sub-
(word root) under, below, beneathAbused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree
sub-
pref.1. Below; under; beneath: subsoil.
2. a. Subordinate; secondary: subplot.
b. Subdivision: subregion.
3. Less than completely or normally; nearly; almost: subhuman.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
sub-
prefix 1. situated under or beneath: subterranean.
2. secondary in rank; subordinate: subeditor.
3. falling short of; less than or imperfectly: subarctic; subhuman.
4. forming a subdivision or subordinate part of a whole: subcommittee.
5. (Chemistry) (in chemistry)
a. indicating that a compound contains a relatively small proportion of a specified element: suboxide.
b. indicating that a salt is basic salt: subacetate.
[from Latin sub]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
sub
(sʌb)
n., v. subbed, sub•bing. n. 1. a submarine.
2. a substitute.
3. a submarine sandwich.
4. a sublieutenant.
5. a subordinate.
6. a subaltern.
v.i. 7. to act as a substitute for another.
[1695–1705; by shortening of words prefixed with
sub-]
sub-
1. a prefix, occurring orig. in loanwords from Latin, with the meanings “under,” “below,” “beneath” (subsoil; subway), “just outside of,” “near” (subalpine; subtropical), “less than,” “not quite” (subhuman; suboscine; subteen), “secondary,” “at a lower point in a hierarchy” (subcommittee; subplot).
2. a. a prefix used in the names of chemical compounds that are bases.
b. a prefix used in the names of compounds in which an element is present in a relatively small proportion: suboxide.
For variants before following consonants in Latin loanwords, see su-, suc-, suf-, sug-, sum-, sup-, sur-2, sus-.[< Latin, prefixal form of
sub (preposition); akin to Greek
hypó; see
hypo-]
sub.
1. subordinated.
2. subscription.
3. substitute.
4. suburb.
5. suburban.
6. subway.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
sub-
1. A prefix that means:
2. Underneath or lower, as in subsoil.
3. A subordinate or secondary part of something else, as in subphylum.
4. Less than completely, as in subtropical.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.