker Hist. Congreg. Ch. 299 With the two Edwardean divines‥Emmons and Dwight,—the New Divinity may be said to have divided into two *subschools.1824 Southey Sir T. More (1831) I. 362 Every Sect and every *Sub-sect has its magazine.1868 Gladstone Juv. Mundi iv. 112 A *sub~sept of the Achaians.1798 in NicolasDisp. (1845) III. 49 He divided his force into three *Sub-squadrons.1882 A. Macfarlane Consanguinity 15 Each lineal ancestor forms a stock and his family breaks up into *sub-stocks.1879 in Willis & ClarkCambridge (1886) III. 226 The *sub-Syndicate are of opinion that it would be undesirable.1670 Rec. Presbyt. Inverness (1896) 2 To remitte the same [sc. names]‥with the Moderator to the Bishope to ye forsd *Subsynode.1885 Athenæum 28 Feb. 279/1 If the squadron is preferable to the troop as a *sub-unit. a1944 K. Douglas Alamein to Zem Zem (1946) 13 He allotted me two tanks, as a troop, there not being enough on the squadron strength to make *sub-units of more than two tanks.
(b) in derived adjs.; e.g.subphratric, pertaining to a subphratry.1977 Jrnl. Commonwealth & Compar. Pol. XV. 236 In 1968 the 81 successful UNIP candidates included 24 politicians at *subnational levels.1887 J. G. Frazer Totemism p. viii, *Subphratric and Phratric Totems.1896 W. Mackay Rec. Presbyt. Inverness 45 Among the *subsynodical refers read to-day.
c. of a region or an interval of time, as insub-district; e.g.sub-age, a division of an age.1878 Lockyer Stargazing 2 The Telescopic age‥divides itself naturally into some three or four *sub-ages of extreme importance.1926 British Gaz. 12 May 2/3 A service of corporation 'buses has been started in the *sub-area of Keighley. 1980 Amer. Speech 1976 LI. 235 The second map‥shows the boundaries of twelve dialect areas and subareas of Scottish English.1953 L. Kuper Living in Towns 304 Library books had been issued from *sub-centres in local schools. 1977 Lancet 5 Nov. 946/1 The health centre and subcentres provided additional support.1826 Kirby &Sp. Entom. IV. 485 [Latreille] proposes further to divide his climates into *subclimates, by means of certain meridian lines.1910 Geol. Förening. i Stockholm Förhandl. XXXII. 1146 (heading) Gothi- and Finiglacial *sub-epochs. 1940 A. H. Sutton inBull. Geol. Soc. Amer. LI. 1402 Subepoch—subseries. These terms as herein proposed are applicable to the first subdivisions of epochs and series respectively.1867 G. F. Chambers Astron. (1877) 23 The interval 11.11y being divided into two unequal *sub-intervals of 4.77y and 6.34y. 1962 D. R. Cox Renewal Theory ii. 30 To obtain (1) from first principles, divide the time interval (O,t) into a large numberk of small subintervals of length Δt, wherekΔt =t. 1980 A. J. Jones Game Theory ii. 109 Then divide the interval [0, 1] into three equal subintervals.1936 Discovery Oct. 329/1 Measles and certain skin affections‥are the result of these *sub-phase mutations. 1977 Antiquaries Jrnl. LVII. 392 It is simply a sub-phase of one phase‥of a conservative‥coinage.1898 Jrnl. Sch. Geog. (U.S.) Oct. 286 The *sub-province known as the Great Plains.1852 Grote Greece ii. lxxii. IX. 290 Each satrapy was divided into *sub-satrapies or districts.1909 Daily Chron. 29 June 4/6 Cleveland,‥stands with Holderness, Hallamshire, and Richmondshire as a *sub-shire of Yorkshire.1903 *Subzone [seesecule]. 1969 Bennison &Wright Geol. Hist. Brit. Isles ix. 213 The 6 goniatite stages called after goniatite genera‥were formally called zones but they are stages further divided into 16 zones (and many subzones).
d. of a branch leading from or into the main body, or a subordinate section of a business or system of affairs; = branch-; e.g.sub-bureau, a bureau depending on the principal bureau,sub-cash, a deposit of cash at a branch,sub-office, a branch office.1896 Pop. Sci. Monthly Feb. 572 The bureau will be aided‥by *sub-bureaus.1705 De Foe Consolidator Wks. 1840 IX. 354 They brought all their running cash into one bank, and settled a *sub-cash, depending upon the grand bank, in every province of the kingdom.1909 Install. News III. 29/1 Where wood casing is desired to be used for the *sub~circuits.1892 Daily News 16 Sept. 5/4 A portion of the *sub-creek referred to, now being converted into a peaceful fishpond.1804 Edin. Rev. V. 16 The other [college] is to consist of *sub-departments, one in each county.1938 Times 13 Sept. 17/6 The opening of a further *sub-depôt for recruits at the air station at Dishforth, Yorks. 1976 Daily Mail (Hull) 30 Sept. 5/1 Councillors at Selby, concerned at the possibility of an Army Ordnance sub-depot being purchased by the Central Electricity Generating Board.1958 W. Stark Sociol. Knowl. i. 31 The relation of the two *sub-disciplines to each other. 1982 Sci. Amer. Nov. 52/1 Answers to these questions call for close collaboration among earth scientists from many subdisciplines.1897 M. Kingsley W. Africa 139 Stopping at little villages to land passengers or at little *sub-factories to discharge cargo.1902 W. James Var. Relig. Exper. ix. 195 For them the soul is only a succession of fields of consciousness: yet there is found in each field a part, or *sub-field, which figures as focal and‥from which‥the aim seems to be taken. 1964 Gould &Kolb Dict. Soc. Sci. 510/2 Political behaviour has come to be regarded as a sub-field, within the social sciences. 1968 N. Chomsky Lang. & Mind ii. 24 Linguistics‥is simply the subfield of psychology that deals with these aspects of mind. 1977 Dædalus Fall 59 These subfields have been codified and systematized in an attempt to bring them into closer relation with theoretical frameworks.1844 H. Stephens Bk. Farm I. 564 Where *sub~mains are employed in particular hollows, the ground comprehending the drainage belonging to each hollow should be distinctly marked off from the rest. Ibid., A sub-main drain should be made along the lowest part of the hollow.1907 Nature LXXVI. 554/2 The *submeter system is free from the objection of first cost to a great extent.1876 Preece &Sivewright Telegr. 264 Every *sub-office on a circuit is called by the head office at the hour of commencing work.1881 Chicago Times 17 June, Regarding the formation of a pool, the report‥recommends three *sub-pools.1901 Daily Chron. 27 Dec. 3/4 The Hammersmith *sub~post-office.1862 H. Spencer First Princ. ii. xiv. §113 (1875) 324 The once independent *sub-sciences of Electricity, Magnetism, and Light.1861 N. Davis Carthage 34 *Sub~sewers, and other‥unsightly objects.1971 Optometry Today 15 Vision care needs of the aging patient have virtually produced a *subspeciality within the opto-metric profession: vision care of the aging. 1980 Jrnl. R. Soc. Med. LXXIII. 758/1 Between four and seven reviews within six subspecialities of medicine.1963 Lancet 5 Jan. 42/2 Some of the *subspecialties such as skins and eyes.1961 Communications Assoc. Computing Machinery IV. 438/2 A request, by a task, to call in and execute a *subtask causes‥a new task (the subtask called) to be added to the task list, with the appropriate precedence and priority. 1971 New Society 26 Aug. 373/1 My first subtask is‥to move the ramp.‥ This sets up the subsubtask of computing the coordinates. 1982 Sci. Amer. Jan. 123/2 The several concurrent processes can be different subtasks of a single program.1855 Leifchild Cornwall 89 Divided lengthwise into other *sub-veins.
e. Math. Prefixed to ns. to denote an entity which is contained in some similar entity, in that each of its elements is also an element of the latter and that it shares the characterizing properties of the latter, assubalgebra,sub-field,sub-formation,sub-graph,sub-manifold,sub-matrix,sub-module,sub-object,sub-ring. Alsosubgroup b,sub-sequence2,subset n.21933 *Subalgebra [seelattice n. 5]. 1979 Proc. London Math. Soc. XXXVIII. 315 LetAN be the closed subalgebra ofL(HN) generated by the operatorsT1,…,TN and setH.1940 E. T. Bell Devel. Math. xi. 239 The final outcome may be roughly described as an analysis of the structure of fields with respect to their possible *subfields and superfields. 1971 G. Higman in Powell & HigmanFinite Simple Groups vi. 209Q(α) is the real subfield of the field of the 5-th roots of unity.1966 tr.Gericke's Lattice Theory iv. 71 We shall show that the set of *sub-formations of a formation‥relative to a given axiom system‥that satisfies a condition yet to be formulated forms a complete lattice.1931 Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. XVII. 125 A *subgraphH of a graphG is a graph formed by dropping out arcs fromG. 1979 Page &Wilson Introd. Computational Combinatorics iv. 76 Given a graph G = (P, L) then Gʹ = (Pʹ, Lʹ) is a subgraph if Pʹ is a subset of P and Lʹ is a subset of L.1963 H. Flanders Differential Forms v. 52 A manifoldM is called a *sub~manifold of a manifoldN provided there is a one-to-one smooth mappingj:M→N which has this‥property.1970 G. K. Woodgate Elem. Atomic Struct. viii. 152 The matrix ofHʹ which has to be diagonalized breaks up into *submatrices of givenM. 1980 A. J. Jones Game Theory iii. 149 There are nine 2 × 2 submatrices obtained by deleting theith row andjth column fromA.1965 J. J. Rotman Theory of Groups iv. 68 A subsetW of theR-moduleV is a *submodule ofV in case it is a subgroup ofV which is closed under scalar multiplication. 1981 Amer. Math. Monthly LXXXVIII. 53 Submodules of finitely generated free modules over a principal ideal domain are free and need no more generators.1965 *Subobject [seeproper a. 5c (i)]. 1979 Proc. London Math. Soc. XXXVIII. 245 The subobjects ofN+ inE which contain the point ∞ are in 1–1 correspondence with closed ideals of subsets ofN.1937,1969 *Subring [seeideal n. 3].
8. With advb. force, combined with adjs. and vbs. = in a subordinate or secondary manner or capacity, by subsidiary means, assub-entitle vb.,sub-functional adj.1812 Coleridge inLit. Rem. (1836) I. 366 The real value of melody in a language is considerable as *subadditive.1716 M. Davies Athen. Brit. II. 368 HisMonarchia Dei is directed against the Heathens for subjoyning and *sub~adoring several essentially subdistinguish'd Deities.1901 Daily News 20 Feb. 6/5 The Assiut dam will be subsidiary to that at Assuan, inasmuch as it is‥to be used *sub-conjunctively to that at Assuan.1890 Academy 4 Jan. 7/3 Its anonymous author has *sub-entitled this book ‘A New Story by an Old Hand’. 1845 Poe inAmer. Whig Rev. II. 127/1 It is to be regretted that ‘The Spanish Student’ was not sub-entitled ‘A Dramatic Poem’, rather than ‘A Play’.1897–8 Amer. Jrnl. Psych. IX. 580 Pronunciation of an adjective‥seems to *subexcite association tracts representing substantives.1904 Amer. Naturalist Jan. 6 Hypohippus of the middle Miocene with *subfunctional lateral digits‥is an instance of arrested evolution.1871 Earle Philol. Engl. Tongue §464 The pronounI‥has‥a sort of reflected or borrowed presentiveness;—what may be called a *sub-presentive power.1828–9 Bentham Offic. Apt. Maxim., On Militia (1830) 4 The united wisdom and eloquence of the ruling one and the *sub-ruling few.
9. (a) On the analogy ofsubdivide andsubdivision,sub- is used to denote a further division or distinction; e.g.sub-classify,sub-decimate;sub-articulation,sub-classification,sub-component,sub-kind; (b) on the analogy ofsubcontract n.and v.,subinfeudation,sublet, to denote a second or further action or process of the same kind as that denoted by the radical; e.g.sub-colonize, to colonize from a colony,sub-infer, to draw as a further inference,sub-rent, to rent from one who himself rents;sub-derivative, a derivative of a derivative,sub-purchaser, one who purchases from a previous purchaser,sub-reformist, one who carries out a further reform,sub-vaccinee, one who is vaccinated with lymph from a vaccinated person;sub-secession, a secession from a body that has seceded. Alsoˈsub-carrier Telecommunication, a carrier wave used to modulate another carrier;ˈsublevel Physics, each of a group of energy levels of an atom or nucleus which coincide under a coarse approximation or when some factor (as a magnetic field) is removed;ˈsubline Genetics, a variant arising in an inbred line and distinguished by a trait usu. inherited from a genetically impure ancestor;ˈsubpassage n. Biol. andMed., the passage of a strain of micro-organisms cultivated in one animal through another, esp. to increase the virulence; also asv. trans.; henceˈsubpassaging vbl. n.;subˈsatellite Astronautics, a satellite of a satellite;spec. a small artificial satellite released from another satellite or spacecraft;sub-ˈunderwriter Econ., one who underwrites part of a liability (esp. a share issue) underwritten by another; sosub-ˈunderwrite v. trans.,sub-ˈunderwriting vbl. n.1867 in FarrarEss. Lib. Educ. 330 To imitate the copiousness and *subarticulation of Cicero's periods.1953 Reed &Russell Ultra High Frequency Propagation xi. 411 *Subcarrier modulation, wherein a subcarrier spaced in the order of 10 kc from the highest modulating frequency is modulated with the desired intelligence, would provide all desired carrier amplitude variations at frequencies much in excess of any presently conceivable lobe modulation frequency. 1976 Which? Sept. 204/1 We measured how well the sets filtered from the audio output‥the 38Hz sub-carrier frequencies—parts of the complex signal that tell the tuner that a stereo programme is being broadcast.1873 M. Dewey in G. DaweMelvil Dewey (1932) 320 Sub-classify each, or any, of these eighty-one (hundred) classes.‥ A Dictionary of Science would receive no *sub-classification but remain simply with main class number. 1894 in37th Rep. Columb. Inst. Deaf & Dumb (1895) 9 We are required to have subclassifications by which we may know the‥specialized work to which it devotes itself. 1897 Daily News 16 Mar. 2/2 Abolition of sub-classification is recommended.1873 *Sub-classify [seesub-classification above]. 1909 Daily Chron. 3 June 3/3 If you sub-classify 55,000 Germans into men, women and children.1820 Q. Rev. XXIII. 73 A dependency upon that colony, from which it was *sub-colonized.1965 N. Chomsky Aspects Theory Syntax i. 17 The syntactic component of a generative grammar contains atransformational *subcomponent. 1973 L. L. &J. M. Constantine Group Marriage xviii. 199 In the interpersonal dimension, we identified two subcomponents.1704 J. Macmillan True Narr. in H. M. B. ReidCamer. Apost. (1896) 236 They draw a *sub~consequence, which is this, that it was contrar the protest and agreement.1664 Power Exp. Philos. Pref. 12 All the fixed lights of Heaven are generally concluded to be pure Fire, and so consequently fluid also, and then *sub~consequentially in motion also.1896 Allbutt's Syst. Med. I. 719 Large colonies [of bacteria] on *sub-cultivation will frequently appear as small ones.1736 Bailey (folio) Pref.,To *Subdecimate‥to divide into tenths‥as 10 Thousand into Hundredths.1845 Jowett Let. to B. C. Brodie 28 Mar., [Rome] has defined, and *sub~defined, and deduced, and *subdeduced.1856 R. A. Vaughan Mystics (1860) I. vi. vi. 209 Every definition and *subdefinition would be open to some doubt.1884 Law Rep. 13 Q.B. Div. 466 Long leaseholds, which he had mortgaged by *sub-demise.1880 Westm. & Chelsea News 2 Oct. Advt., A shop and Dwelling House‥held for a term of 99 years, and *subdemised at £80 per annum.1614 Raleigh Hist. World i. 142 For these *subderiuations [of the Turks] it were infinite to examine them.1834 H. N. Coleridge Grk. Poets (ed. 2) 9 The modern derivative will, at some stage or other of its history, have been treated as an original substantive word‥and associations connected only with its primary modern senses will have given birth to *sub~derivatives from it.a1661 Fuller Worthies, Wiltshire (1662) iii. 150 Succeeding Princes, following this patern, have *sub-diminished their coin ever since.1823 Bentham Not Paul 371 The name and person of his own *sub-disciple Apollos.1643 J. M. Soveraigne Salve 26 To let in a deluge of forrein forces and so yet further *subdistract the remnant.1662 Petty Taxes 13 How many retailers are needful to make the *subdistributions into every village of this nation.a1676 Hale Prim. Orig. Man. ii. iv. (1677) 157 And possibly these variously *subdiversified according to the phantasy of the Artificer.1863 Reade Hard Cash III. 74 What on earth was left for poor Dr. Wolf to do? Could he *sub~embezzle a Highlander's breeks?1652 Observ. touching Forms Govt. 38 Constrained to epitomize, and *subepitomize themselves so long till at last they crumble away into the atomes of Monarchie.1666 Lond. Gaz. No. 42/2 The Farmers of his Majesties Revenue of the Hearth-Duty, intending to *Sub-Farm several Counties. 1764 Gibbon Misc. Wks. (1814) III. 224 The lands were perhaps subfarmed by individuals.1658 inDom. State Papers 321 For seizure made by the *sub-farmers.1857 Buckle Civiliz. I. ix. 568 The great lords having granted lands on condition of fealty and other services to certain persons, these last *subgranted them.1885 Law Rep. 28 Chanc. Div. 121 An agreement of *sub-guarantee by which the signatories guaranteed the signatories of the original guarantee against loss.1889 W. Rye Cromer 32 The *subholding created by Richard de Berningham.a1656 Bp. Hall Rem. Wks. (1660) 409 From the force then of this relation it is easily *subinfered that it is not lawful for Christian Churches‥to forsake the communion of each other.1905 British Medical Journal 27 May 1141 The injection in small amounts will not serve to infect the *subinoculated animal.1843 Mill Logic II. iii. xxii. 135 Examining every known *sub-kind included in the larger kind. 1968 Listener 4 July 6/1 The campus novel, a literary sub-kind that has languished these last years, is surely in for a revival now that dons have had the heady experience of being news.1963 G. Troup Masers & Lasers (ed. 2) 183 Paramagnetic resonance is usually observed between *sub~levels of the term having lowest energy. 1971 Sci. Amer. Oct. 91/2 In a nonuniform [electrostatic] field such nuclei will exhibit energy levels that are split into a number of sublevels corresponding to the number of allowed orientations of the nucleus.1948 Jrnl. Genetics XLIX. 92 A tumour arising in one *subline would be foreign, to some degree at least, to another subline. 1981 Nature 19 Feb. 626/1 Many of the major sublines of common inbred strains [of mice]‥have arisen as a result of genetic contamination in the past.1902 Daily Chron. 26 Nov. 6/6 The final *sub-lodger was squeezed out upon the landing for his sleeping-place.1884 Law Times 29 Nov. 80/1 The mortgagees in fee of an hotel *sub-mortgaged to their bankers in 1879.1883 Law Times Rep. (N.S.) XLIX. 556/1 The defendants last added are *sub-mortgagees of the trustee.1872 E. W. Robertson Hist. Ess. 242 The client of that age was apparently a *sub~occupier of public land under his Patronus.1934 Webster, *Subpassage,n. 1947 Ann. Rev. Microbiol. I. 19 Pneumococci‥maintained by rapid subpassage through mice. 1970 B. G. F. Weitz in H. W. MulliganAfrican Trypanosomiases vi. 114 Variants sometimes reverted to a ‘parent’ antigenic strain type when rodent subpassage was prolonged.1969 Parasitology LIX. 352 Parasites isolated from the parasitaemia‥were *subpassaged at 4-day intervals. 1978 Nature 14 Sept. 132/2 Tumours have been serially subpassaged 3× to date.1970 Ibid. 12 Dec. 1061/1 Lincicome has shown that in calorically restricted mice the number of hosts that developed maximal infections and the intensity of the parasitaemia are increased by *subpassaging.1866 Law Rep. 1 Q.B. Cases 589 On his seeking to get the pawn back from an insolvent *sub-pawnee.Ibid., If the pawnee may repledge the pawn, the *sub-pledgee may do the same, and so on ad infinitum.1755 Gentl. Mag. XXV. 354 They have successively come into the hands of many *sub-proprietors.1855 Hyde Clarke Dict.,*Sub-purchaser.1643 Sir T. Browne Relig. Med. i. §54 The Church of Rome condemneth us, wee likewise them, the *Sub-reformists and Sectaries sentence the Doctrine of our Church as damnable [etc.].1826 Bell Comm. Laws Scot. i. 67 Possession of the *subrents.1902 R. Bagot Donna Diana ii. 13 An apartment he had *sub-rented from a wealthy American widow.1897 Advance (Chicago) 24 June 813/1, $500 of income from *sub-rental.1849 Hooker Himal. Jrnls. (1854) I. xvii. 388 Through the medium of several *sub-renting classes.1894 J. J. Astor Journey in Other Worlds ii. i. 126 There will be no danger from meteors or *sub-satellites here‥for anything revolving about the moon at this distance would be caught by the earth. 1956 Time (Canadian ed.) 24 Dec. 53/1 The inflated sub-satellite is a balloon of Mylar plastic ·0025 in. thick covered with an aluminium film ·0006 in. thick. 1978 Nature 5 Oct. 430/1 We have attempted‥to interpret lunar palaeomagnetism as observed‥in widespread crustal magnetic anomalies mapped by magnetometers on Explorer 35 and the Apollo 15 and 16 subsatellites.1880 Burton Reign Q. Anne I. ii. 66 *Sub-secessions from the successive seceding bodies.1680 Allen Peace & Unity Pref. 80 These seperations and *sub-seperations.1894 Daily Tribune (N.Y.) 5 July, In not all of the cities is administration *sub-sold to confederated crime and to blackmailed business.1895 Pop. Sci. Monthly Apr. 767 A *subspecialized descendant of an ancient generalized group.1846 D. King Lord's Supper vii. 214 An endless splitting and *subsplitting of distinctions.1897 M. Kingsley W. Africa 393 These native *sub~traders have very risky lives of it.1900 Century Mag. LIX. 493/2 The minister of the interior‥whose touches thrill by devolution and *subtransmission throughout the mighty system.1935 Economist 13 July 65/1 He did, however, *sub-underwrite the issue, which was discussed with him previous to the date of the prospectus.1959 Ibid. 18 Apr. 256/1 The *sub-underwriters get 1 per cent of the amount they have underwritten. 1982 Daily Tel. 6 Mar. 1/7 A large proportion‥is paid out to other financial institutions, called sub-underwriters.1955 Times 11 July 14/1 Firm applications‥have already been received‥for 300,000 shares on *sub-underwriting terms. 1981 Times 8 Jan. 11/3 Brokers to the issue‥completed the subunderwriting of the issue yesterday afternoon.1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. II. 592 All the *sub-vaccinees of the vaccinifer (who himself subsequently suffered from erysipelas) did not suffer from erysipelas.1873 Routledge's Young Gentl. Mag. 85 *Sub-variation on White's thirteenth move.
