sub-, suc-, suf-, sug-, sum-, sup-, sur-, sus-, su-

(Latin: under, below, beneath; used as a prefix as shown in various formats below)

Don't confuse the sur- in this element with the sur- in super-. Note: sub- regularly means "under", but it often changes its form as it retains or keeps its meaning:

The prefix sub- often becomes suc- before c: succumb.

The prefix sub- often becomes suf- before f: suffuse.

The prefix sub- often becomes sug- before g: suggest.

The prefix sub- often becomes sum- before m: sumptuous.

The prefix sub- often becomes sup- before p: suppression.

The prefix sub- often becomes sur- before r: surrogate.

The prefix, sub- is often simplified to su- before sp; as seen in suspect, suspend, suspicion, suspension, et al. Before c, p, and t; it is sometimes formed into sus-.

subjectivity
subjugate (verb), subjugates; subjugated; subjugating
1. To bring a people or nations under the control of another nation; such as, by military conquest: The Roman armies were able to subjugate most of what is now known as Europe.
2. To bring under control; to conquer; to defeat: Ron is determined to subjugate his temper and to develop a more tolerant attitude towards those who disagree with him.
3. To make subservient or to enslave: It does not make for a healthy relationship when someone attempts to subjugate another person.
4. To put down by force or intimidation: The king subjugated his enemies and was able to assert his power in all parts of the empire.
5. Etymology: from Late Latin subjugationem and subjugatio; from Latin subjugatus and subjugare, "to subdue"; literally, "to bring under a yoke", from sub-, "under" + jugum, "yoke", related to iungere, "to join".
To subdue or to subjugate.
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Under dominion or control.
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subjunctive
1. A grammatical mood that expresses doubts, wishes, and possibilities.
2. In grammar, denoting or pertaining to the mood of a verb that marks a statement or question; such as, hypothetical, doubtful, or grammatically subordinate; for example, "were" in "if I were you".
3. Etymology: "a gramatical mood of a verb to denote an action or state as conceived and not as a fact"; from Late Latin subjunctivus, "serving to join, connecting", from the stem of subjungere, "to append, to add at the end, to place under"; from sub-, "under" + jungere, "to join".

The form were is used in clauses introduced by if, as if, as though, or supposing, as in:

  • If you were to go, you might not be allowed to return.
  • It's not as though she were a beauty queen.
  • Suppose I were to meet you in the restaurant after the show.

The subjunctive also occurs in fixed expressions; such as, as it were, be that as it may, come what may, and far be it from me.

sublet
sublimate
1. To channel impulses or energies regarded as unacceptable toward an activity that is more socially acceptable, often a creative activity.
2. To divert the energy associated with an unacceptable impulse or drive into a personally and socially acceptable activity.
sublime
1. Of high spiritual, moral, or intellectual worth.
2. So awe-inspiringly beautiful as to seem almost heavenly.
3. Etymology: borrowed from Latin sublimis, "lofty, exalted".

This was a compound adjective formed from the prefix sub-, "under" and probably limen, "lintel" (horizontal beam that supports the weight of the wall above a window or door), "threshold"; a relative of limes, "boundary", from which English acquired "limit".

subliminal
1. Below the threshold of conscious perception.
2. Inadequate to produce conscious awareness but able to evoke a response.
3. Entering, existing in, or affecting the mind without conscious awareness.
sublingua
In anatomy, a process or fold below the tongue in some animals.
sublingual
1. Situated beneath or on the underside of the tongue.
2. A sublingual part, such as a gland, artery, or duct.
3. Placed under the tongue; a reference to medicines that are administered by being placed under the tongue to dissolve.
sublingually
subluminal (adjective), more subluminal, most subluminal
Characteristic of having a speed slower than that of light: It was obvious that the thunderings in the storm had subluminal sounds that were traveling slower than the speeds of the bursts of lightenings because Sally and her friend saw the flashes long before they heard the rumblings!
sublunar
Applied to a point on the surface of the earth that lies on a line joining the center of the moon and the center of the earth, i.e. a point at which the moon is vertically overhead in relation to the earth.
sublunarian
Existing or operating beneath the moon's surface.
sublunary
1. Existing or situated beneath the moon; lying between the orbit of the moon and the earth; hence, subject to the moon's influence.
2. Of or belonging to this world; earthly, terrestrial.
sublunary sphere
A concept derived from Greek astronomy in which the region of the cosmos from the earth to the moon, consists of the four classical elements: earth, water, air, and fire.

Beginning with the moon, up to the limits of the universe, everything is made of ether.