sub-

English

Etymology

From Latin sub (“under”). Doublet of hypo-.

Pronunciation

• enPR: sŭb, IPA^(key): /sʌb/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

Prefix

sub-

1. under, beneath

   subterranean

   submarine

2. subsidiary, secondary

   subplot

3. almost, nearly

   subconical

   subequatorial

Usage notes

In Latin, the following sound changes affected "sub-" and cause English borrowings from Latin which contain this prefix to have different forms. Words formed in English using the prefix "sub-" do not exhibit these sound changes. (Combination with 's' involved elision and the other changes involved assimilation.)

• sub + c = suc- (hence succession, from Latin successiō; but e.g. subculture formed in English from sub- + culture)
• sub + p = sup- (support, but subpage)
• sub + c, p or t = sus- (susceptible, suspend, sustain, but subtitle)
• sub + g = sug- (suggestion, but subgroup)
• sub + r = sur- (surrogate, but subroutine)
• sub + f = suf- (suffer, but subfield)
• sub + s(p) = su- (suspect, suspire but subset, subspecies)

Synonyms

• (under): under-, hypo-, infra-
• (almost): pene-, quasi-

Antonyms

• super-

Derived terms

Translations

References

Further reading

• “sub-”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “sub-”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.

Anagrams

• Bus., SBU, UBS, USB, bus, bus.

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin sub.

Prefix

sub-

1. sub-

Derived terms

Further reading

• “sub-” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “sub-”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “sub-” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “sub-” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

Prefix

sub-

1. sub-

   Synonym: pod-

   ‎sub- + ‎optimální → ‎suboptimální

Derived terms

Further reading

• sub- in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989
• sub- in Slovník afixů užívaných v češtině, 2017

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Prefix

sub-

1. sub-

Derived terms

French

Etymology

From Latin sub-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /syb/, /syp/

Prefix

sub-

1. sub-

Derived terms

Galician

Etymology

From Latin sub.

Prefix

sub-

1. sub-

Derived terms

From

.

Further reading

• “sub-” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.

German

Etymology

Ultimately from Latin sub (“under”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

• Audio

  (file)

Prefix

sub-

1. sub-

Derived terms

Italian

Alternative forms

• sud- (before a letter "d")
• sum- (before a letter "m")

Etymology

From Latin sub-.

Prefix

sub-

1. sub-

Derived terms

Latin

Alternative forms

• suc- (before c)
• suf- (before f)
• sug- (before g)
• sum- (before m)
• sup- (before p)
• sur- (before r)
• su- (before sp)
• sus- (sometimes before c or t)

Etymology

From sub (“under, beneath, below”).

Prefix

sub-

1. under, sub-
   1. Attached to verbs, may denote the position or direction of an action

      ‎sub- (“under, below”) + ‎scrībō (“write”) → ‎subscrībō (“to write underneath, to write below”)

   2. In compounds, may stand for sub in a prepositional phrase

      ‎sub- (“under”) + ‎terra (“earth”) + ‎-āneus (adjective-forming suffix) → ‎subterrāneus (“subterranean, underground”)

      ‎sub- (“under”) + ‎lūna (“moon”) + ‎-āris (adjective-forming suffix) → ‎sublūnāris (“sublunar, sublunary”)

   3. Attached to adjectives, creates new adjectives of lesser intensity, having a sense like "somewhat", "slightly", "rather", "-ish"

      ‎sub- (“somewhat”) + ‎amārus (“bitter”) → ‎subamārus (“somewhat bitter, bitterish”)

Derived terms

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin sub-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sup/

Prefix

sub-

1. sub- (under, beneath)

   Synonym: pod-

2. sub- (subsidiary, secondary)

   Synonym: pod-

3. sub- (almost, nearly)

   Synonym: pod-

Derived terms

Further reading

• sub- in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Etymology

From Latin sub-. Doublet of so-.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈsub(i)/
• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈsub(ɨ)/

Prefix

sub-

1. sub- (under, beneath)

   Synonym: so-

2. sub- (subsidiary, secondary)

Derived terms

Romanian

Etymology

See sub, from Latin sub.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sub/

Prefix

sub-

1. sub-

Derived terms

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin sub-.

Prefix

sub-

1. sub-

   Synonym: so-

Derived terms

Further reading

• “sub-”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014