subordinate

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English subordinat,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Medieval Latin subōrdinātus (“placed in a lower order, made subject”),^[5][4][6][7] the past participle of subōrdinō (“to place in a lower order”),^[5][4][6][3] which is formed from Latin sub- (“under, below”) and ōrdinō (“to set in order, arrange”),^[4][6][8] from ōrdō (“order, rank”).^[5][9][10] The American Heritage Dictionary traces the Latin noun to the root Proto-Indo-European *ar- (“to fit together”).^[5] The OED notes that the Latin verb first meant to assign to a lower order of the clergy (4th century), and that the participle was used as an adjective in British sources from the 14th century.^[7] The English verb, recorded from 1597, was formed on the same Latin participial stem, probably with the sense influenced by Middle French subordonner (“to make secondary, make dependent”);^[7][11] the noun comes from the adjective.^[4][6] It is related to ordain, order and ordination.^[12][10]

Earliest recorded meaning

Arranged so that one thing depends on or is placed below another: in Pecock's Repressor (c. 1449),^[7][2] "about 1449" in Barnhart, with the senses inferior, lower, secondary.^[4]

Semantic evolution

From the late 15th century the adjective was used of people, ranks and commands that stand under a higher authority, first in Gilbert Hay's translations (c. 1485).^[7] A sense "submissive, obedient" appeared in 1594 but is now rare, and the general sense "of lesser importance, secondary" followed in 1620.^[7] The verb began in Hooker (1597) as "to make subject or dependent"; from 1620 it was weakened to "to treat as less important".^[7] The noun, a person under another's authority, is dated 1603 by the OED and MWU,^[7][3] but 1630s or 1640 by Etymonline and Barnhart.^[6][4] Johnson (1755) defined the adjective as "inferiour in order; in nature; in dignity or power".^[13] In grammar a subordinate word or clause is one that depends on another,^[6][3] and in ecology a subordinate is a species other than the dominant one.^[3] The derivative insubordination, from French, is first recorded in Burke.^[14]

Timeline

• c. 1449 – adjective, dependent on or secondary to another thing (Pecock).^[7][2]
• c. 1485 – of persons and ranks, under the authority of a higher one.^[7]
• 1594 – submissive, obedient (now rare).^[7]
• 1597 – verb, to make subject or dependent (Hooker).^[7][3][4]
• 1603 – noun, a person below another in rank.^[7][3]
• 1617 – adverb, submissively.^[7]
• 1620 – of lesser importance; verb, to treat as secondary.^[7]
• 1638 – noun, a subordinate thing.^[7]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Lower in rank or position, and under the authority of someone else: a subordinate officer.^[9][3][7]
2. Of less importance; secondary: The cost was subordinate to the question of safety.^[9][3][7]
3. (grammar) Of a clause that works as a noun, adjective or adverb within a sentence and cannot stand alone.^[3][6]

Noun

1. A person below another in rank or position; one who works under another's orders.^[9][3][7]
2. Something that is subordinate to something else.^[9][7]

Verb

1. To place in a lower rank or position, or to treat as less important: She subordinated her own plans to the needs of the team.^[9][3][7]
2. To make subservient or dependent: to subordinate desire to duty.^[9][3][7]

Word family

• subordinately
• subordinateness
• subordination
• subordinative
• nonsubordinate
• unsubordinate
• subordinator
• unsubordinated

Related words

• order
• ordain
• ordination
• insubordination
• coordinate

Usage notes

A short-lived verb subordinate meaning "to suborn", recorded once in 1583, was an alteration of subornate under the influence of this adjective.^[7]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
5. ^ a b c d The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
6. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
9. ^ a b c d e f g Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
10. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
11. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
12. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
13. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
14. ^ Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray