sub-

See also sub

English

Alternative forms

• subs- (by-form)

Etymology

From the Latin sub, meaning under

Prefix

sub-

1. under, beneath

   subterranean

   submarine

2. subsidiary, secondary

   subplot

3. almost, nearly

   subhuman

   suborbicular

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

Derived terms

[+] English words prefixed with sub-

Translations

under, beneath

• Armenian: ենթ- (hy) (entʿ-) , ստոր- (hy) (stor-) 
• Breton: is- (br)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 亞 (cmn), 亚 (cmn) (yà), 子 (cmn) (zǐ)

• Czech: sub- (cs), pod- (cs)
• Dutch: sub- (nl), onder- (nl)
• French: sous- (fr), sub- (fr)
• German: unter- (de), sub- (de)

• Greek: υπο- (el) (ypo-) 
• Italian: sotto- (it), sub- (it)
• Japanese: 亜 (ja) (a)
• Malay: sub- (ms)
• Persian: زیر (fa) (zir-)
• Russian: под- (ru) (pod-) , суб- (ru) (sub-) 
• Scottish Gaelic: fo- (gd), frith- (gd)
• Swedish: under- (sv)

subsidiary, secondary

• Breton: eil- (br), bes- (br)
• Dutch: deel- (nl)
• Esperanto: sub- (eo)

• Greek: υπο- (el) (ypo-) , παρα- (el) (para-) 
• Persian: زیر (fa) (zir-)

Antonyms

• super-

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Dutch

Prefix

sub-

1. sub-

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French

Prefix

sub-

1. sub-

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Italian

Alternative forms

• sud- (before a letter "d")

Prefix

sub-

1. sub- (all senses)

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Latin

Alternative forms

• suc- (before c)
• suf- (before f)
• sug- (before g)
• sup- (before p)
• sur- (before r)

Prefix

sub-

1. sub-

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Romanian

Prefix

sub-

1. sub-

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Spanish

Prefix

sub-

1. sub-

Synonyms

• so-