Etymologically
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subordinate

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Pronunciation

  • /səˈbɔːdɪnət/, /səˈbɔɹdɪnət/[1]

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

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