10. Math. Compounded with adjs. expressing ratio,sub- denotes a ratio the opposite of that expressed by the radical element, as in L.subduplus subduple,subtriplus subtriple, late L.submultiplus submultiple; e.g.subdecuple = denoting the ratio 1 : 10,†subdouble =subduple,†subnovitripartient = 1 : 93⁄8, i.e. 8 : 75,subsesquitertial = 3 : 4,subsuperparticular, etc. Analogously, insubduplicate, etc. the prefix is employed to express the ratio of the square (etc.) roots of quantities; but these compounds have been sometimes erron. used forsubduple, etc. (cf. quot. 1657 below).
This use is modelled (in late L.) on that of Gr. ὑπο-, as in ὑποδιπλάσιος, late L.subduplus. Ratios of this kind were called ὑπόλογοι, the opposite πρόλογοι, ὑπο- app. expressing the notion of ‘proportion oflesser inequality’. (Another arithmetical use of the Greek and Latin prefixes is unrepresented in Eng.; viz. that exemplified in ὑπότριτος, L.subtertius, lit. ‘a third less’, i.e. denoting a ratio2⁄3 : 1, i.e. 2 : 3.) 1570 Billingsley Euclid 128 Comparing the lesse quantitie to the greater, it [sc. proportion] is called submultiplex, subsuperparticular, subsuperpartient, submultiplex superparticular, and submultiplex superpartient. 1648 Wilkins Math. Magic i. vii. 47 As one of these under Pulleys doth abate halfe of that heavinesse which the weight hath in it self, and cause the power to be in a sub-duple proportion unto it, so two of them doe abate halfe of that which remains, and cause a subquadruple proportion betwixt the weight and the power; three of them a subsextuple, four a sub~octuple. Ibid. 50 If unto this lower Pulley there were added another, then the power would be unto the weight in a subquintuple proportion. If a third, a subseptuple. 1652 Urquhart Jewel 288 It would bear the analogy‥of a subnovitripartient eights; that is to say,‥the whole being the Dividend, and my Nomenclature the Divisor, the quotient would be nine, with a fraction of three eights; or yet more clearly, as the Proportion of 72. to 675. 1653 H. More Antid. Ath. i. vi. §4 (1712) 19 The Notion of Sub-double, which accrued to that Lead which had half cut away. 1657 Hobbes Absurd Geom. Wks. 1845 VII. 375 It is but subquad[r]uplicate, as you call it, or the quarter of it, as I call it. 1674 S. Jeake Arith. (1696) 209 As the Series of the Numbers from the Units place are continued in a decuple proportion‥so their value decreaseth in a subdecuple proportion. a1696 Scarburgh Euclid (1705) 181 The proportion is Subsuperparticular, and named Subsesquialteral, which is thus noted2⁄3. Ibid., Subsuperpartient, as 5 to 8, or5⁄8 is subsupertriquintal: and 10 to 14, or10⁄14 is Subsuperbiquintal. 1709–29 V. Mandey Syst. Math., Arith. 37 Proportion Subduple, Subtriple, Sub~sesquialter, Subsuperbipartient. 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v.Ratio, 3 to 2 is in a Sesquialterate Ratio; 2 to 3 in a Sub~sesquialterate. 1732 B. Robinson Anim. Oecon. 267 The simple and subquadruplicate Ratios of these Lengths. 1795 T. Maurice Hindostan (1820) I. i. ii. 75 The length of human life is diminished‥in a subdecuple ratio.
III. Next below; near or close (to); subsequent (to). (As a living prefixsub- is restricted in this sense to prepositional uses: the advb. use is seen insubsequent.) 11. Near to (a particular region or point), as in L.suburbānus suburban; e.g.sub-basal,subdorsal,sub-littoral,submarginal.
Such words are often capable of another analysis (see 21d). 12. Geog. andGeol. a. Lying about the base of or subjacent to mountains designated by the second element, hence, of less height than mountains of similar height to these, characteristic of regions of such altitude, as L.subalpīnus subalpine; e.g.sub-Andean,sub-Andine,subapennine,sub-Etnean,sub-Himalayan. Hence in the name of a district, e.g.sub-Himalaya(s.1875 Encycl. Brit. III. 744 The fourth and last Subregion of South America‥may be most fitly named the *Subandean.1885 Linn. Soc. Jrnl., Bot. XXII. 6 A *subandine as well as an andine zone.1833 Lyell Princ. Geol. III. 76 The marine *sub-Etnean beds.1847 *Sub-Himalayan [seeSherpa 1]. 1850 Ansted Elem. Geol., Min., etc. 358 The formations composing the Sewalik hills, which have sometimes been called the Sub-Himalayans. 1851 Jrnl. R. Geog. Soc. XXI. 59 The Siwalik or sub-Himalayan range.1851 Mantell Petrifactions v. §1. 413 Bones of mammalia from the *Sub-Himalayas. 1883 Proc. R. Geog. Soc. V. 617 The tertiaries of the Sub-Himalaya.
b. Denoting a region or zone adjacent to or on the borders of that designated by the second element; e.g.subantarctic,sub-equatorial (alsofig.),sub-frigid,sub-torrid.1875 Encycl. Brit. III. 745Spheniscidæ, a family limited to the Antarctic or *Subantarctic Ocean. 1909 (title) The Subantarctic islands of New Zealand.1880 Dana Man. Geol. (ed. 3) 609 The corresponding zones in latitude‥are 1. Equatorial, Lat. 0°–15°.‥ 6. *Subarctic, 58°–66°.1895 Forum June 468 There was once a widespread delusion in the *sub-arid belt‥that rainfall follows the plough.1909 Webster, *Subequatorial. 1935 H. H. Bashford Lodgings for Twelve 108 Apart from the excitements incident to the relief of Ladysmith and Mafeking, the Boer War—at any rate to the average undergraduate—was a sub-equatorial and not very important affair. 1977 Sci. Amer. Apr. 106/2 This is the earliest-known evidence of metallurgy in the entire subequatorial region.1852 Dana Crust. ii. 1472 Its southern portion‥appears to pertain‥to the *Subfrigid [Region].1896 Yearbk. U.S. Dept. Agric. 631 The *subhumid region.1852 Henfrey Veget. Eur. 103 The regions which may be distinguished on the West side of the Scandinavian Alps are:—1. The Maritime region; 2. The *Subsylvatic region; 3. The Subalpine region; and 4. The Alpine region.1852 Dana Crust. ii. 1510 The genusPorcellana has but two-thirds as many species in the temperate as in the torrid zone. Yet the *sub~temperate region contains but one less than the *subtorrid.
13. Mus. Designating a note next to or next below some principal note, as in med.L.subprincipālis subprincipal; e.g.subtonic. (Cf. 4.) 14. a. Combined with adjs. (and in derived advbs.) with the sense ‘of lower condition or degree (or size) than’ or ‘numerically less than’ that denoted by the original adj.; e.g. Also (U.S.) in adjs. expressing an inferior educational status, assub-angelical,sub-divine,sub-fresh (alsosub-freshman),sub-judicial,sub-literary,sub-maximal,sub-miliary,sub-molecular,sub-morphemic,sub-optimal (hencesub-optimally),sub-optimum,sub-phonemic (hencesub-phonemically),sub-primary,sub-regal.sub-biˈtuminous a. Geol., (of coal) of inferior quality to bituminous; intermediate in rank between bituminous coal and lignite;subˈcellular a. Biol., smaller than a cell; occurring inside a cell;subcomˈpact a. U.S., designating a car which is smaller than a compact one (seecompact ppl. a.1 II. 1b); alsoabsol. as n.;subˈfreezing a., designating or characterized by a temperature lower than the freezing-point of water;subˈluminal a. [L.lūmen,lūmin- light], having or being a speed less than that of light.
This sense tends to blend with 19.1652 Benlowes Theoph. Pref., Man‥is of all Creatures *sub-angelical the Almighties Masterpiece.1908 Econ. Geol. III. 136 The term ‘*sub-bituminous’ was recommended and formally adopted by the [U.S. Geological] survey for all official publications. 1949 F. J. Pettijohn Sedimentary Rocks xii. 366 Subbituminous, semibituminous, and semianthracite coals are transitional coal types. 1979 B. L. C. Johnson Pakistan xi. 161/1 The estimates of reserves of Lower Tertiary lignitic to sub-bituminous coal range between 449 and 478 million tonnes.1608 Hieron Defence ii. 83 These‥maye be called conformable to the Canonicall or *subcannonical.1953 New Biol. XV. 120 There are too many examples in which patterns arise‥within single cells (and thus demand a theory dealing in *sub-cellular units). 1964 G. H. Haggis et al. Introd. Molecular Biol. ii. 20 Some enzymes are localized in certain sub-cellular structures. 1978 Sci. Amer. Dec. 68/2 Myoglobin combines with the oxygen released by red cells, stores it and transports it to the subcellular organelles called mitochondria.1967 Wall St. Jrnl. 24 Feb. 1/1 AMC [sc. the American Motors Corporation] also is thinking of building a ‘*subcompact’ car that would compete directly in size and price with Volkswagen. 1971 Flying Apr. 68/2 (Advt.), A different-looking subcompact with the spirit of a sporty car. 1980 Times 12 Dec. 24/3 Chrysler extended the close-down of its Belvidere, Illinois, assembly plant, which makes subcompact cars.1610 Donne Pseudo-martyr 185 Nor know we whether they will pleade Diuine Law, that is, places of Scripture, or *Sub diuine Law, which is interpretation of Fathers. 1652 Bp. Hall Invis. World i. §2 O ye glorious Spirits‥he that made you hath given us some little glimpse of your subdivine natures.1958 N.Y. Times 15 Dec. 2/6 The Weather Bureau warned that *subfreezing temperatures would continue today. 1979 P. Theroux Old Patagonian Express iii. 51 Two feet of snow in Boston. Chaos and death. Power cuts in sub-freezing weather.1893 Congregationalist (Boston) 21 Sept., Enrollment as freshmen or ‘*sub-fresh’ in the City College.1896 Living Topics Cycl. (N.Y.) II. 264 Classical, scientific and mechanical *sub-freshman classes.1808 Bentham Sc. Reform 67 All other persons who bear any part in the cause:—Judge, *sub-judicial officers, parties.1872 Swinburne Under Microscope 79 ‘Ah, my lord‥’, says the jackal to the lion‥‘observe how all other living creatures belong but to some *sub-leonine class’.1952 New World Writing Apr. 234 Evenaficionados of murder fiction will concede‥that except in the hands of a few writers it has been a *sub-literary product—characters unreal, dialogue artificial, plots highly improbable. 1980 Jrnl. R. Soc. Arts Apr. 302/1 He illuminates‥this curious sub-literary genre in such a way that even serious students gain a profitable exposure to materials not often considered in length.1969 Physics Today May 45/3 Particles traveling at *subluminal and those traveling at luminal velocities are two entirely distinct kinds of objects. 1980 Sci. Amer. Aug. 76/2 The expansion that appears from the earth to be superluminal would be relativistic but still subluminal when measured by the slower clocks of the source itself.1890 W. James Princ. Psychol. I. 235 *Submaximal nerve-irritations.1880 A. Flint Princ. Med. 194 The ultimate *submiliary granula coalesce to make‥nodules.1896 Allbutt's Syst. Med. I. 560 The body can resist the action of *subminimal doses of living bacteria. 1890 Syd. Soc. Lex.,Subminimal stimulus, a stimulus which is not strong enough to produce any obvious effect.1935 Discovery Dec. 353/1 Raindrops may form on *sub~molecular electrically-charged units, or ions. 1964 G. H. Haggis et al. Introd. Molecular Biol. 338 Study of the mechanism of enzyme action is in a sense submolecular biology.1947 C. F. Hockett inLanguage XXIII. 321 A scholar deciphering a dead language written in a non-phonetic or semi-phonetic orthography, may achieve good control of the tactics and semantics of the language, but remain in almost total ignorance of anything *sub~morphemic. 1964 E. A. Nida Toward Sci. Transl. iii. 41 Certain submorphemic elements can also be recognized, e.g. the sound symbolism ofush ingush, flush, blush, slush andmush.1901 Amer. Jrnl. Physiol. IV. 477 If the stimulation is *sub-optimal, the animal will seek the source of light. 1980 Sci. Amer. Sept. 134/1 On the whole, however, India remains a case of stunted, suboptimal growth, burdened as it is with the world's largest single national mass of poverty and unemployment.1901 Amer. Jrnl. Physiol. IV. 478 The supra-optimally stimulated organism moves from the source, the *sub-optimally stimulated one moves towards the source, of light. 1958 Times Rev. Industry Sept. (London & Cambridge Economic Bull.) p. iii/1 A larger labour force‥had to be‥deployed sub-optimally.1937 Ann. Reg. 1936 59 Attention was given to the social importance of nutrition due to the realisation that *sub-optimum nutrition is common and widespread. 1950 Suboptimum [seelinolenate].1935 Language XI. 102 A *sub-phonemic variation which the observer himself uses will generally escape his notice. 1969 Archivum Linguisticum 1965 XVII. 109 By no means all subphonemic changes eventually become phonemic. 1981 Amer. Speech 1977 LII. 171 Along the Atlantic seaboard, subphonemic vowel differences are common.1955 C. F. Hockett Man. Phonol. 160 The worker who sets up fewer ‘phonemes’ must cover less ‘*subphonemically’ but correspondingly more ‘super~phonemically’.1898 Advance (Chicago) 17 Feb. 206/2 The institution has never had a *sub-preparatory department, as several of the young colleges have.1895 Proc. 14th Conv. Instr. Deaf 293 In *subprimary work there is surely an interesting field for the constructive talent.1810 Lamb Let. to T. Manning 2 Jan., The ordinary titles of *sub-regal dignity. 1878 H. M. Stanley Dark Cont. I. xv. 390 His sub-regal court.1907 Nature LXXVI. 146/1 *Subthermal baths, given at temperatures below blood heat.
