quword 趣词
Word Origins Dictionary
- subsume (v.)



[subsume 词源字典] - 1530s, from Modern Latin subsumere "to take under," from Latin sub "under" (see sub-) + sumere "to take" (see exempt (adj.)). Related: Subsumed; subsuming, subsumption.[subsume etymology, subsume origin, 英语词源]
- subtend (v.)




- 1560s, from Latin subtendere "to stretch underneath," from sub "under" (see sub-) + tendere "to stretch" (see tenet). Related: Subtended; subtending.
- subterfuge (n.)




- 1570s, from Middle French subterfuge (14c.) or directly from Medieval Latin subterfugium "an evasion," from Latin subterfugere "to evade, escape, flee by stealth," from subter "beneath, below;" in compounds "secretly" (from PIE *sup-ter-, suffixed (comparative) form of *(s)up-; see sub-) + fugere "flee" (see fugitive (adj.)).
- subterranean (adj.)




- c. 1600, from Latin subterraneus "underground," from sub "under" (see sub-) + terra "earth, the ground" (see terrain) + -an.
- subtext (n.)




- "underlying theme of a work of literature," 1950, from sub- + text (n.). Originally a term in Konstantin Stanislavsky's theory of acting. Earlier it was used in a literally sense of "text appearing below other text on a page" (1726). Latin subtextere meant "to weave under, work in below."
- subtile (adj.)




- late 14c., "clever, dexterous, crafty; not dense, thin, rarefied," from Old French subtil (14c.), a learned Latinized reformation of earlier sotil (12c.), source of subtle (q.v.). Still used in some Bible translations in Gen. iii:1, and it survived after 17c. as a parallel formation to subtle in some material senses ("fine, delicate, thin").
- subtility (n.)




- late 14c., "acuteness, skill, cunning," alteration of subtlety (q.v.) on model of subtile, or else from Old French subtilite, from Latin subtilitas "fineness, simplicity."
- subtitle (n.)




- also sub-title, 1825, "subordinate or additional title, usually explanatory," in reference to literary works, from sub- "under" + title (n.). Applied to motion pictures by 1908. As a verb from 1858. Related: Subtitled.
- subtle (adj.)




- c. 1300 (mid-13c. as a surname), sotil, "penetrating; ingenious; refined" (of the mind); "sophisticated, intricate, abstruse" (of arguments), from Old French sotil, soutil, subtil "adept, adroit; cunning, wise; detailed; well-crafted" (12c., Modern French subtil), from Latin subtilis "fine, thin, delicate, finely woven;" figuratively "precise, exact, accurate," in taste or judgment, "fine, keen," of style, "plain, simple, direct," from sub "under" (see sub-) + -tilis, from tela "web, net, warp of a fabric" (see texture (n.)).
From early 14c. in reference to things, "of thin consistency;" in reference to craftsmen, "cunning, skilled, clever;" Depreciative sense "insidious, treacherously cunning; deceitful" is from mid-14c. Material senses of "not dense or viscous, light; pure; delicate, thin, slender; fine, consisting of small particles" are from late 14c. sotil wares were goods sold in powdered form or finely ground. Partially re-Latinized in spelling, and also by confusion with subtile. - subtlety (n.)




- c. 1300, sotilte, "skill, ingenuity," from Old French sotilte "skillfulness, cunning" (Modern French subtilité), from Latin subtilitatem (nominative subtilitas) "fineness; simplicity, slenderness," noun of quality from subtilis "fine, thin, delicate" (see subtle). From late 14c. as "cleverness, shrewdness; trickery, guile, craftiness," also "thinness, slenderness, smallness; rarity." The -b- begins to appear late 14c. in English, in imitation of Latin.
- subtly (adv.)




- early 14c., sotylleche; see subtle + -ly (2).
- subtotal (n.)




- 1906, from sub- + total (n.). The verb is attested from 1916.
- subtract (v.)




- 1530s, "withdraw, withhold, take away, deduct," a back-formation from subtraction (q.v.), or else from Latin subtractus, past participle of subtrahere "take away, draw off." Related: Subtracted; subtracting. Mathematical calculation sense is from 1550s. Earlier verb form was subtraien (early 15c. in the mathematical sense), which is directly from the Latin verb.
Here he teches þe Craft how þou schalt know, whan þou hast subtrayd, wheþer þou hast wel ydo or no. ["Craft of Numbering," c. 1425]
- subtraction (n.)




- c. 1400, "withdrawal, removal," from Late Latin subtractionem (nominative subtractio) "a drawing back, taking away," from past participle stem of Latin subtrahere "take away, draw off, draw from below," from sub "from under" (see sub-) + trahere "to pull, draw" (see tract (n.1)). The mathematical sense is attested from early 15c.
Þou most know þat subtraccion is drawynge of one nowmber oute of anoþer nomber. ["The Crafte of Nombrynge," c. 1425]
- subtrahend (n.)




- 1670s, from Latin subtrahendus (numerus) "(number) to be subtracted," from gerundive of subtrahere "take away, draw off" (see subtraction).
- subtropical (adj.)




- 1830, from sub- + tropical.
- suburb (n.)




- early 14c., "area outside a town or city," whether agricultural or residential but most frequently residential, from Old French suburbe "suburb of a town," from Latin suburbium "an outlying part of a city" (especially Rome), from sub "below, near" (see sub-) + urbs (genitive urbis) "city" (see urban). Glossed in Old English as underburg. Just beyond the reach of municipal jurisdiction, suburbs had a bad reputation in 17c. England, especially those of London, and suburban had a sense of "inferior, debased, licentious" (as in suburban sinner, slang for "loose woman, prostitute"). By 1817, the tinge had shifted to "of inferior manners and narrow views." Compare also French equivalent faubourg.
[T]he growth of the metropolis throws vast numbers of people into distant dormitories where ... life is carried on without the discipline of rural occupations and without the cultural resources that the Central District of the city still retains. [Lewis Mumford, 1922]
- suburban (adj.)




- 1620s, from suburb + -an. Somewhat earlier were suburbian, suburbial (c. 1600). Latin had suburbanus "near the city" (of Rome), and in Church Latin suburbicarian was applied to the six diocese near Rome.
- suburbanite (n.)




- 1862, from suburban + -ite (1). Middle English used suburban (n.) in this sense (mid-14c.). An Old English word for "suburbanites" was underburhware.
- suburbanization (n.)




- 1898, noun of action from suburbanize. Also suburbanisation.