sub-

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See also: sub, sub., and

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

  • enPR: sŭb, IPA(key): /sʌb/
    • Audio (US):(file)

Prefix

sub-

  1. under, beneath
  2. subsidiary, secondary
  3. almost, nearly

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.)

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Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Translations

References

Further reading

Anagrams

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin sub.

Prefix

sub-

  1. sub-

Derived terms

Further reading

Czech

Pronunciation

Prefix

sub-

  1. sub-
    Synonym: pod-
    sub- + ‎optimální → ‎suboptimální

Derived terms

Further reading

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

Dutch

Pronunciation

Prefix

sub-

  1. sub-

Derived terms

French

Etymology

From Latin sub-.

Pronunciation

Prefix

sub-

  1. sub-

Derived terms

Galician

Etymology

From Latin sub.

Prefix

sub-

  1. sub-

Derived terms

From

.

Further reading

German

Etymology

Ultimately from Latin sub (under).

Pronunciation

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

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

    Learned borrowing from Latin sub-.

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /sub/
    • Rhymes: -ub
    • Syllabification:

    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

    Prefix

    sub-

    1. sub- (under, beneath)
      Synonym: so-
    2. sub- (subsidiary, secondary)

    Derived terms

    Romanian

    Etymology

    See sub, from Latin sub.

    Pronunciation

    Prefix

    sub-

    1. sub-

    Derived terms

    Spanish

    Etymology

    From Latin sub-.

    Prefix

    sub-

    1. sub-
      Synonym: so-

    Derived terms

    Further reading