b. Similarly combined with ns. (forming words used chieflyattrib.), assub-cabinet (chieflyU.S.),sub-microgram,sub-proletariat,sub-threshold,sub-zero;subˈmillimetre a., less than a millimetre in size or length; pertaining to or employing electromagnetic waves of such a length; alsoˌsubmilliˈmetric a.1956 R. J. Donovan Eisenhower v. 66 Almost as soon as the Cabinet rises each week, Rabb meets with a group of *sub-Cabinet officers. 1974 P. Gore-Booth With Great Truth & Respect 389 The process of an important and difficult decision is remarkable.‥ It passes through a hierarchy or a sort of sub-cabinet or both. 1981 Economist 24 Jan. 24/3 Lower appointments to sub-cabinet jobs are still being made and will be for some weeks.1965 Phillips &Williams Inorg. Chem. I. xvi. 576 Work on natural polonium has been limited to the *sub-microgram scale. 1976 Nature 10 June 454/1 Gibberellins are amongst the most potent of the naturally occurring plant growth regulators and exert maximal activity in most tissues when present in sub-microgram quantities.1955 Jrnl. Appl. Physics XXVI. 1384/1 *Submillimeter radiation was produced when a pulsed, bunched high-energy electron beam was passed through a simple rectangular wave guide. 1973 Physics Bull. May 305/3 Submillimetre spectroscopy, or far infrared spectroscopy as it is more frequently termed, is a field in which there has been much activity during the last 15 years. 1976 Sci. Amer. June 127/1 All one had to do was to drop his view to the submillimeter level, where little creatures abound that are still new to science.1975 Nature 6 Mar. 39/2 The mystery of the *submillimetric limb brightening [of the sun].1958 Listener 30 Jan. 186/1 Today the population of the delta belongs to the class which, I believe, sociologists call the rural *sub-proletariat. They are landless or almost landless peasants who seek casual employment in agriculture or anything that comes along. 1974 M. B. Brown Economics of Imperialism iv. 87 Nor can we overlook‥the role of migrant labour as a ‘sub-proletariat’ in Europe today. 1979 Dædalus Spring 105 The institutionalization of a subproletariat, and the creation of ethnic ghettos in the large urban areas are‥examples of the changes taking place.1937 Best &Taylor Physiol. Basis Med. Practice lxiii. 1225 If a second stimulus also of *subthreshold strength‥be sent into the nerve an impulse is set up. 1976 Ann. Rev. Microbiol. XXX. 234 Negative chemotaxis appears to be largely an all-or-none response to a threshold concentration, but weaker effects caused by prolonged exposure to subthreshold concentrations probably also occur.1942 O. Nash Face is Familiar 137 And nobody is prompter In the face of hell, high water, and *sub-zero thermomter. 1980 R. McCrum In Secret Place xii. 113 He's having a sub-zero feud with Hayter.
c. Compounded with a further prefix, assub-ˈmicro- Chem., involving amounts less than those typical of microanalysis; also used as an independent word. 1945 Jrnl. Biol. Chem. CLXI. 589 In order to estimate the P content of these solutions, a *submicroprocedure‥having a range of 0·2 to 3 γ of P was employed. 1964 N. G. Clark Mod. Org. Chem. xxiv. 496 The isolation of minute quantities of material from biological sources has necessitated even greater refinements, so that sub~micro techniques (requiring 30–50 µg) have been developed during recent years. 1974 [seemicro- 8b].
15. Zool. In names of divisions of animals regarded as having only imperfectly developed the characteristics denoted by the word to whichsub- is prefixed, asSubgrallatores,Submytilacea,Subungulata. English derivatives have been occas. formed; e.g.subostracean, a mollusc of the familySubostracea;subplantigrade, of or resembling the groupSubplantigrada, not quite plantigrade.1836 Penny Cycl. V. 313/2 [De Blainville] allows that these last ought to form a distinct genus of the family of *Sub~ostraceans.1883 Encycl. Brit. XV. 434 The greater number of the Carnivora‥may be called ‘*subplantigrade’, often when at rest applying the whole of the sole to the ground.
16. In craniometry, forming adjs. designating a type of skull having an index next below that of the type denoted by the second element; e.g.subbrachycephalic,-ous (hence-cephaly),subdolichocephalic,-ous (hence-cephalism).
These terms are based on Broca's classification, who used the L. forms (masc. pl.)subbrachycephali,-dolichocephali.1863–4 Thurnam inMem. Anthropol. Soc. I. 461 With M. Broca, it is desirable to admit a *sub-dolichocephalic and a *sub-brachycephalic class [of skulls].Ibid. 510 Only about half [the skulls] are brachycephalous or *sub-brachycephalous.1878 Bartley tr.Topinard's Anthrop. ii. xii. 499 Low stature, woolly hair, black skin, and *sub-brachycephaly.1895 Smithsonian Rep. i. 515 His cephalic index falls down to *subdolichocephalism.1896 Keane Ethnol. xii. 321 The shape of the head‥is‥here and there mesaticephalous and even *sub-dolichocephalous.1890 Billings Nat. Med. Dict.,*Sub-mesaticephalic, having a cephalic index of 75 or 76.1890 H. Ellis Criminal iii. 52 Out of thirty criminals eight presented brains and skulls of a‥capacity only found in *submicrocephalic subjects.1863–4 Thurnam inMem. Anthropol. Soc. I. 473 All these crania are very dolichocephalous. The first‥is a remarkable specimen of synostosis.‥ The form is *sub-scaphocephalic.
17. In the names of certain sectaries, = after, consequent upon, the opposite ofsupra- (q.v.); e.g.Sublapsarian,submortuarian. 18. In designations of periods immediately ‘below’ or posterior to a particular period, as insub-neolithic (alsofig.),sub-Roman adjs.;subapostolic.1910 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 11) XII. 59 The following stages in the glaciation of North America:‥The Aftonian (1st interglacial). The *sub-Aftonian or Jerseyan (1st glacial).1902 Encycl. Brit. XXXI. 57 [Bugelkanne] is found every~where in the area, made of various local clays, and it long survived into the ‘Geometric’ or *sub-Mycenaean period.1905 A. J. Evans inAnn. Brit. School at Athens X. 22 This stratum, to which the name ‘Early Minoan I.’ may be conveniently applied, shows naturally a greater survival of Neolithic elements.‥ In its general complexion indeed it may be described as ‘*Sub-Neolithic’. 1956 E. E. Cummings Let. 11 Mar. (1969) 248 Good Freudians were quick to suggest that my superego suffers from sub~neolithic trends.1962 H. R. Loyn Anglo-Saxon England i. 39 Wheel-made pottery of *sub-Roman character. 1977 History LXII. 175 We cannot, however, expect that these works will ever provide information about the sub-Roman centuries.
IV. Incomplete(ly), imperfect(ly), partial(ly). *with adverbial meaning. 19. a. Prefixed to adjs. or pples. of a general character, as in L.subabsurdus somewhat absurd,subobscūrus subobscure; e.g.subanalogous, somewhat similar; alsosub-historical,sub-literate,sub-mature,sub-moral,sub-solid adjs. (The precise force ofsub- may vary contextually from ‘only slightly’ to ‘not quite, all but’.)sub-ecoˈnomic a., not justifiable on purely economic grounds;subinˈhibitory a., (of a dose of a drug, chemical, etc.) enough to hinder but not prevent microbial growth;subˈluminous a., dim;spec. inAstr., of less luminosity than the normal;subˈsexual a. Genetics, characterized by or being a form of parthenogenetic reproduction in which the first division of meiosis occurs, with crossing-over, but not the second (reduction) division;subˈsocial a. Biol., applied to species of spiders or insects that live gregariously but without a fixed social organization;subˈvocal a., designating an unarticulated level of speech comparable to thought; hencesubˈvocally adv.1870 Lowell Study Wind. 291 A thimbleful of‥*subacidulous Hock.1767 Phil. Trans. LVII. 417 Little seeds *subanalogous, or somewhat resembling those we find in the fructification of the Fucus's.1884 A. Lang Custom & Myth 236 A *sub-barbaric society—say that of Zululand.1668 H. More Div. Dial. i. xxxvii. I. 160 This *subderisorious mirth.1822–34 Good's Study Med. (ed. 4) I. 330 The mixture *sub-diluted for bathing.1948 Rep. Native Laws Commission 1946–48 (Dept. Native Affairs, S. Afr.) 4/2 Government assistance‥in respect of *sub-economic schemes has all along been linked with the condition that the municipality should bear a share of the loss. 1971 Leader (Durban) 7 May 1/5 The Verulam Town Board has announced its intention to erect‥100 sub-economic houses. 1980 Sci. Amer. Jan. 50/2 He created a two-way grid of categories based on the degree of geological knowledge (known deposits, inferred deposits and probable deposits) and on current economics (economic, subeconomic and uneconomic).a1734 North Life Ld. Kpr. North (1742) 228 The Spaniards have peculiar Councils, call'd Juntos,‥which prevents such *sub~emergent Councils as these [sc. English cabinet councils].1842 Loudon Suburban Hort. 17 *Sub-evergreen herbaceous plants are: Œnothera biennis and several other species, Pentstemon, Chelone, Asters.1854 Badham Halieut. 180 Others, *subgregarious in their taste, swim about in small detached parties.1940 K. Mannheim Ideology & Utopia 128 Besides this *sub-historical biological element a spiritual, transcendental element is also to be found in this sphere. 1973 R. J. W. Evans Rudolf II ii. 45 Such a view‥has survived in sub-historical writing and belles-lettres.1903 Geikie Text-bk. Geol. (ed. 4) I. 18 The coronal atmosphere‥consists mainly of *subincandescent hydrogen.1956 M. Hynes Med. Bacteriol. (ed. 6) ix. 123 Serial culture of susceptible organisms in the presence of *sub-inhibitory concentrations of an antibiotic results in the emergence of bacteria that can flourish in the presence of enormous concentrations of the antibiotic. 1976 Ann. Rev. Microbiol. XXX. 64 Some strains ofM. osloensis produce such a preponderance of coccal cells that their true nature can only be ascertained in films from media with subinhibitory concentrations of penicillin.1958 J. Berry in J. A. FishmanReadings Sociol. of Lang. (1968) 743 In *subliterate societies (in most of Tropical Africa for example) where book-production is at the best financially hazardous, the need for exotic type can have a deterrent effect on book production. 1973 R. A. Crampsey Puerto Rico 13 In 1940 the bulk of the people were subliterate or illiterate.1864 Spectator 31 Dec. 1508 The sky is still *subluminous. 1959 Encounter July 53/2 The photography is that chocolate-marshmallow kind of subluminous chiaroscuro. 1969 O. J. Eggen in S. S. KumarLow-Luminosity Stars i. i. 22 Photometric parallaxes have been derived for the 27 stars in Table III which are very probably subluminous. 1976 Progress in Sci. Culture (E. Majorana Centre) Spring 52 Extragalactic sources can be classified in order of luminosity as follows (1) subluminous galaxies, such as M 31, (2) normal galaxies, [etc.].1899 *Submature [seepeneplanation]. 1922 C. A. Cotton Geomorphol. N.Z. i. xxviii. 415 The coast has passed through the stage of youth and has become sub-mature. 1951 Jrnl. Sedimentary Petrol. XXI. 128 Definition of the four stages of textural maturity.‥ I. Immature stage.‥ II. Submature stage. Sediment contains very little or no clay, but the non-clay portion‥is still itself poorly sorted.‥ III. Mature stage.‥ IV. Supermature stage. 1965 G. J. Williams Econ. Geol. N.Z. xiii. 192/1 A submature valley formed on this surface, later to be dammed by a basalt flow.1892 Zangwill Bow Myst. 87 A curious, *sub-mocking smile.1946 Mind LV. 115 A will-less saint would be a *sub-moral being, a fine creature perhaps, but not a responsible moral agent.1807 Spirit Publ. Jrnls. XI. 84, I swam with *subnatant tadpoles, I frisked with volatile newts.1866 Odling Anim. Chem. 154, I now add to the free iodine some *suboxidised substance.1650 Milton Tenure Kings 59 Not prelatical, or of this late faction *subprelatical.1817 Kirby &Sp. Entomol. (1818) II. 277 A *subputrescent stalk of Angelica.1618 Hales inGold. Rem. ii. (1673) 23 That δυσωπία, that *subrustick shamefastness of many men.1865 Pall Mall Gaz. 11 Nov. 9 It might be imagined that the advertisement conveyed a *subsarcastic touch.1876 Nature XIV. 503/2 The *Sub-Semitic languages of Africa.1937 C. D. Darlington inNature 30 Oct. 761/2 Other mechanisms occur in the dog roses and with certain kinds of parthenogenesis whereby, as inŒnothera, a large part of the genes are prevented from recombining. With such systems stability has been achieved at the expense of variability, and we have arrived at what we may call a *sub-sexual method of reproduction. 1947 —— &Mather Elements of Genetics xii. 266 As compared with sexual species variation is much reduced but it still occurs. The new apomictic species is thus often subsexual.1877 Swinburne Note on C. Bronte 11 Its superhuman or *subsimious absurdity.1881 Westcott &Hort Grk. N.T. II. 230 What may be called ‘*subsingular readings’ which have only secondary support.1928 W. M. Wheeler Social Insects i. 13 The insects included in categories (1) to (5) may be designated as ‘infrasocial’; those of (6), which are more interesting for our purposes may be called ‘quasisocial’ or ‘*subsocial’. 1958 Science 2 May 1046/1 Social organization in the main groups of social bees‥did not arise‥through subsocial family groups. 1976 Sci. Amer. Mar. 101/3 Michener's second evolutionary route he calls subsocial. On this route only one level of behavior precedes eusociality; it is characterized by solitary rather than communal nest building. The solitary female [spider] remains at the nest, however, and cares for her young.1922 Joyce Ulysses 674 The decocted beverages, allowing for *subsolid residual sediment of a mechanical mixture, water plus sugar plus cream plus cocoa, having been consumed.1786 Phil. Trans. LXXVI. 319 Both of them immersed in *subtepid water.a1734 North Exam. iii. vii. (1740) 549 This put abundance of People of *subvirile Tempers, into a Twitter.1934 M. Ten Hoor inJrnl. Philos. XXXI. 534 The responsibility for descriptive analysis and psychological definition‥has been accepted‥by‥the behaviorists.‥ This theory‥in its extreme form‥contends that thought is nothing but *subvocal speech. 1980 A. Kenny Aquinas iii. 78 Aquinas has a clear grasp of the relationship between the intellect and the imagination when thought takes place in mental images or in subvocal speech.1961 E. J. Furlong Imagination vii. 77 The words ‘the Chapel’ are *subvocally present to me along with the visual object.1620 Venner Via Recta viii. 164 A *Subvulgar Diet is as it were a meane betweene the Accurate, and Vulgar.
(b) Such compounds are occas. used subst.1635 D. Person Varieties ii. 63 Whether that thing engendred bee a Star, or any other celestiall vertue, whereunto this *subdeficient striveth to attaine.1633 Earl of Manchester Al Mondo (1636) 86 There be certaine *subsapients so worldly wise, as they thinke all other men insipients.
b. In derived advbs., assubmaturely. 1900 Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist. XXIX. 309 In central France‥the initial form was an uplifted and submaturely dissected peneplain, in which valleys with incised meanders have been‥developed. 1913 Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer. XXIV. 201 The submaturely dissected scarp.
20. a. With adjs. derived from the names of persons, used to designate something in the manner of but inferior to their work, characteristic style, etc. (Chiefly in nonce-formations.) 1934 E. Sitwell Aspects Mod. Poetry i. 18 Mr. Housman was followed by a school of poets, rather loosely held together by their sub-Wordsworthian ideals. 1959 Listener 5 Feb. 258/2 A laboured sub-Wodehousian straining after slapstick instead of farce. 1962 John o' London's 10 May 459/2 The opening has a sub-Chaplinesque quality. 1967 J. Philip et al. Best of Granta i. 16 Following the editorial come five sub-Miltonic stanzas. 1977 P. Johnson Enemies of Society xi. 154 One prominent sub-Marxist ‘scientist’ who constantly uses the crisis-mechanism, to justify, among other things, the use of positive censorship, when possible, is Herbert Marcuse.
b. Hence, prefixed simply to the names of persons. 1963 Times Lit. Suppl. 5 Apr. 235/2 Here is the eternal sex-life of the American college girl told in the eternal sub-Salinger‥style. 1968 J. Bingham I love, I Kill xi. 132 It was calledDeeper in the South‥kind of sub-Tennessee Williams. 1977 Listener 28 July 122/3 A pregnant older lady who paints sub-Ernst surrealities.
21. In technical use, chieflyNat. Hist.
A small proportion only of the more commonly used compounds are illustrated here. a. With adjs. of colour, as in L.subalbidus somewhat white, whitish,sublīvidus somewhat livid,subniger blackish,subviridis greenish, late or mod.L.subcitrīnus subcitrine,subpallidus (forsuppallidus) palish,subrūfus (forsurrūfus) reddish; e.g.subalbid,sub-luteous,sub-pale,sub-red,sub-virid.c1530 Judic. Urines ii. viii. 33b, Vryne pale or *subpale.Ibid. x. 37 Rudy vryne is moyst like fyne golde, and *sub~rufe goldysshe.Ibid. xi. 39marg., Rede or *subrede vryne.Ibid. xii. 41 Vryne Rubicunde or *Subrubicunde.Ibid. xiii. 42 Afore yt vryn were Rubie or *subrubie.1590 P. Barrough Meth. Physick ii. viii. (1596) 84 If his spittle‥be yealow and *subpale.1656 Blount Glossogr.,*Sub~albid, somewhat white.1657 Tomlinson Renou's Disp. 300 Seseli hath lignous‥*subrubeous‥surcles.Ibid. 610 A *subrufe ponderous Powder.1661 Lovell Hist. Anim. & Min. 212 Tethyia. If red is edible, the pale and *subluteous are bitterish.1694 Salmon Bate's Disp. (1713) 217/2 Of a *subvirid or greenish blue Colour.Ibid. 339/1 A *Subrubid or Livor coloured soft Calx.1742 Phil. Trans. XLII. 125 A large tough *subrubicund Polypus.1777 T. Percival Ess. I. 192 The portion with cantharides‥neither assumed a *sublivid, nor an ash colour.1800 Shaw Gen. Zool. I. 490Didelphis Obesula,‥*Subferruginous Opossum.1802 Ibid. III. 397Coluber Nasicornis,‥*Subolivaceo-flavescent Snake.1803 Ibid. IV. 556Holocentrus Bengalensis,‥*Sub~fulvous Holocentrus.1804 Ibid. V. 282Raja Pastinaca,‥*Subolivaceous Ray.1809 Ibid. VII. 272Strix Caspia,‥*Subluteous Owl.1815 Stephens in ShawGen. Zool. IX. 84 Of a *subrufous chesnut.1817 Ibid. X. 626 *Subtestaceous Warbler, spotted with brown.1846 Dana Zooph. (1848) 664 Colour *subminiaceous.1847 Proc. Berw. Nat. Club II. v. 242 Elytra‥of a dark *sub-æneous green.Ibid. 248 The margin often *sub-piceous.1852 Dana Crust. i. 395 The legs are *subochreous.1887 W. Phillips Brit. Discomycetes 13 Margin‥*subcinnamomeous.1898 Syd. Soc. Lex.,*Sub~flavous ligament, short ligaments of yellow elastic tissue connecting the lamina of the vertebræ.1900 Westm. Gaz. 29 June 2/1 Her complexion *sub-olive.
b. With adjs. denoting surface texture, contour, or marking, substance, consistency, composition, taste, odour, as in L.subācer somewhat acrid,subacidus subacid,subdūrus somewhat hard,subsalsus saltish, mod.L.sublānātus somewhat woolly; e.g.subacerb,sub-acrid,sub-coriaceous,†sub-dure,sub-granular,-ate,-ated,-ose,sub-hornblendic,sub-membranous,sub-stony,sub-translucent,sub-villose,sub-villous.1638 Rawley tr.Bacon's Life & Death (1650) 40 It must be ordered‥that the Juyce of the Body, bee somewhat hard, and that it be fatty, or *subroscide.1657 Tomlinson Renou's Disp. 259 Its sapour is very sweet, *subamare, austere and somewhat aromatical.Ibid. 382 [Dates] are‥soft, but carnous, *subdure within.1676 Grew Anat. Plants (1682) 246 Spirit of Nitre is a *subalkalizate Spirit.Ibid. 247 Spirit of Salt is a *subalkaline Acid.1694 Salmon Bate's Disp. (1713) 248/2 These Tinctures are hot and dry, *substringent.1694 Phil. Trans. XVIII. 15 A *subsaline and somewhat austere Serum.1699 Evelyn Acetaria (1729) 129 Its pinguid, *subdulcid, and agreeable Nature.1702 Phil. Trans. XXIII. 1165Alga Marina is *Subacrid and Sweet.Ibid. 1171 The Roots are sweet and *subacerbe.1756 P. Browne Jamaica 75 Its fibres are always rigid and *subdiaphane.1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. iii. iv. (1765) 169Sarmentose; when they are Repent and *subnude.1777 Pennant Brit. Zool. IV. 3 A *sub-cordated body.1777 S. Robson Brit. Flora 117 Leaves ovato-oblong, *subpilose.Ibid. 131 Branches *subvillose.1781 Phil. Trans. LXXX. 375 A spissid *sub~pellucid liquid.1785 Martyn Rousseau's Bot. xxvi. (1794) 387 The stem is *subherbaceous.1787 tr.Linnæus' Fam. Plants 494 Legume rhombed, turgid, *subvillous.Ibid. 547 Pappus sessile, *subplumy.Ibid. 584 Seeds‥*submembranous, inverse-hearted.Ibid. 683 Berry *substriated.1792 Withering Bot. Arrangem. (ed. 2) III. 226Tremella Nostoc.‥*Sub-gelatinous.1817 Kirby &Sp. Entomol. (1818) II. 418 Both‥have the material which diffuses their light included in a hollow *subtransparent projection of the head.Ibid. (1843) II. 44 Their abdomen swollen into an immense *sub~diaphanous sphere filled by a kind of honey.1822 J. Parkinson Outl. Oryctol. 192 The operculum is small, elliptical, and *subosseous.Ibid. 201Voluta digitalina: decussated, *subgranular.1824 R. K. Greville Scot. Cryptog. Flora II. pl. 110 The surface covered with a minute *sub~pulverulent substance.1826 Kirby &Sp. Entomol. III. 338 An internal *submembranaceous tooth or process.1828 Stark Elem. Nat. Hist. II. 420 Axis slender, horny, or *sub-stony in the centre.1829 Loudon Encycl. Plants (1836) 15 Leaves‥*sub-coriaceous.Ibid. 591 Leaves *subcordate sessile serrate *subvillous.Ibid. 1023 *Substriate or rugose.1833 Hooker in SmithEng. Flora V. i. 46 Leaves *subopaque.1833–4 J. Phillips Geol. inEncycl. Metrop. (1845) VI. 562/2 An irregular‥bed‥of serpentine‥exhibits‥a *sublaminated structure.1839 H. T. De la Beche Rep. Geol. Cornwall, etc. iii. 64 The latter with a *sub-schistose structure.1839 G. Roberts Dict. Geol.,*Sub-lamellar‥, extremely thin, like a sheet of paper.1842 Percival Rep. Geol. Connect. 32 A dark grey *sub-porphyritic, *sub-hornblendic rock.1846 Dana Zooph. (1848) 451 Branchlets‥*subterete and proliferous.Ibid. 590 Base *subgranulous.1847 Proc. Berw. Nat. Club II. v. 236 Body slightly pubescent or *subglabrous.1847 W. E. Steele Field Bot. 201 Bracts small, *sub-foliaceous.1849 Dana Geol. xvii. (1850) 632 Hypersthene‥having a pearly or *submetallic lustre.1868 —— Syst. Mineral. (ed. 5) v. 194 Plasma.‥ Rather bright-green to leek-green, also sometimes nearly emerald-green, and *subtranslucent or feebly translucent.1870 Hooker Stud. Flora 196 Fruit compressed, obovate, *subhispid.1871 W. A. Leighton Lichen-flora 27 Apothecia lecanorine or *sub-biatorine.1880 Günther Fishes 66 Slender *subossified rings.1895 J. W. Powell Physiogr. Processes inNat. Geog. Monogr. I. 1 The interior of the earth is in a *subfluid condition.1955 Brown &Dey India's Mineral Wealth (ed. 3) 623 The bloodstones are *subtranslucent, dark green chalcedony speckled with red; the moss agates‥perfectly translucent stones.
c. With adjs. expressing shape, conformation, or physical habit, as in mod.L.subæquālis subequal,subamplexicaulis slightly amplexicaul,subobtūsus somewhat obtuse,subrepandus somewhat repand,subsessilis subsessile; e.g.sub-acuminate,sub-arborescent,sub-cordate,-ated,sub-hooked,sub-lunate,sub-repand,sub-simple;ˌsubacroˈcentric a. Cytology =subtelocentric adj. below;subˈhedral a., applied to crystals having partially developed faces, or incompletely bounded planes;ˌsubmetaˈcentric a. Cytology, applied to a chromosome with the centromere almost in the middle, so that the two chromosome arms differ slightly in length; alsoellipt. asn.;ˌsubteloˈcentric a. Cytology, applied to a chromosome with a centromere near one end, but not as near as in an acrocentric chromosome; alsoellipt. asn. 1752 J. Hill Hist. Anim. 131 The *sublong and transversely radiated Buccinum. 1756 P. Browne Jamaica 101 The *subarborescent Polypodium with a large lobed foliage. 1775 J. Jenkinson Linnæus' Brit. Plants 148 The silicula is *subcordate. Ibid. 162 Crowfoot Cranesbill with two flowers on each peduncle, *subpeltated. 1777 S. Robson Brit. Flora 71 Leaves reniform, *subpeltate. Ibid. 124 Leaves *sub~hastate. Ibid. 138 Clusters *subimbricate. Ibid. 145 Petals *sublanceolate. Ibid. 159 Leaves lineari-lanceolate, *sub~serrate. Ibid. 170 Peduncles uniflorous, *subcorymbose. Ibid. 188 Leaves ovate, obtuse, *subcrenate. Ibid. 262 Females *subpedunculate. Ibid. 290 Leafits ovate, *subciliate. Ibid. 296 Leaves‥lanceolate, *sublaciniate. Ibid. 304 Stem almost simple, *subventricose. 1785 Martyn Rousseau's Bot. xxiii. (1794) 321 The stem-leaves oblong and *Subsinuous. Ibid. 446 Balm of Gilead Fir has the leaves *subemarginate. 1787 tr.Linnæus' Fam. Plants 180 Cor[olla]. Universal not uniform, *subradiate. Ibid. 188 Petals five, endnick-inflected, *sub~unequal. Ibid. 282 Germ wedge-form, angular, *subpedicel'd. Ibid. 534 Cor[olla]. Compound *subimbricated. Ibid. 761 Seeds‥flat inwards, *subconvex outwardly. Ibid. 763 Villous-murex'd without, with *subrevolute margins. c1789 Encycl. Brit. (1797) III. 447/2 The florets *subpedicellated, or standing on very short flower-stalks. 1800 Shaw Gen. Zool. I. 264 *Sub-auriculated dusky Seal. 1802 Ibid. III. 588 The tail abruptly *subacuminate. 1809 Ibid. VII. 313 *Sub~cristated ferruginous Shrike. 1815 Stephens in ShawGen. Zool. IX. 92 Tail wedge-shaped with *sublunate ferruginous fasciæ. 1817 Ibid. X. 381 *Subcrested Flycatcher. 1819 Ibid. XI. 519 Beak‥the apex *subtruncate. 1819 G. Samouelle Entomol. Compend. 93 Hands externally *subserrated. 1821 S. Gray Brit. Plants II. 3 Leaflets *sub~auricled at the base. 1822 W. P. C. Barton Flora N. Amer. II. 71 Corolla *sub-campanulate, five-lobed. 1822 J. Parkinson Outl. Oryctol. 38 *Subpediculated masses. Ibid. 56 With thick lamellæ windingly plaited, *subcristated. Ibid. 74 Granulated and *subdentated striæ. Ibid. 131 The mouth *subreniform, with five prominent lips. Ibid. 223Pecten discors: *subinequivalved. Ibid. 224Plicatula tubifera: *subirregular. 1823 R. K. Greville Scot. Cryptog. Flora i. pl. 46 Plants somewhat crustaceous or *substipitate. 1826 Kirby &Sp. Entomol. III. 170 The Libellulina MacLeay (whose metamorphosis that gentleman has denominated *subsemicomplete, a term warranted by their losing in their perfect state the mask before described). Ibid. 319 InScolia‥&c.,‥the antennæ are‥in the females convolute or *subspiral. Ibid. 427 [The labial palpi] being most frequently filiform or *subclavate. 1826 Crouch Lamarck's Conchol. 15 Shell transverse, *subequivalve, inequilateral. Ibid. 18 Shell *subtransverse. Ibid. 19 Shell‥*Sublobate at the base. Ibid. 20 Shell inequivalve,‥the superior margin rounded, *subplicate. 1829 Loudon Encycl. Plants (1836) 7 Leaves ovate acute *sub-repand. Ibid. 17 Peduncle axillary *subracemose. Ibid. 701 Leaves *subamplexicaul. 1833 Hooker in SmithEng. Flora V. i. 107 The mouth truncated *subciliated. Ibid. 108 Stem‥*subsimple. 1839–47 Todd's Cycl. Anat. III. 376/2 The coracoid‥is a strong, *subcompressed, *subelongate bone. 1842 Penny Cycl. XXII. 53/1 Shell‥painted with‥transverse, *subfasciculated lines. 1846 Dana Zooph. (1848) 461 Branchlets *subdigitiform. Ibid. 527 Branches‥*subdilatate at apex. 1847 W. E. Steele Field Bot. 11 Heads *subumbellate. 1847 Proc. Berw. Nat. Club II. v. 240 Posterior tarsi with the first and last joints *subelongated. 1849 Ibid. vii. 371 With two curved *subpedicled claws. 1849 Dana Geol. App. i. (1850) 702 *Sub-alate above, sub~orbiculate behind. 1852 —— Crust. ii. 703 The exterior plates of the abdomen have a triangular *subobtuse termination. 1853 Royle Mat. Med. 641 Leaves solitary, flat, *subpectinate. 1854 Hooker Himal. Jrnls. I. iii. 86 The larger, white flowered, *sub-arboraceous species prevailed. 1856 W. Clark tr.Van der Hoeven's Zool. I. 728 Shell‥furnished with small auriculæ, *subgaping at the side. 1858 Ibid. II. 390 Upper mandible with tip *subhooked. 1863 J. G. Baker N. Yorksh. 195 A native of Italy and Provence, which has been noted in a *subspontaneous state about the Yore. 1870 Hooker Stud. Flora 224 Campanulaceæ‥filaments free or *subconnate. Ibid. 301 Corolla1⁄2 in., *subcampanulate. Ibid. 348 Shrubby, 1–5 ft., rarely *subarboreous (10–20 ft.). 1887 W. Phillips Brit. Discomycetes 145 Mouth *subconnivent. 1898 Syd. Soc. Lex.,*Subvermiform, shaped somewhat like a worm. 1906 W. Cross et al. inJrnl. Geol. XIV. 698 *Subhedral, partly bounded by crystal faces, hypantomorphic, hypidiomorphic. 1961 M. J. D. White Chromosomes (ed. 5) ii. 23 Intermediate types exist‥so that we may describe particular chromosomes ‘*subacrocentric’ or ‘metacentric’. 1963 Austral. Jrnl. Zool. XI. 8 Four pairs of *subacrocentrics, whose short arms are in most cases large enough to be distinctly visible in the preparations. 1963 Jrnl. Nat. Cancer Inst. XXXI. 642 The diploid complement of 22 pairs of chromosomes consists of 5 median metacentrics, 3 *subtelocentrics, [etc.]. 1964 Ibid. XXXII. 858 This system was arrived at by the arrangement of metacentric chromosomes in descending size order followed by *submetacentric and *subtelocentric chromosomes arranged in a similar manner. 1964 Hereditas LII. 211 Chromosomes‥with arm ratios of 3·0 or higher are classed as ST (‘*subtelocentric’). 1973 Nature 5 Oct. 262/1 The diploid karyotype ofU. limi consisted of twenty-two chromosomes, eighteen metacentrics and four *submetacentrics. 1975 G. Anderson Coring ii. 35 (caption) Porous network of medium-grained euhedral to *subhedral dolomite rhombs. 1976 Jrnl. Cellular Physiol. LXXXVII. 104 The four groups (i, metacentric; ii, *submetacentric; iii, *subacrocentric; and iv, acrocentric) were defined for this purpose by the ratio, short/long arm length. 1980 Canad. Jrnl. Genetics & Cytol. XXII. 421 There are three SAT-chromosomes (arm ratio (r) = 1·74–1·92), four metacentric chromosomes (r = 1·07–1·14), seven *submetacentric chromosomes (r = 1·22–1·68) and seven subtelocentric chromosomes (r = 1·75–2·42).
