"S" Word Origins

submersion

Origin

Borrowed from Latin summersio, summersionem.

submission

Latin

From Latin submissio, from submitto, "to place under, yield."

submit

Latin

From Latin submittere, "to place under, yield" — from sub- ("under") plus mitto ("to send").

subordinate

Medieval Latin

From Medieval Latin subōrdinātus, from sub- ("under") plus ōrdināre ("to order, arrange").

subordination

Origin

From Middle French subordination, from Medieval Latin subordinatio.

suborn

Origin

PIE word *upó Borrowed from Anglo-Norman suburner, subhorner, and Middle French suborner, subourner (“to induce (someone) to commit a crime (specifically perjury) or wrongdoing”) (modern French suborner (“to suborn; to bribe”)), and from its etymon Latin subōrnāre, the present active infinitive of subōrnō (“to incite, instigate, suborn; to instruct one for a secret purpose; to adorn, dress; to equip, furnish, provide; to make one appear as (something)”), from sub- (prefix meaning ‘under’) + ōrnō (“to equip, furnish, provide; to adorn, decorate, ornament”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- (“to put together, fit; to fix; to slot”)). Cognates * Catalan subornar * Italian subornare * Old Occitan subornar, sobornar * Portuguese subornar * Spanish subornar (obsolete), sobornar

subpoena

Latin

From Latin sub poena, "under penalty" — the opening words of the original writ, from sub ("under") plus poena ("penalty").

subscribe

Latin

From Latin subscrībere, "to write beneath" — the same idea as underwriting, signing your name below something.

subscriber

Origin

Subscribe plus the agent suffix -er.

subscription

Latin

From Latin subscriptiō, related to subscribe, literally "a writing beneath" — signing one's name to an agreement.

subsection

Origin

From sub- ("under, within") plus section.

subsequent

Latin

From Latin subsequēns, present participle of subsequor, "to follow after."

subsequently

Origin

Subsequent plus the adverb suffix -ly.

subservient

Latin

From Latin subserviens, present participle of subservio, "to serve under."

subside

Latin

From Latin subsīdō, "to settle, sink down."

subsidence

Origin

Latin subsidens, subsidentis, present participle of subsidere. Equivalent to subside + -ence.

subsidiary

Latin

From Latin subsidiarius, "belonging to a reserve," related to subsidy.

subsidize

Origin

From subsidy plus the verb-forming suffix -ize.

subsidized

Latin

From subsidy, which comes via Old French from Latin subsidium, originally 'reserve troops, support', from sub- 'under' and sedere 'to sit'.

subsidy

Latin

From Latin subsidium, "support, assistance" — from sub- ("below") plus sīdō ("to sit, settle"), the sense of a reserve force sitting in support.

subsist

Origin

From Latin subsistō (“halt, stop”), from sub (“below”) + sistō (“stand, place”). Compare consist, desist, exist, insist, persist.

subsistence

Origin

From Middle English subsistence; partly from Middle French subsistence (modern French subsistance) and partly from its etymon Late Latin subsistentia (“substance, reality, in Medieval Latin also stability”), from Latin subsistēns, present participle of subsistere (“to continue, subsist”). Perhaps also partly from subsist + -ence.

subspace

Origin

From sub- ("within, part of") plus space.

substance

Latin

From Latin substantia, "essence, being" — from substō, "to stand firm, exist," literally "to stand under."

substandard

Origin

From sub- ("below") plus standard.

substantial

Latin

From Old French substanciel, from Latin substantialis, from substantia ("substance").

substantially

Origin

From substantial plus the adverb-forming suffix -ly.

substantiate

Medieval Latin · 1657

From Medieval Latin substantiatus, "given substance," first used in English in 1657.

substantiation

Origin

From Latin substantiātiō. By surface analysis, substantiate + -ion.

substantive

Origin

From Middle English substantif, from Old French substantif.

substation

Origin

From sub- ("under, secondary") plus station.

substitute

Latin

From Latin substitutus, past participle of substituere, from sub- ("in place of") plus statuere ("to set up").

substitution

Late Latin

From Middle French substitution, from Late Latin substitutio.

substrate

Latin

From Latin substratum, the neuter past participle of substernere "to spread underneath", from sub- "under" and sternere "to spread".

subsume

Origin

Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin subsūmere, from sub- + sūmō (“to take”). Compare English consume.

subtartarean

Origin

From sub- + Tartarean.

subterfuge

Medieval Latin

From Middle French subterfuge, from Medieval Latin subterfugium, from Latin subterfugere ("to flee secretly"), from subter ("under, secretly") plus fugere ("to flee").

subterranean

Latin

From Latin subterraneus, from sub- ("under") plus terra ("earth").

subtext

Origin

From sub- ("beneath") plus text.

subtitle

Origin

From sub- ("below") plus title.

subtle

Latin

From Middle English subtil, borrowed via Old French from Latin subtilis ("fine, delicate, precise"), from sub- ("under") plus tela ("web, weave"). The modern spelling with a "b" comes from imitating the Latin, though the letter was never actually pronounced.

subtlety

Latin

From Old French sutilté, from Latin subtilitas, from subtilis ("subtle").

subtly

Origin

From subtle plus -ly.

subtract

Latin

From Latin subtractus, past participle of subtrahere, from sub- ("from beneath") plus trahere ("to draw, pull").

subtraction

Origin

Borrowed from Late Latin subtractio, subtractionis. Can be decomposed to subtract + -ion.

subtweet

Origin

Blend of subliminal + tweet.

suburb

Latin

From Old French suburbe, from Latin suburbium, from sub- ("near, under") plus urbs ("city").

suburban

Latin

From Latin suburbanus, from sub- ("under") plus urbs ("city") plus the adjective suffix -anus.