d. With adjs. denoting position, as insubcentral,sublateral; e.g.sub-ascending,sub-erect,sub-internal,sub-opposite,sub-terminal.1787 tr.Linnæus' Fam. Plants 501 Cor[olla] papilionaceous.‥ Keel lanced, *subascending.Ibid. 761 Petals four‥*subopposite to the calyx-divisions.1822 J. Parkinson Outl. Oryctol. 208 Cancellated by transverse keels and *suboblique vertical striæ.1826 Crouch Lamarck's Conchol. 18 Ligament marginal, *subinternal.1826 Kirby &Sp. Entomol. III. 376 The *Subinterno-medial Nervure.Ibid., The *Subexterno-medial Nervure. A nervure that‥intervenes between the externo-medial and interno-medial.Ibid. 383 Postfurca.‥ A process of the Endosternum, terminating in three *sub-horizontal acute branches, resembling‥the letterY.1828 Stark Elem. Nat. Hist. II. 149 Peduncles of the eyes short and thick, and the eyes *sub~terminal.1829 Loudon Encycl. Plants (1836) 269 Leaves about 12 *sub-erect.1832 Lindley Introd. Bot. 94 If the angle formed by the divergence is between 10° and 20°, the vein may be said to be nearly parallel (subparallela). Index, *Subparallel.1833 Hooker in SmithEng. Flora V. i. 24 Leaves‥*subsecund rigid canaliculate.1852 Dana Crust. ii. 1184 Setæ‥on the two *subultimate joints all shorter than the joints.1856 Woodward Mollusca 207 Peristome thin,‥nucleus *sub-external.1870 Hooker Stud. Flora 474 Branches all *subradical or o.1880 Günther Fishes 473 Cleft of the mouth vertical or *sub-vertical.1843 Florist's Jrnl. (1846) IV. 53 The plant has a rambling, *subscandent habit.1901 Jrnl. Sch. Geog. Nov. 329/3 The channel walls are usually *sub-parallel and nearly straight.
e. With adjs. designating geometrical forms, as in mod.L.subcylindricus somewhat or approximately cylindrical,subtriangulāris subtriangular; e.g.subcircular,sub-conic(al,sub-cylindric(al,sub-pentagonal (= five-sided, but not forming a regular pentagon),sub-oblong,sub-rectangular,sub-spherical,sub-spheroidal.1752 J. Hill Hist. Anim. 91 The oblong Amphitrite‥is of a *subcylindric figure.1786 Phil. Trans. LXXVI. 166 A‥Helix of a *subconical form.1787 tr.Linnæus' Fam. Plants 255 Anthers *suboblong.Ibid. 469 Berry subglobular, *subconic.1792 Withering Bot. Arrangem. (ed. 2) III. 164 Thickly set with very small *sub-sphæroidal Tubercles.1798 Phil. Trans. LXXXVIII. 440 He derives this variety, which he calls *subpyramidal, from a decrease of three rows of molecules, at the angles of the base of the two pyramids of the primitive rhomboid.1804 Shaw Gen. Zool. V. 294Raja Giorna,‥*Subrhomboid brown Ray.Ibid. 425 *Subquadrangular-bodied Trunk-Fish.1817 Stephens in ShawGen. Zool. X. 501 Beak *subcylindrical, more or less thickened.1819 G. Samouelle Entomol. Compend. 83 The fourth [abdomen joint] *subquadrate.Ibid., Shell *subcircular.1822 J. Parkinson Outl. Oryctol. 56A[lcyonium]trigonum.—Carnous, cellular, *subtrigonal.Ibid. 80 The stars *subpentagonal.Ibid. 116Echinus rupestris.—*Subelliptical.Ibid. 221Pinna subquadrivalvis‥*subtetragonal.Ibid. 228Terebratula alata: *subtrigonate, dilated.1823 R. K. Greville Scot. Cryptog. Bot. I. pl. 31 Sporidia numerous, *subsphærical.Ibid. 52 Orbicular, *subhemispherical.1826 Crouch Lamarck's Conchol. 26 Shell oblong, *subparallelipipedal.Ibid. 32 Spire very short, *sub-conoidal.1838 Penny Cycl. XII. 269/1 Body‥*Subprismatic.1847 Proc. Berw. Nat. Club II. v. 250 Thorax‥elongate, *sub-parallelo-grammic.1852 Dana Crust. i. 193 Carapax broad *subrhombic.1870 Hooker Stud. Flora 163 Umbels when in flower *subhemispheric.1877 Huxley Anat. Inv. Anim. vi. 272 A *subquadrate labrum overhangs the mouth.1880 Günther Fishes 38 The præoperculum, a *sub-semicircular bone.1887 W. Phillips Brit. Discomycetes 301 A single layer of *subcubical cells.1940 Antiquity XIV. 16 The hopelessly decayed traces of a large wooden object, apparently *subrectangular in plan.1957 G. E. Hutchinson Treat. Limnol. I. ii. 171 *Subcircular, a less perfect approach to circular form.1970 R. J. Small Study of Landforms iv. 121 King‥has postulated that in many parts of Africa stream incision along joints has given rise to a *subrectangular drainage pattern.1979 Geogr. Mag. July 668/3 *Sub-circular pans on the Essex marshes.
f. With adjs. denoting a numerical arrangement or conformation, as in mod.L.subbifidus,subtrifidus imperfectly bifid, trifid,subūniflōrus having one or two flowers only or most commonly one; e.g.subbifid,sub-bipinnate,sub-trifid (sub-3-fid),sub-triquetrous.1777 S. Robson Brit. Flora 238 Stem *subtriquetrous‥spike distich, involucrum monophyllous.Ibid. 284 Leaves *subbipinnate.Ibid. 287 Leaves *subtripinnate.1816 Edwards' Bot. Reg. II. 130b, Terminal lobe largest and *subtrilobate.1821 W. P. C. Barton Flora N. Amer. I. 10 Calix *sub-bilabiate.Ibid. 55 Folioles ovate,‥*sub-trilobed.1822 J. Parkinson Outl. Oryctol. 126 The ambulacral lines *subbiporous.Ibid. 179 One short *subbifid cardinal tooth.Ibid. 215 The forepart beaked, *subbiangulated.1829 Loudon Encycl. Plants (1836) 5 Nect[ary] wavy *sub-3-fid.Ibid. 25 [Leaves] rugose *sub 3-lobed.Ibid. 679 Leaves villous *sub-bipinnatifid at base.1836 Penny Cycl. V. 312/2 Valves *sub-bilobated by the depression or emargination.1852 Dana Crust. ii. 769 The specimen‥has all the three anterior pairs of legs *subdidactyle.1857 T. Moore Handbk. Brit. Ferns (ed. 3) 48 Pinnæ‥*sub-unilateral.1870 Hooker Stud. Flora 114 Fragaria elatior‥flowers *sub-1-sexual.Ibid. 208 Leaves broad, *sub-2-pinnatifid.Ibid. 364 Perianth irregular, *sub-2-labiate.Ibid. 379 Leaves alternate *subbifarious or secund.Ibid. 469 Capsules *sub-2-seriate on the segments.1876 Harley Royle's Mat. Med. 376 Ovary *sub-trilocular.
g. Med., as insubacute; e.g.subchronic, not entirely chronic, more chronic than acute;sub-crepitant,sub-crepitating,sub-curative,sub-fertile,sub-resonant,sub-tympanitic;sub-febrile,sub-pyrexial;subˈclinical a., not giving rise to any observable symptoms;subˈpatent a., (of a parasite or parasitic infection) present but not detectable; of or pertaining to such an infection;subˈtertian a. Med., applied to a severe form of malaria caused by the sporozoanPlasmodium falciparum and to the sporozoan itself; alsoellipt. asn., subtertian malaria.1834 J. Forbes Laennec's Dis. Chest (ed. 4) 77 There is only perceptible a very slight dull whistling.‥ This variety of the phenomenon may be denominated *subsibilant respiration.1849–52 Todd's Cycl. Anat. IV. 1402/1 Some slight *subinflammatory condition which varicose veins readily take on.1853 Markham Skoda's Auscult. 284 The crepitating râle becomes *sub-crepitant, announcing the presence of œdema.Ibid. 122 No distinctive line can be drawn between crepitating, *sub-crepitating, and mucous râles.1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. II. 175 This *sub-pyæmic condition seems invariably to have supervened.Ibid. 427 In some cases a *subicteric tinge is observed.Ibid. 1137 A *subtympanitic or even a Skodaic note may be elicited.Ibid. III. 678 The whole tumour‥is uniformly dull, unless on deep percussion, when a *subresonant note is elicited.Ibid. 894 A *sub-hepatic abscess due to disease of an appendix attached to an undescended cæcum.1898 Ibid. V. 20 An habitually *subpyrexial temperature.Ibid. 527 A *sub~febrile temperature.1899 Ibid. VII. 679 A form of subacute or *subchronic ophthalmoplegia.1919 R. Ross Suggestions for Care of Malaria Patients 7 A severe type in which the paroxysms‥are often found to recur every day and at irregular times‥is caused by the malignant tertian parasite, sometimes called the ‘*subtertian’ parasite (Plasmodium falciparum).1926 Q. Rev. Biol. I. 399/2 In many infections the patent period is followed by a *Subpatent Period of indefinite length.1930 M. F. Boyd Introd. Malariol. ii. 32 It would appear that resistance may be established earliest to *subtertian, and more slowly in tertian and quartan.1946 Nature 17 Aug. 243/2 With the addition of *subcurative doses of ‘Mapharsen’, the amount of penicillin required to cure rabbit syphilis is reduced to a fraction of that required when penicillin is used alone.Ibid. 5 Oct. 487/2 L.V. is responsible for a certain number of cases of epididymal inflammations, many of them of a *subclinical type.1947 Ann. Rev. Microbiol. I. 49 *Subpatent infections persisted in some individual ducks for as long as eight months after they had been inoculated with sporozoites. 1954 Martin &Hynes Clin. Endocrinol. (ed. 2) viii. 187 It is difficult to assess the efficiency of therapy in a *subfertile male. 1954 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 6 Feb. 293/2 It has been found that in indigenous East Africans the sickle-cell trait affords a considerable degree of protection against *subtertian malaria. 1971 Observer (Colour Suppl.) 31 Oct. 10/1 Like many men her husband seemed to be *subfertile but was by no means infertile. 1974 J. R. Baker inTrypanosomiasis & Leishmaniasis (Ciba Foundation Symposium No. 20) 32 Parasites may often be *subpatent, that is, too scanty to be detected by microscopic examination. 1978 Jrnl. R. Soc. Med. LXXI. 507 The spectrum of illness is wide, from severe and prostrating to mild and, probably, *subclinical. 1979 Tropenmedizin u. Parasitologie XXX. 239/1 Infected cows treated with *subcurative doses of trypanocidal drugs. 1979 E. Nnochiri Textbk. Imported Diseases iv. 59P[lasmodium]falciparum infections, in contrast, are insidious in onset with irregular fever which subsequently becomes *subtertian (i.e. between 36 and 48 hours) in periodicity.
h. Forming advs. corresponding to adjs. of any of the above classes, as insubclinically,sub-terminally;subacutely.1833 Hooker in SmithEng. Flora V. i. 79 Leaves‥*subtrifariously imbricated.1846 Dana Zooph. (1848) 683 Branchlets often *subreticulately coalescing.1852 —— Crust. i. 167 Hand externally *sub-seriately small tuberculate.1863 J. G. Baker N. Yorksh. 194 A species which‥grows *sub~spontaneously in one or two places.1870 Hooker Stud. Flora 115 Potentilla fruticosa‥leaves *subdigitately-pinnate.Ibid. 222 Stem rigid leafy *subcorymbosely branched.1871 W. A. Leighton Lichen-flora 12 *Subtransversely arranged in little heaps.1888 Q. Jrnl. Geol. Soc. XLIV. 150 The fallen masses weathering *subspherically.1954 Amer. Jrnl. Public Health XLIV. 575/2 It was ascertained that previous infection of a child with Type 2 or Type 3 virus failed to prevent his becoming infected *subclinically with Type 1 virus.1963 R. P. Dales Annelids ix. 182 The rectum opening *subterminally at a dorsal anus.
22. With vbs., as in L.subaccūsāre to accuse somewhat,subīrascī to be somewhat angry; e.g.sub-blush,sub-cachinnate,sub-deliquesce,sub-effloresce,sub-irasce,sub-understand;†subinnuate to hint gently;†sub-murmurate, to murmur gently or quietly.1767 Sterne Tr. Shandy IX. xviii, Raising up her eyes, *sub-blushing, as she did it.1822 Blackw. Mag. XII. 67 This *subcachinnating method of dissipating his spleen.1806 G. Adams' Nat. & Exp. Philos. (Philad.) I. App. 549 Sulphat of Ammonia *Subdeliquesces.Ibid. 550 Borax *Subeffloresces.c1645 Howell Lett. (1650) III. ix. 19 The most speculative‥men *subinnuating that not only the sphear of the Moon is peepled.1783 Parr Let. to Rev. C. Burney 8 Nov., You see I *subirasce.1653 Urquhart Rabelais ii. vi. 31 *Submurmurating my horarie precules.1716 M. Davies Athen. Brit. III. 77 Their Master Blondel survening, and *subunderstanding it.
**with adjectival meaning. 23. With ns. denoting action or condition, in the sense ‘partial, incomplete, slight’; as in late L.subdēfectio slight failure; e.g.sub-animation,sub-saturation;Med. often = ‘less than the normal, mild, gentle’; e.g.sub-delirium,sub-fertility,sub-purgation; also occas. with ns. denoting material objects, e.g.sub-country,sub-relief;sub-song, the part of a bird's song that is softer and less well defined than its characteristic series of notes and is believed to have no territorial significance.1906 Daily News 23 Feb. 7 His speech had something of the *sub-animation which marks his later style.1908 Westm. Gaz. 13 May 12/1 The London *sub-country.1898 Syd. Soc. Lex.,*Subcrepitation, the noise of subcrepitant râles.1635 D. Person Varieties ii. 63 Albeit the Heaven, Fire, and Ayre move in a circular motion, yet they move not all alike,‥the Ayre as neerest to the Earth, is slower than the other two. By this *subdeficiency then, the Ayre‥seemes but to goe about from Occident to Orient of its own proper motion.1834 J. Forbes Laennec's Dis. Chest 235 With *sub~delirium and other signs of cerebral congestion.1948 Martin &Hynes Clin. Endocrinol. viii. 157 Several examinations are advised before diagnosing *subfertility and they should be performed as soon as possible after ejaculation. 1962 H. Lourie Question of Abortion xxiii. 201 The sub-fertility clinics, the clinics dealing with sterile marriages. 1971 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 21 Aug. 22/2 Male subfertility is the main factor in 45 per cent of childless marriages.1818 Art Pres. Feet x, If such men cannot be dignified with a full diploma‥it would be well if some species of *sub-graduation could be adopted.1634 Bp. Hall Contempl., N.T. iv. Martha & Mary, The just blame of this bold *sub~incusation; Lord, dost thou not care?1855 Dunglison Med. Lex.,*Subinflammation, a mild degree of inflammation, so slight as hardly to deserve the name inflammation.‥ Lymphatic engorgements, scrofula, herpes, and cancer he [Broussais] considered subinflammations.1664 H. More Myst. Iniq. 213 A modest *subinsinuation of the most perfect and full persecution. 1825 Lamb Elia ii. Stage Illusion, The exquisite art of the actor in a perpetual sub-insinuation to us, the spectators,‥that he was not half such a coward as we took him for.1872 T. G. Thomas Dis. Women (ed. 3) 47 The enfeebled woman is more liable to *subinvolution [of the uterus], passive congestion, and displacements, after delivery, than the strong.1753 Chambers' Cycl. Suppl.,*Subpurgation, subpurgatio, a word used by some writers to express a gentle purgation.1894 Archæologia LV. 28 *Sub-relief is the name I propose to give to that kind of sculpture which is by some called Egyptian relief.1806 G. Adams' Nat. & Exp. Philos. (Philad.) I. App. 531 With the terminationous, when there is a *sub-saturation. 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. III. 177 The solvent relation of the bodily fluids to the material of gouty deposits is simply a question of saturation or subsaturation.1898 Syd. Soc. Lex.,*Subsensation, a moderate or lesser sensation.1925 E. M. Nicholson inField Dec. 31/3 Even the chaffinch‥has a very low rambling, warbling *sub-song with no fire or decision about it. 1948 Brit. Birds XLI. 51 The sub-song was occasionally replaced by the typical loud burst of song characteristic of this species [sc. the redstart]. 1979 New Scientist 17 May 537/1 Subsong is a rather soft and rambling type of singing‥in which the bird seems to try out various sounds for itself.1855 Fraser's Mag. LI. 264 By acts of daily self-denial and much *sub~sustentation of body.1817 Kirby &Sp. Entomol. (1818) II. 424 The‥*sub-transparency of the adjoining crust.
24. Chem. In names of compoundssub- indicates that the ingredient of the compound denoted by the term to which it is prefixed is in a relatively small proportion, or is less than in the normal compounds of that name; e.g.subacetate, an acetate in which there are fewer equivalents of the acid radical than in the normal acetate, a basic acetate. [1839 Ure Dict. Arts 1085 The neutral state of salts is commonly indicated by their solutions not changing the colours of litmus, violets, or red cabbage; the sub-state of salts, by their turning the violet and cabbage green; and super-state of salts, by their changing the purple of litmus, violets, and cabbage, red.]
1797 Phil. Trans. LXXXVIII. 23 *Subcarbonate of potash being dropped into the solution.Ibid. 24 The fourth portion being boiled with 4 grains of *sub-phosphate of lime.1801 Ibid. XCI. 197note, A *subcarburet of potash.Ibid. 236 A real carbonate of *suboxide of copper.1802 Ibid. XCII. 159 *note, It is‥calomel, plus an insoluble *subnitrate of mercury.Ibid. 329 *Sub-borate of soda (borax).1805 Saunders Min. Waters 374 A *sub-sulphat of iron.1807 T. Thomson Chem. (ed. 3) II. 547 This [muriate of lead] being in the state of *submuriate.1807 Aikin Dict. Chem. II. 23/2 A white *sub-nitrated oxyd.Ibid. 25/2 An acetite or *sub-acetite.1819 Brande Man. Chem. 427 An insoluble *subacetate of copper.1819 J. G. Children Chem. Anal. 311 A solution of a *suburate.1826 Henry Elem. Chem. I. 646 This liquid Dr. Davy calls *sub-silicated, fluoric acid.Ibid. II. 289 The *sub-tannate contains 11⁄2 time as much base as the neutral tannate.1833 Phil. Trans. CXXIII. 263 *Subsesquiphosphate of soda.1838 T. Thomson Chem. Org. Bodies 152 *Subcrenate of lead is obtained by mixing subacetate of lead with crenic acid.1854 Jrnl. Chem. Soc. VII. 26 *Subplatino-tersulphocyanide of mercury.1857 Miller Elem. Chem., Org. x. §1. 585*Subcyanide of copper, Cu2 Cy.1868 *Subsulphide [seeplumbous a. 2].1859 Mayne Expos. Lex. 1221/1*Subsulphurous acid, i.e., containing less than sulphurous but more than hyposulphurous acid.1871 Jrnl. Chem. Soc. XXIV. 999 *Subfluoride of silicon.1892 Photogr. Ann. II. 229 A latent image of *sub-bromide of silver.1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 516 Ammoniated mercury‥is chiefly employed; but *subchloride (calomel) has a very similar action.1976 Nature 15 Jan. 109/3 Vanadium *subsulphide β–V3S is known to have a tetragonal unit cell.
V. 25. Secretly, covertly, as in L.subaudīre tosubaud,subintrōdūcĕre tosubintroduce,subornāre tosuborn; e.g.subaid. VI. 26. a. From below, up (hence) away, as in L.subdūcĕre to draw up or away,subduce,subduct,subsistĕre to stand up,subsist,subvertĕre to turn up, overturn,subvert.
This is the etymol. sense of the prefix insuccour,suffer,suggest,susception,suspicion,suspire,sustain. b. Hencesub- implies taking up so as to include, as insubsume; so in the nonce-wd.subinclude vb., whencesubinclusively adv. 1818 G. S. Faber Horæ Mosaicæ II. 137 The Law, which may well be viewed as subincluding its predecessor the Patriarchal dispensation. 1840 —— Prim. Doctr. Regen. 107 The females, as help-meets, were to be viewed as subincluded with the males. 1851 —— Many Mansions 14 Thus, again, subinclusively, the Official Dress of the High-Priest respected, in its arrangement, the System of the World.
VII. 27. In place of another, as in L.subdĕre to put in place of another (seesubdititious),substituĕre tosubstitute; e.g.†sub-elect to choose to fill another's place. 1600 Holland Livy xxxix. xxxix. 1049 The‥assembly for subelecting of a Pretour in the place of the deceased.
VIII. 28. In addition, by way of or as an addition, on the analogy of L.subjungĕre tosubjoin,subnectĕre tosubnect; e.g.subinsert vb. 1621 R. Brathwait Nat. Embassie 144 Therefore haue I subinserted this Satyre [viz. a 13th at the end of a set of 12].
¶29. Detached from the n. to which it belongs it is used quasi-adj. in co-ordination with adjs. or attrib. ns. qualifying the same n. 1840 J. Buel Farmer's Comp. 45 Trench ploughing mixes the sub with the surface soil. 1891 Pall Mall Gaz. 4 Dec. 6/3 The central, sub, and executive committees have been appointed.
¶30. Repeated (in senses of branch II) to denote further subordination or subdivision. 1651 C. Cartwright Cert. Relig. i. 41 The many Religions which are lately sprung up, and the sub, sub, sub-divisions under them. 1811–31 Bentham Logic App. Wks. 1843 VIII. 289 Divisions, sub-divisions, and sub-subdivisions. 1868 Spencer Princ. Psychol. (1870) I. 266 A particular feeling of redness associates itself irresistibly‥with the sub-class of visual feelings, with the sub-sub-class of reds. 1902 Daily Chron. 29 Apr. 3/5 Under sub-contracts or sub-sub-contracts. 1905 Macm. Mag. Dec. 126 This was divided, re-divided, sub-divided, and sub-sub-divided in every conceivable sort of way.
